Can alcoholism be replaced with a hobby obsession?
Alcoholism is synonymous with the trait that divulges a person too deep into the idea of alcohol that they can’t seem to get out of it. It is a developed habit from casual social drinking that slowly evolves into a statutory for any highs and lows in life. It further worsens into a practice where the individual resorts to it regardless of the existence of a situation or an occasion. It is a disease characterised by an inability to control one’s intake of alcohol. For the addict, it becomes a replacement for other habits that induce happiness or cure sadness.
They start equating being drunk to a state of being happy and relaxed. It gets worse when the individual develops a dependence on alcohol to the point that they start experiencing psychedelic or even genuine withdrawal symptoms if they are deprived of it. They get irritable, cranky, aggressive, and uncontrollable to which their peers often resort to presenting them with alcohol as a last resort to calm the situation.
Coming to the important question. Can alcoholism be replaced with a hobby obsession? If you look at it from a practical point of view, it is absolutely possible. But when it comes to ground reality, it is much easier said than done. The simplest of reasons being hobbies require effort to be put in. The individual will make an obvious comparison to their current ‘pass-time of indulging in alcohol” to identifying and nurturing a hobby that seems tedious initially. They will have a mindset of “why should I put in the effort when I’m getting the same sense of euphoria without effort”. We can’t blame that person for thinking that way either. They require a whole tonne of support and mental strength to get themselves motivated and determined to put in efforts to pull themselves out of a hell hole. As they say, we can only help those who can help themselves. If they can sense the reality of how their condition is impacting their peer/family relationships, professional goals, personal matters, and importantly overall health, they will understand the gravity of the situation and will develop a self fixated goal in their mind to overcome the alcoholic condition.
It is a gradual process and cannot be achieved in a day or two. Assuming that the individual is a fully developed adult, and has no pre-existing hobbies, it is a difficult task to pick up a hobby under compulsive circumstances. Much more difficult for an alcoholic because fighting compulsions is one big task and developing a new hobby is another. They need to deal with two demons at a time. It is easier for a child to get used to something novel than it is for an adult to do the same. But motivation and determination play a significant role in healthy coping during sobriety.
Hobbies that require physical input like working out, running, or playing sports have a very successful impact on overcoming bad habits. People who have been through this vicious path swear by the trick of doing a few push-ups or intense cardio whenever they experience a craving. They say that it conditions the body in a way that it forgets the ‘requirement’ of something else. And once they get into the groove of self-love, self-development, fitness, and health, there is genuinely no going back. It becomes an addiction in itself but it is probably the best gift you can give your body.
When it comes to other hobbies that require lesser physical input but more mental investment like time and patience is more of a relaxing approach to a hobby and is usually done complementarity with a physically intense hobby. Some examples include learning a musical instrument, painting, singing, dancing, reading books, writing, poetry, etc. These hobbies provide a required mental peace, patience, emotional stability, and an escape from reality.
However, people with addictive traits need to be on the guard as they may land their hobbies as the new obsession after refraining from alcohol. There have been many cases where addicts became obsessed with either a person or a hobby to an extent where they could not carry out their daily activities because of their new obsessions. Obsessions are in a way are addictions that give the same high as substances. Pursuing hobbies should be done only till the compulsive cravings are forgotten and the person is deviated from the thoughts of relapse. As and how recovery is sensed, people in sobriety should find ways to find the purpose of their lives and spend quality time with their families to ensure a long lasting recovery.
