They Say Don’t Compare Yourself ~ But It Helped Me Quit Drinking

They say you shouldn’t compare yourself to others. But I did and it helped me quit drinking.

I quit drinking in 2015 because hangovers were ruining my mental health.

In my early twenties, I binge drank on weekends. I could moderate if I needed to, and from the outside my drinking looked normal.

The problem wasn’t what I did the night before. It was the morning after.

I’d wake up with raging hangxiety, and spend the day battling some pretty rough inner dialogue.

I’d be in bed, scrolling. Looking at photographers who’d been out in the mountains all weekend with envy. Looking at people who were clear headed gave me contrast.

Hangovers were impacting my mental health. I’d started to think, is this it? Is this my life now? The same weekend on repeat.

So I joined a gym, and lifting weights was incompatible with hangovers. I picked up my camera more, and being creative was incompatible with hangovers.

I didn’t quit drinking because I hated being drunk. I quit because I hated how I felt after.

It’s been over 10 years since I last drank. In that time, I’ve avoided over 800 hangovers. That’s 2 years of the past 10 I would have felt anxious.

Now I only compare myself to one person, the person I used to be.