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Developing the motivation to quit drinking is fantastic, but it would be a real shame if you wasted this energy on an approach to recovery that was not going to work for you. It is tempting to look for short cuts and to choose options based on how good they sound rather than their effectiveness. Choosing the wrong approach to sobriety could not only mean you have wasted a chance for a better life, it could also mean you end up in an even worse situation later on. Here are just some of the approaches you may want to avoid in recovery as these have a reputation for being incredibly useless.
1. Miracle Cures Promising Guaranteed Results
No known path to recovery comes with a guarantee. This is because the results will always depend on your motivation and mental attitude. You could go to the most expensive rehab on the planet, with the very best in therapists and resources and you would still fail if you did not feel suitably determined to change. The miracle cures are usually just scams designed to con you out of your money; there are thousands of these online. Remember the old saying that if something sounds too good to be true it probably is. If somebody comes up with a 100% effective cure for addiction, you will hear about because it will be front-page news on every newspaper and a Nobel Prize is sure to be awarded for it.
2. Changing to a New Beverage
It is probably not the fact that you enjoy a certain type of drink that is driving your alcoholism, so changing to a new beverage would not make much difference – except maybe in the very beginning. It is common for individuals to choose an alcoholic drink that they do not like the taste of in the hope that this will reduce their enthusiasm for drinking, but it does not take long for the taste buds to adapt. Changing from spirits to beers also tends to be ineffective for alcoholics as it just means they visit the toilet more often.
3. Moving to a New Place
The problem with moving to a new place if you are an alcoholic is that you would be taking your addiction along for the ride. This type of approach to recovery is often referred to as a ‘geographical’, and it can be as effective as a skunk moving to a new habitat in order to escape the smell. Maybe you would feel more in control of your drinking initially after the move, but the likelihood is your addiction will start problems for you.
4. Quitting to Get Your Ex Back
Quitting to get your ex back can work if you quickly develop a more valid reason for staying sober. The problem is that if this were your only reason for quitting alcohol, it would not be enough to get you to commit to sobriety. The other worry is that should your ex decide not take you back, you would have a great justification for relapse. You have no control over others, so creating unrealistic expectations for recovery is setting yourself up for a fall.
5. Using another Addictive Substance as a Substitute
Some people try to quit alcohol by turning to cannabis or other drugs. This is referred to as addiction substitution; it can be incredibly ineffective because it just means developing a new addiction. Alcohol is currently your drug of choice but, if this were not available, it would be very easy for you to replace it with a new drug of choice. Do not be fooled into thinking that because you do not abuse other substance now that these would be safe for you to use as a replacement for alcohol.
