The Everyday Bean

I don’t have many addictions in the way of substances in my life, but I was addicted to soda for many decades. I began to get addicted to soda when I was a young adult working the third shift at Denny’s. I couldn’t drink coffee or tea so I drank soda. I continued the habit when I worked third shift as a gas station. I justified it by saying that it wasn’t against the Word of Wisdom but i knew I was wrong at least in spirit.

I know that many people can drink soda without becoming addicted or letting it rule their lives. I don’t happen to be one of those people. I couldn’t drink just one and be satisfied. I would drink several a day, every day, for over 30 years. And I would go to great lengths to get soda, including breaking the Sabbath Day.

I did quit once for a whole year. It helped me to lose a great deal of weight. But the emotional addiction was still there. So I went back to it. I have tried to quit a number of times over the years since then without success. It’s true that the second time around is so much harder. So is the third. And the fourth. And so on.

But God is faithful. He has helped me to see that I really need to quit my soda habit for health reasons, for emotional reasons, and for spiritual reasons. Physically soda has harmed my health. It has damaged my bones, my teeth, and caused me, in part, to gain a great deal of weight. Emotionally, soda has created a false sense of comfort for me. It is almost like an idol. Spiritually, like emotionally, it has kept me from feeling the Spirit and heeding His counsel at times.

Today, I am happy to say that I haven’t had any soda at all for four days. I believe in my heart that this time will be different. I firmly believe that I have just about overcome the physical craving for it. We’ll see what tomorrow brings. I find that days 3 through 5 are the hardest. If I can get through tomorrow, I should be home free physically. The emotional attachment will take longer to break.

Spiritually, I feel forgiven. I feel empowered. I feel whole again. I feel like I am now keeping the Word of Wisdom. Again, I know that soda isn’t written into Section 89 of the Doctrine and Covenants. But I did read an article in the Ensign (Liahona) that says consuming large amounts of caffeine whether in the form of energy drinks or soda is against the Word of Wisdom. (See “The Energy Drink Epidemic,” Thomas J. Boud, MD, Ensign, December 2008).

While I still have a way to go to be truly over this addiction, I feel as though I am well on my way. It hasn’t been easy, but it is definitely worth it! I’ll update this blog later on how I managed to do it.

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