Alcohol is so deeply ingrained in our culture that it’s easy to forget that it’s a drug that damages people’s lives. This man’s journey shows just how much drink can affect someone.

When Kenny Dunn was in his mid-thirties, he was in a terrible place. Thanks to his excessive drinking, he had estranged all of his family and friends.

And Kenny wasn’t just drinking every day. He was getting blackout drunk three to four times a week. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last time he’d drank fewer than 12 drinks in one day.

Then one day, when he looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the reflection, he realized that he had to make a change.

So without telling anyone, he enrolled into Alcoholics Anonymous. He had made brief attempts at curbing his addiction before, and everyone had been devastated when he had fallen off the wagon. But this time it felt different. He realized that this was his last chance if he ever wanted to have a full life.

He attended the AA meeting and got given his first sobriety coin when he reached the 24-hour mark. So he took a picture of himself.

At the time, Kenny “felt so ill, and I looked so bad, I wanted to remember it so I wouldn’t forget.”

Now, whenever he was tempted to take a drink, Kenny would look at this photo and remember just how he felt when taking it.

He realized that alcohol would only keep him in that place.

So for one whole month, he was able to withhold his temptations. When he got his 30-day coin, he took another picture of himself and compared it to the 24-hour photo.

He was amazed to see that he looked drastically different just from one month of abstaining from alcohol.

Month after month, Kenny would feel the urge to drink, but now that he was documenting his physical changes, he could finally see why he was staying sober.

During this time, he would keep the photos to himself. But when he reached one year of sobriety, he realized that other people should hear his story. He took a picture that day and uploaded it to Reddit along with his 24-hours’ sober picture.

What Kenny wasn’t expecting was that dozens of people would comment on the post. People were congratulating him, complimenting him and asking earnest questions.

People who were currently struggling with alcoholism wanted to know how they could get to where Kenny was.

Kenny had hoped that the photos would inspire other people to make their lives better, but he wasn’t expecting to get such a strong response. He gladly gave advice and other opinions to people who were struggling.

Because Kenny had quit drinking, he was able to adopt a much more healthy lifestyle overall. Thanks to an improved diet and a stricter exercise regime, he lost 75 pounds.

Recently, Kenny reached three years of sobriety.

His work, home life and personal attitude have never been better than they are today. He has continued to take pictures of his sobriety, and everyone online agrees that he looks great.

Perhaps other people who struggle with things like quitting drinking or losing weight would do well to follow Kenny’s approach.

If they regularly took photos of themselves when starting and continuing their journey, then they may feel more motivated to continue. It’s a very easy thing to do, and it could lead to drastic changes for the better!

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Source: Bored Panda