Nine Years Sober
May 15th marks a total of nine years sober for me. Last year I didn’t really write about it because I was so busy with the release of a new album that I almost forgot about it, but this year I’m not touring so I’ve had some time to think about it and reflect a little more.
In some ways, I’ve embraced the feeling of being too busy to celebrate it because I think it means that sobriety has started to become the new normal, as opposed to some temporary state or something that I was trying to maintain. I’ve done a pretty good job of taking on the types of challenges that don’t allow me to feel stagnant or depressed enough to even have the time to drink.
Anxiety and Fires of the Mind
I recently had a conversation with a good friend about sobriety. I’ve been sober for six years now, but my friend has had some struggles staying sober for longer than a year or so at a time. It seems like every time they start getting some momentum towards a life without alcohol, something really stressful would happen that would push them into drinking again.
This led us into a great discussion about what we both considered the main catalyst in our problems with alcohol–anxiety.
Six Years Sober
Last year, my fifth year sober, I didn’t get to write my yearly sobriety post on my sober date, May 15th. Oddly enough, it wasn’t deliberate at all–it was because I was extremely busy at the time. My latest album, King No Crown, had just been released and I was getting ready to head out on the road for a ten-week tour across the United States with Supastition and DJ Rare Groove. I remember telling myself to sit down and write it the week before, but it ended up being impossible to get enough time (and enough quiet) to sit down and write it.
Four Years Sober Today
At last night’s show in Winter Haven, FL, somebody in the crowd asked me to perform my song “Blame it on the Jager.” It’s one of the more popular songs from the Soul Position album Things Go Better with RJ and Al so it wasn’t an unusual request. In general, I actually like spending a good amount of time during the end of my set performing request from fans, but the request for “Blame it on the Jager” wasn’t going to get granted last night.
That’s because today, May 15th, marks my fourth year sober.
Three Years Sober Today
Today is my three year sober date. To be completely honest, the idea that I would be able to go three years without drinking wasn’t something that I believed was possible when I first decided to quit. So I’m equal parts proud and surprised today.
Two Years Sober Today: The Benefits of Sobriety
Two years ago today I decided to take small break from drinking. I needed to clear my head. A week into it, I felt good and decided to keep going. After a month, I felt even better. Once I got to two months sober I made a decision that I didn’t want alcohol to play a part in my life again.
I have been sober for two years straight today. It has been an amazing journey that has forced me to confront many things about myself that I didn’t like. I’ve learned that everybody drinks for a reason, and the people who drink the most have the most reasons. If you don’t understand the “why” then you will be doomed to repeat the cycle.
The Adventures of Blueprint – Episode 4 “Alcohol”
The Adventures of Blueprint – Episode 4 “Alcohol”
The Results
I was gonna write about how my attempt at not drinking went, with details about how each day with or without drinking went, but it seemed to be pretty boring as I was writing it, so i deleted it. Instead I’m going to simplify it like this:
