The aim of the study was to gain insight into the experience of treated alcoholics about their motivation for abstinence. The technique of semi-structured interviews was used to determine which are the most important motives of the treated alcoholics for making decisions about the treatment of alcohol dependence and maintenance of abstinence. The data were processed by open encoding, which is an integral part of the grounded theory method. The results of the research show that members of the treated alcoholic groups consider dealing with indicators of alcohol addiction progression, impaired self-esteem, inadequate performance of work tasks, health problems, impaired quality of family relationship, and stigmatization and rejection of the society due to alcoholism as strong motives for decision-making on alcohol dependence treatment. On the other hand, professional support and support from close relatives, membership in a club of treated alcoholics and the creation of new ones, and the avoidance of old habits have been emphasized as the main motives in maintaining abstinence. The results show powerful impact of social norms and the media and the propagation of moderate consumption of alcohol as a distorted perception of an acceptable lifestyl among youngsters.