The consequences of addiction weren’t always life-ruining, but they were exhausting nonetheless. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. When I think back to my years as a heavy drinker, I tend to focus my attention on the biggest impacts that alcoholism had on my life. For example, my drinking led to increased isolation, worsened depression, and struggling finances. It’s…

It took more than online quizzes for me to accept that I was an alcoholic. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. How does someone know that they’re an alcoholic? After half a decade of sobriety, it’s trivially easy for me to look back at my life as a drinker and recognize the signs of addiction. I wasn’t even a borderline case. I…

But now I’ve made it five and a half years sober. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. My First Attempt at Sobriety How long does it take to get sober? How many failed attempts does an alcoholic need to go through before they finally make sobriety stick? In my case, the answer is seven years and more attempts than I can remember. I…

This is what I left behind when I got sober. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. There are some recovered alcoholics who have great drinking stories from back before they got sober. I’m not one of them. It’s not that my life was boring the entire time that I was a drinker. It’s just that the drinking…

Why I thought I needed alcohol to relax, and what life is like sober. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. A Life of Stress I used to be an absolute bundle of stress and anxiety. I woke up each morning already feeling overwhelmed by the day ahead of me. This wasn’t just a light, back-of-the-mind stress. …

A personal guide to resisting urges and staying sober. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. Cravings: A Quick Introduction If you’ve ever quit an addiction — or even tried to quit one — then I don’t need to tell you how hard it can be to resist cravings. When I stopped drinking, my urges to go back to it were…

The remarkable power of discovering I was not alone. — This essay originally appeared in the Exploring Sobriety newsletter. Back when I was still drinking, I had a really strange habit: I tried to never buy more alcohol than what I expected to drink that night. My reasoning was pretty ridiculous. I had myself perpetually convinced that I was one…

Made you click. — A hard truth about blogging is that no matter how well you write, you will never succeed until you learn to craft a compelling headline. When I started writing, my headlines sucked: “Searching High and Low for Wisdom” “Stay Up Late, Sleep In, and Get More Done” “Stop Comparing Yourself…

This was a tough decision but turned out for the best. — I recently saw an interesting discussion in a language-learning forum about why people quit learning foreign languages, and it reminded me of my experience with Hebrew. My Experience Learning Hebrew I have sunk a lot of time and energy into learning Hebrew. I’m Jewish and in a sense have spent my entire life studying…