Re: Hi my name is ...
Suzuki,
with respect to all things AA, the truth is in the Book, anything that isn't in the Big Book or can't be reconciled with the Book is opinion .
I believe you talked to the wrong people because the degree of your problem is clearly addressed in the book on page 34 "Whether such a person can quit upon a nonspiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not. "
http://www.whytehouse.com/big_book_search/book/ch3p34.html
That clearly implies there are degrees of severity.
Or look at this example on page 21 ,
"Then we have a certain type of hard drinker. He may have the habit badly enough to gradually impair him physically and mentally. It may cause him to die a few years before his time. If a sufficiently strong reason-ill health, falling in love, change of environment, or the warning of a doctor-becomes operative, this man can also stop or moderate, although he may find it difficult and troublesome and may even need medical attention. "
Sounds like he MUST be an alkie right? physically and mentally impaired due to drinking, may need medical help , hospitalization and might die before his time from the booze. An alcoholic right?
But he is NOT an alcoholic , because given enough reason to quit he can.!
So it seems either you talked to people who don't know the program or are still "recovering" (AKA; still sick).
AA is also full of non alcoholics, wasting their lives drinking joe and scarfing the donuts down, because some judge declared them to be an alkie, they came and liked the social aspect and stayed, and they are welcome but the danger is when a real alkie walks in and thinks this non alkie knows the program because they talk a good game and toss a few slogans around, but what works for the non alcholic will kill the real alcoholic.
AA should not be the first resort, it only works when its the last house on the block, all other options should be tried, its only then that a person will be willing enough to go to any length.
My shrink asked me "how many beers do you drink a day"
( I thought he was offering to go to the liquor store for me)
I said 4 , he said 'yeh you're an alcoholic.'
Not because I drank 4 every night, but because I was obviously nuts and he could see alcohol was my form of sedation.
He had tried to help me for 2 yrs and we couldn't get very far, the antidepressants were probably keeping me alive thru all that time.
He advised I try a few AA meetings, I hated it but I met a recovered alcoholic who told me I could recover in a matter of days if I followed the simple suggestions in the Book instead of just going to meetings, so I did.
I went back to see the shrink after 2 weeks and he couldn't believe what he was hearing, I was saying everything he had been trying to steer me towards.
I was sane and it showed. He slowly weaned me off the paxil over 3 months and, actually I think I still have a couple of those pink torpedoes somewhere, 10 yrs old by now. I gave him a copy of the big book and shook his hand, never saw him again.
Unfortunately it seems to work faster for dummies like me.
Drunks can't be too dumb to get well in AA but I've seen a few who were too clever. Theres somethin in the bible about that, God chose the fool to confound the wise, that no flesh shall glory in His sight. Peace.
Suzuki,
with respect to all things AA, the truth is in the Book, anything that isn't in the Big Book or can't be reconciled with the Book is opinion .
I believe you talked to the wrong people because the degree of your problem is clearly addressed in the book on page 34 "Whether such a person can quit upon a nonspiritual basis depends upon the extent to which he has already lost the power to choose whether he will drink or not. "
http://www.whytehouse.com/big_book_search/book/ch3p34.html
That clearly implies there are degrees of severity.
Or look at this example on page 21 ,
"Then we have a certain type of hard drinker. He may have the habit badly enough to gradually impair him physically and mentally. It may cause him to die a few years before his time. If a sufficiently strong reason-ill health, falling in love, change of environment, or the warning of a doctor-becomes operative, this man can also stop or moderate, although he may find it difficult and troublesome and may even need medical attention. "
Sounds like he MUST be an alkie right? physically and mentally impaired due to drinking, may need medical help , hospitalization and might die before his time from the booze. An alcoholic right?
But he is NOT an alcoholic , because given enough reason to quit he can.!
So it seems either you talked to people who don't know the program or are still "recovering" (AKA; still sick).
AA is also full of non alcoholics, wasting their lives drinking joe and scarfing the donuts down, because some judge declared them to be an alkie, they came and liked the social aspect and stayed, and they are welcome but the danger is when a real alkie walks in and thinks this non alkie knows the program because they talk a good game and toss a few slogans around, but what works for the non alcholic will kill the real alcoholic.
AA should not be the first resort, it only works when its the last house on the block, all other options should be tried, its only then that a person will be willing enough to go to any length.
My shrink asked me "how many beers do you drink a day"
( I thought he was offering to go to the liquor store for me)
I said 4 , he said 'yeh you're an alcoholic.'
Not because I drank 4 every night, but because I was obviously nuts and he could see alcohol was my form of sedation.
He had tried to help me for 2 yrs and we couldn't get very far, the antidepressants were probably keeping me alive thru all that time.
He advised I try a few AA meetings, I hated it but I met a recovered alcoholic who told me I could recover in a matter of days if I followed the simple suggestions in the Book instead of just going to meetings, so I did.
I went back to see the shrink after 2 weeks and he couldn't believe what he was hearing, I was saying everything he had been trying to steer me towards.
I was sane and it showed. He slowly weaned me off the paxil over 3 months and, actually I think I still have a couple of those pink torpedoes somewhere, 10 yrs old by now. I gave him a copy of the big book and shook his hand, never saw him again.
Unfortunately it seems to work faster for dummies like me.
Drunks can't be too dumb to get well in AA but I've seen a few who were too clever. Theres somethin in the bible about that, God chose the fool to confound the wise, that no flesh shall glory in His sight. Peace.
. Life is better when you don't use booze or drugs as a crutch as life's feel good tool.