RE 553: 20 Things Harder Than Quitting Drinking

Today we have Emily. She is 28 years old from Denver, CO and she took her last drink on April 25th, 2025. Café RE is our alcohol-free community who recently got non-profit status and we're all about having fun and kicking ass without alcohol. [03:45] Thoughts from Paul: Paul has said many times that quitting drinking was the hardest thing he has ever done, but that's not true. Today he shares with us 20 things that are harder than quitting drinking. This is the short list of what is harder than quitting drinking and Paul feels that it can all be summarized with this: Continuing to poison yourself with alcohol is harder than quitting drinking and that's exactly how we have to frame it. Regularly ingesting poison takes a bigger toll on your overall health than quitting drinking. [10:14] Paul introduces Emily: Emily is originally from Delaware but currently lives in Colorado with her boyfriend, two dogs and two cats. She works in tech sales and for fun she enjoys all things outdoors including skiing, backpacking, camping and has recently gotten some paddleboards and golf clubs. Emily was against alcohol while growing up, began to experiment when she was 16 or 17. She thought it was a great way to escape the regimented lifestyle she was living. In college, it was normal to drink from Thursday to Saturday. Emily didn't see it as a problem because everyone around her was drinking the same way. She was able to maintain good grades and work multiple jobs while in college. Emily was working in the bar and restaurant scene and decided to continue doing that after graduating. At age 23 Emily applied to work for a liquor supplier and got a job in Connecticut. When all of her bar tabs and Uber rides were being paid for and the way that alcohol is glamorized in the industry, Emily was never forced to see the negative impact her drinking was having on her life. During the COVID pandemic, Emily was supplied with a lot of alcohol and the only thing she needed to do was make cocktail videos since everything was shut down. Her apartment complex became party central. Soon after everything began opening back up, Emily was laid off by the company she worked for. She and her fiancé moved to Colorado where she got another job working in the wine and liquor industry. This company did not foot the bill for her drinking like the last one. Emily says she and her partner both drank heavily, and it was a toxic relationship. Once she ended that she decided that she was going to become a better version of herself but didn't change any of her habits. Emily met her current partner around age 26. She began to notice her drinking habits more around him because he does not drink much. Emily began trying to moderate during the week and then drinking like she wanted to on the weekends when she would blackout and suffer from hangovers. Before going to her cousin's wedding in April, Emily told herself she wasn't going to get drunk. She ended up drinking more than she planned, and it was a disaster. The next morning when she woke up, she decided she needed to quit and immediately began burnings the ships with everyone she knew. Emily threw herself into recovery by attending her first AA meeting, listening to podcasts, reading books and joining Café RE. Emily says that by quitting drinking she did lose a portion of herself, but it was a portion that she wasn't happy with. Since quitting Emily says her sleep has improved, the mental clarity she has gained has been amazing and she is now able to trust herself. Emily's parting piece of guidance: tell people you love and trust. Lean on people, community is everything. Recovery Elevator You took the elevator down, you gotta take the stairs back up. We can do this RE on Instagram Recovery Elevator YouTube Sobriety Tracker iTunes