Quote:
Originally Posted by Charles
It takes about a year to get your mind right, but even then the thought that "I can handle one" comes along. Apparently you can see the fallacy in this line of reasoning.
I find you to be a refreshing sort of teetotaler. My old buddy quit drinking about the same time I did. While I just walked away, he took the AA route, and to his credit, has never faltered. Then again, it was give it up or they have places for people like you in his case. Come to think of it, I believe they did run him through the wringer, and it wasn't just for alcohol.
And while I admire him for what he's done, the Carrie Nation persona that he developed is a little much for my tastes. But if that is what it takes for him to hold his life together, who am I to find fault.
Take care,
Chas
|
I come from a long line of rummies.
My grandfather just stopped drinking and never looked back. My father drank until he had an alcohol-induced seizure which scared him so badly that he went straight from the hospital to rehab and from there into AA. From that point he never looked back either, thank God.
For myself, I went cold turkey for a year and convinced myself that nobody who could do that could possibly have a problem with alcohol. I picked up again with all too predictable results. After a couple of very wet years I realized that I really had to quit and I did, cold turkey again. That was 22 years ago.
I didn't go the AA route right away. I waited a few years to give it a try but I never could commit to the program. It felt a little too much like a cult to me. (Having my father tell me, " I don't have any friends outside the Fellowship and I don't want any." didn't help matters.) I think it's probably been 15 years since I went to a meeting.
Don't get me wrong. AA saves lives, quite literally, and helps people do a lot more than stop drinking. It helps them rebuild their lives out of the wreckage their alcoholism created. It's an amazing program.
I often wonder whether the fact that I was alcohol-free for a number of years before giving it a try was the reason why I never really connected with AA. Maybe if I'd still been drinking when I went to my first meeting and quit with their help AA would have got its hooks into me.
Thanks for allowing me to share.
John