Brain Lesson #3: Creating New Beliefs Takes Practice

Your beautiful, brilliant human brain. It’s absolutely amazing. Right about now your brain may be sending you A LOT of mixed messages because you’ve decided to take an extended break from drinking/or greatly reduce it. In one moment you might be feeling excited and motivated–you’ve stocked your fridge with lots of great non-alcoholic alternatives and you’re feeling strong. Just as quickly, your brain reminds you that you haven’t taken a whole month off drinking for years, maybe even decades and you are left feeling fearful and insecure. 

Most of us are familiar with the feelings described above and how we experience them in our bodies.

Motivated and excited: Your body might feel heightened, ready for action, your heart beat is slightly accelerated, maybe you have a pleasant flutter in your stomach.

Insecure and fearful: Your heartbeat is uncomfortably fast, your hands are shaky and you may feel the need to take deep calming breaths.

What we are less aware of, are the thoughts that are causing those feelings and how we can influence how we feel, by changing them.

Why does this even matter? You might be able to willpower yourself through a month-long break from alcohol, but if you’re interested in changing your relationship with alcohol for the rest of your life, willpower won’t work. Changing your drinking habits is possible, if you change how you think about alcohol. Creating new beliefs takes practice and the first step is  becoming aware of the thoughts that are coming up as you start this month-long break from drinking.

Every day during Dryuary is a chance to notice the thoughts you have and to make the connection to how you’re feeling. When you have a thought like “I really need a drink to help me relax” do you simply believe that thought is true? Do you question it? Challenge that thought with something else that is true?  “I don’t need a drink to relax, I just want one because that’s what I’ve trained myself to do”

Imagine yourself thinking both of those thoughts and what feeling do you imagine feeling? 

With the first “I need a drink,”  I anticipate feeling an increased desire to drink, it feels urgent.  

With the challenging thought “I just want one because I’ve trained myself” I anticipate feeling more logical, more in control, more calm. 

Believing new things about your drinking habits is possible and it requires practice. To speed up the process, write your thoughts and feelings down. Be specific when you describe your feelings and keep asking your brain questions about the thoughts you’re having. Every thought you have is optional. If you want to feel differently, ask yourself if there is another thought you could focus on instead. Write that thought down and focus your attention on it.

In the comments below, share a thought you might use to challenge your “old” thinking.

Stay tuned for a new Brain Lesson next week!

Molly Watts of The Alcohol Minimalist is a certified life coach, the author of the highly-rated book Breaking the Bottle Legacy , and the host of the ever-popular Alcohol Minimalist Podcast.