Lucie Masson | Women’s Coach September 9, 2025
It’s been exactly eight months since I last drank a drop of alcohol. I’m only counting for the sake of this article. I don’t think about it anymore, and it no longer appeals to me. I had tried several times before to take breaks and do detoxes, and I had succeeded, but only in the very short term. It never lasted more than a month. The lure of wine and its effects was too tempting to even imagine giving it up completely.
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This time I’ve stopped for good and I have no intention or desire to ever go back to it.
What has changed this time compared to other times?
Let’s say this decision is part of a broader intention to minimize negativity in my life. I’m not quitting for some vague hope of protecting my liver, my sleep, or my health. I’m quitting because I want to live to the fullest potential for happiness this life can offer. Drugs and narcotics are substances that diminish my awareness of life. Wine relaxes me and makes me forget my discomfort or frustration for a while; I drink it, I feel euphoric for a moment, then it either makes me detached from my emotions or downright aggressive if someone crosses me in the place I’m trying to escape. Then the next day I’m back to my suboptimal state of functioning, and the same thing happens again the following evening or weekend—I drink to feel artificially good for a while.
Alcohol actually prevents me from facing things head-on and taking control of my emotions. Even with moderate or purely social consumption, it’s still too much. It’s a way to escape feelings I don’t have the courage to confront, feelings that therefore remain trapped inside. That’s why I now believe that drinking alcohol adds to and exacerbates the negativity already present. In my effort to reject the negativity in my life and savor the happiness offered by the present moment, it’s natural that I no longer want to add that to my system. It’s the same mechanism as with meat: it tastes good, it satisfies the senses, but energetically, if I want to cultivate positive thoughts, I can’t contribute to the suffering of other beings. So I detach myself from the pleasure of the senses to experience the pleasure of simply being, without artifice.
Today I decide to have the courage to confront what is blocking my happiness, and to look within myself for my dysfunctions and unexpressed needs. I choose tequila therapy. Courage is not a quality or an automatic reflex; it is a decision to be made with the intention of improving one’s life and relationships. When I no longer focus (or focus less) on sensual pleasure but on the pursuit of inner purity, I have the opportunity to consciously observe my thoughts and analyze the negative ones. Thus, giving up alcohol or meat is not felt as a sacrifice or an effort, because the satisfaction I derive from no longer living in doubt, insecurity, anxiety, judgment, etc., is incomparable to the fleeting and superficial pleasures that alcohol can provide.
After eight months of this practice, I can say that I have much greater clarity in my thoughts, my feelings, and how others feel. I’ve learned to express myself more clearly and calmly, rather than bottling up my frustrations. As a result, I resolve misunderstandings quickly and I no longer doubt my worth. I feel much more in control of my life. As a bonus, I’m sleeping more soundly, which allows me to be more alert to what’s happening both within myself and around me. I will never go back to a life where I needed alcohol to feel happy. Alcohol can never replace therapy; it’s an escape that only worsens self-esteem.
I must clarify that these improvements are not a direct consequence of quitting alcohol, but rather that quitting naturally falls within the pursuit of a life more aligned with oneself. Quitting is the outward manifestation of an inner work toward well-being.
Quitting is therefore possible when you undertake the work of freeing yourself from being possessed by your unconscious suffering. Quitting helps accelerate the process of self-development. The best part is that all it takes is the will to achieve it.
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