Check out how others got sober — and then you decide what is best for you.
Photo by Luis Villasmil on Unsplash
Stephen King has no memory of writing Cujo, his thriller about a rabid St. Bernard gone mad. That is a significant blackout if ever there was one.
King also admits there are several other books he has no memory of writing. Incredible.
There are various ways to find sobriety: spontaneous sobriety is quitting without help from outside sources; a DIY job if you will, is the way I chose. My only support came from the truckload of quit-lit books I read the two years leading up to my quitting the drink.
The other ways are with organized help from Alcoholics Anonymous, SMART Recovery meetings, and in-patient or out-patient rehab facilities. One can also go the more personal route with a therapist or psychiatrist and be aided by drugs for withdrawal or to ease cravings.
None of these were the choices Stephen King chose. He hadn’t any intention of quitting his addictions.
Stephen’s addiction
The first time he remembers getting drunk was his senior year of high school in 1966.
By 1975 he decided he was an alcoholic, yet this realization did not sway his choice to keep drinking.
He said:
I thought, I’m an alcoholic…I’ve gotta be really careful, because if somebody says, ‘You’re drinking too much, you have to quit,’ I won’t be able to.
By the 80s, King was introduced to cocaine while attending Hollywood parties as his books were made into movies. He also was addicted to cigarettes, smoking two packs a day and adding pills, mouthwash, sleep aids, and more to the toxic mix.
King admits this about his addictions:
If it would change your consciousness, I was all for it.
King’s wife, Tabitha, staged an intervention with his friends and family present by dumping out a garbage bag full of empty beer cans, cigarette butts, cocaine in gram bottles, cocaine in plastic baggies, and coke spoons, Valium, bottles of cough and cold medicines and even mouthwash.
Tabitha gave Stephen an ultimatum — sober up or get out. She gave him two weeks to make up his mind.
He decided that even though he thought giving up his addiction would kill him, he chose to do it for his wife and family.
King has been sober for over 33 years, adding that an anonymous organization got him through.
He comments:
It certainly allowed me to live a more spiritual life in many ways. It makes it easier to live a moral life. Because when you do something that’s rather shitty, you know that you’ve done it, and you have to talk about it a little bit.
Of course, we can come to the same realization by choosing any method to attain sobriety.
I love this myth-busting statement Stephen makes about addiction and creatives:
Substance abusing writers are just substance abusers — common garden-variety drunks and druggies, in other words. Any claims that the drugs and alcohol are necessary to dull a finer sensibility are the usual self-serving bs.
What about you?
Don’t wait for an intervention that may not come.
You can’t hope someone will take the reins of your life. You are responsible for your life, health, and sobriety. You are strong and capable — do not think for a minute you are not. You can do this.
For the books that helped me achieve sobriety, see my article published on AINYF/Medium on February 8, 2022, 10 Outstanding Books to Help You Stay Fully Engaged in Your Sobriety.
Choose your way of attaining sobriety. I’ve given a few suggestions above.
Please seek medical help if you are concerned about withdrawal.
Help is available and only a Google away. Or contact the National and 24-hour Drug Addiction and Substance Abuse hotline number: 877–268–2787 or Alcohol Abuse Hotline: 888–744–0069.
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