My Sobriety Story: What Changed When I Stopped Drinking

This is a photo of me guzzling down beer in my college days

Someone once asked me what was the thing I’m most proud of in my life was.

And without hesitation, my answer was quitting drinking. I was never an alcoholic, but I partied until the lights went out. I started drinking in college, and over time, it quietly took more from me than what I gained from it. 

I used alcohol to cope with unresolved childhood trauma. It allowed me to enact a victim role, all while avoiding taking accountability for my own actions. I cried, overshared, and unloaded my pain onto anyone who would listen.

Eventually, I began forgetting things more often, even on days I hadn’t been drinking. My hangovers grew progressively worse. A few months before I quit, it took me four days to recover from one night of drinking. I threw up multiple times a day, and my head felt like ice needles were being threaded into my skull. My body was beginning to reject the liquid poison.

After quitting alcohol, the growth I experienced didn’t happen all at once. It unfolded slowly as I began to be more clear-headed and as I faced my shortcomings/psychological wounds. What once felt difficult, such as struggling to be comfortable with myself in social situations, eventually became less daunting.

I guzzled down my last alcoholic drink on January 1, 2016, during an intimate New Year’s Eve gathering with my family. Someone kept nudging me to drink more, but after only a couple of drinks, I felt a sudden and unmistakable aversion to alcohol. Almost like my body shouted, “Enough already!” I listened, and I have never had one since.

In my red cup era

How sobriety changed my life

1. My physical and mental health improved dramatically

When I drank regularly, I was chronically dehydrated, my skin suffered, and I was often hungover, which took a heavy toll on my body and my work. Also, I endured bouts of depression and had low self-respect/self-worth. 

Today, I wake up with a clear mind and no alcohol-induced headaches. I’m hydrated, productive, grounded, and more at peace. I’ve made peace with my own contradictions. I’m the jagged edge and the polished stone, the honey and the sting. I’m a beautiful mess of awkward pauses but effortless grace as well.

2. Emotional and social maturity 

For years, I viewed the world through a distilled lens. It was my buffer against the possible judgment from behind sharp stares. It was a way to grease the wheels of a conversation that felt uncomfortable and stagnant. Initially unarmed and with no backing of chemical courage, the world became unbearably loud. I traded the hum of a buzz for the weight of the present moment. And in doing that, I began to notice my habits that cried for my attention. I made it my mission to be better and to do better with self-knowledge and by changing my problematic habits.

3. I stopped playing the victim

When I was under the influence, I was like a fly in a jar, hitting the same glass wall, repeating the same stories/same pain, without taking responsibility for healing or change. Sobriety forced me to step out of self-pity and into accountability. With wide open eyes, I noticed my negative habits and decided to change them. I began seeing my worth and gained self-respect over time by setting boundaries with others and myself.

4. Emotional healing

Sobriety gave me the clarity and courage to face my trauma instead of numbing it. I pat myself on the back because I’ve been doing the work, and this makes me proud.  I studied psychology and marriage & family therapy for eight years at San Diego State University. Also, I worked with a therapist who noticed the discrepancies in the stories I kept telling myself. Further, I journaled weekly and read personal development books such a Loving What Is by Byron Katie, which shows us how to eliminate suffering in our lives by asking ourselves four transformational questions and doing “the work”.

The tool that was the most integral in my healing was when I began voraciously studying Vedic astrology under my teacher, Ernst Wilhelm several years ago. Through learning about the mysteries of spiritual evolution and the life lessons revealed in my birth chart, I’ve been able to achieve inner and outer success. It not only gave language to experiences I had always felt but couldn’t articulate, but it also revealed step-by-step ways in which I could heal.

Conclusion

I traded the soft-focus blur of strawberry margaritas for the sharp, jagged edges of the truth. The sober life isn't about experiencing the absence of cloudy days, but about healthily dealing with the real, and that reality became my foundation for peace.

Greetings! I'm Gina, a California native who has been voraciously studying astrology since 2018. I use Tropical Vedic Astrology and cartomancy as my main vehicles in my cosmic quest for profound spiritual understanding and healing. 

I hold a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Marriage & Family Therapy. With over fifteen years of counseling and teaching experience, I've always enjoyed listening to people's stories and helping them on their path.

If you want to discover who you are on a deeper level, download my free ebook today: https://www.hercosmiccrown.com/offerings

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The content on this page is to be treated for entertainment purposes only and should never replace professional advice. Her Cosmic Crown uses astrology and the cards as a tool to help with guidance, providing advice during readings. We will not be responsible for the decisions you make after a reading. Greetings! I'm Gina, a California native who has been voraciously studying astrology since 2018. I use Tropical Vedic Astrology and cartomancy as my main vehicles in my cosmic quest for profound spiritual understanding and healing.