The War Within
AFF Newsletter on Substack #52
Welcome to the AFF Newsletter on Substack.
Thank you for bearing with me last week. It was a bit of a struggle to write due to fighting a fever but hopefully, the two posts I managed to get out were helpful.
A few announcements:
In the coming weeks, some premium articles will be available for everyone to read. I will let you know when I open them up.
Soon there will be a new chat group for premium subscribers, where you can connect with me directly. I will let you know when that is set up.
I’m up to day 22 of consecutive posts over at affathers.com. The site has also been redesigned, so please check it out here.
I received some wonderful feedback from Friday’s fever-fuelled post and I wanted to explore the subject further whilst adding in an element that has been brewing within me over the last weeks.
Besting the beast in battle
I’ll admit that I’ve moved into a phase - not like The Fad Man - of talking about and treating addiction like you’re fighting a war with a beast within you.
Viewing alcohol addiction as a beast lurking within you provides the perfect piece of imagery and a practical visualisation of the work you need to do to overcome it and stop it from returning.
Your addiction-obsessed beast is determined to drag you down into the depths of despair with it and draw you into a war. It wants to fight you, defeat you and feed off you. It wants to feast on your fears and insecurities. It is ready to use your stresses, guilt, shame and worries to devour you.
To go to war with a beast, you must prepare yourself for it. You must arm yourself with proper weapons and suitable armour to fight and defend yourself.
You don’t want to bring a knife to a gunfight!
You must believe in yourself and, if need be, know when to recruit more soldiers to help you fight because your enemy will know your strengths and weaknesses - things it will not hesitate to exploit.
The enemy hiding within you is ready to fight dirty. It is willing to tug on your heartstrings to get you to drink. It is ready to stir up emotions inside you that it knows you’ll use booze to soothe. It knows what buttons to push for you to reach for a beer or a bottle of vodka. Knowing this will help you realise the magnitude of what you’re dealing with.
The war within you is more than just the beast wanting booze. The battle lines have been drawn and you must be ready to fight for your life.
Life or death
This is a battle for your life. Make no mistake about it. The beast will look for any way to lead you to the bottom of the bottle and drown you. I know it sounds drastic but alcohol addiction isn’t a playground filled with roses, it’s a battleground flooded with blood.
Alcohol doesn't discriminate. It’s the tool many have chosen to ease their pain. But that tool has the power to kill.
When I was at my lowest, picking up the bottle led me to where I was ready to end it all and miss my son growing up. That’s how deadly the devil can be. That’s how powerful untreated addiction can be. That’s how final this war can be.
I’m fighting back tears as I write this now, for two reasons:
I hate to think how close I was to missing out on life with my son because I’d allowed alcohol to take control.
I hate to think of other dads in the same position now as I was back then. I know the pain they are in and I want to help.
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If you’re a dad reading this now and alcohol is in control of your life or the beast is winning the fight, please know this: it won’t win the war. You have the power within you to overcome your addiction. You have soldiers ready to fight alongside you. You have the love of those closest to you who want to see you beat the beast.
I want you to win. I’m here to help.
If you need a free extra resource to help you quit booze, then click the link below:
For those who may feel like you’ve defeated alcohol as your foe, you might still have some other areas in your life where the addiction beast lurks so be proactively ready for any potential strike from the enemy.
Stay on top of your recovery. Stay vigilant. Don’t slip back into bad habits. Put in the work to get to the root cause of your addiction. Stay connected. Help others.
You’re on an amazing journey. Don’t fall back into a fight with the beast.
If anything in this newsletter resonated with you, then I’d love to hear from you:
Check out the last free post “Fighting a Fever and Battling the Beast”.
Take care of yourself and your family,
Roscoe | @AFFathers
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