Warning: This article contains discussion of alcoholism which some readers may find distressing.
A TikToker who has been sober for nine months after 45 years of drinking has revealed the details that ‘no one tells you’ about quitting alcohol.
According to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, the rate of all alcohol-related emergency department visits increased a whopping 47.0% between 2006 and 2014, which translates to an average annual increase of 210,000 alcohol-related emergency department visits, and that figure has continued to grow over the years.
Now, one man who turned his life around has spoken out about what his journey to sobriety has been like.
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Taking to TikTok to offer his insight to others, Ian Callaghan, who has built a social media platform (@ian_callaghan), revealed that he has written an ebook about his experience quitting alcohol.
Callaghan now works as a sober coach, explaining that his ‘transformation came from within’ as it was about ‘raw honesty, confronting my patterns, and relentlessly rewiring my mind’.
In a recent post, Callaghan reflected on his first nine months of sobriety after 45 years of drinking, revealing all the changes he experienced after quitting.
“This is what it actually feels like when you stop after a lifetime in the drink,” he wrote under the reflection video.
“I lived in booze. Morning, noon, blackout. Built routines around pints, takeaways, and lies. Now I’m free, but freedom is work.”
One key thing Ian noted in his post was how his friendships changed after giving up alcohol.
“You’ll lose people... and gain yourself,” he explained. “Pub mates fade. Scripts crack. You’re not broken, the script is.
“The ones who stay meet the real you.”
Another change Callaghan noticed was how he experienced life, noting that alcohol appeared to have ‘flatlined’ all of his emotions.
“The highs are higher, the lows are louder,” he said. “Take it away, and you feel the full weather. Grief bites, joy lands clean, boredom kicks in. It’s messy. It’s living. I didn’t want happiness. I wanted to stop feeling dead. That’s what life arrives with, with the volume back on.”
He also noted the importance of making sure you create routines and have methods to combat cravings when they occur – which, for Callaghan, is cold water.
“Cold water is honest. It doesn’t cure you. It gives you two minutes of control when your head lies,” he explained.
He went on to recall standing under cold water while experiencing bad withdrawal symptoms on his third day sober, adding: “I shook so hard I could barely hold a pen. I stepped under freezing water and counted to ten. It shocked the cravings out just long enough to breathe and eat. That was the first time I felt powerful. Not because I felt good, but because I kept a promise.
“Nine months in, I still rewire. I still get ambushed by old songs, old pubs, old routes. Still feel grief for the years I burned. Then I make broth. I text a mate. I write. I sleep. Next morning, shame’s gone. Trust’s bigger.”
If you've been affected by addiction and want to speak to someone in confidence, you can call American Addiction Centers on (888) 324-0595, available 24/7, or contact them through their website.