This article I’m sharing is more about recovering from trauma. But let’s be honest.. how many of us nurtured our addiction to quiet our trauma? 
There’s a lot to be taken in from this article and the book being mentioned, so I won’t repeat any of it. I’ll just talk about my experience.
I was 5 years sober when I started GJJ for mental health. Part of the underlying theme of the Gracie philosophy is surviving our adversaries. The discipline teaches you to hold your attacker close, control their movements and eventually submit them with a choke or joint lock… all while remaining calm, patient, composed and in control.
For survivors of trauma, learning to rewrite your narrative as an empowered, capable individual from a mindset of victimization is huge.
Applying these philosophies to breaking addiction can induce deep introspection of one’s self.
But you don’t even have to get that deep to be Influenced not to drink. The GJJ culture is one of health and longevity. I’ve never seen one person on the mats who is struggling with alcohol. Do they exist? I’m sure but there is nobody there wrecked, hungover, bloated and stinking from binging. If you’ve made it to the mats in a GJJ gym, chances are you have taken the path of pursuing longevity. These people have learned that physical and mental health are more important than consumption. Those are the people you want to surround yourself with. The culture, the influence alone is enough to want to be better. Nobody talks about booze or grabbing a beer and nobody talks about the struggle of recovering from alcohol. The very absence of the subject is enough to make you forget that it exists, because you’re amongst people who have risen above or are learning to rise above that influence.
GJJ is worldwide and there is a certified training center in almost every major city in America. The first year of training is very low impact and requires no athletic ability. If you think GJJ might be right for you, google gracie university and find a school near you.
