Alcoholism Support Group

OK, this talk about a family disease is just AA talk to me and so I have no further comments. I'll try to stay away from threads like this and stick to those that are more neutral with respect to recovery methods.

Actually, it's not an "AA thing" or an "Alanon thing" or any other 12 step venue. It is accepted by all recovery experts. I encourage you to research the subject.

Bato again right on the money.

There is more talked about in this group than AA. There some here with medical backgrounds as well as psychology/psychiatric professionals. It just might pay off to listen/read with an open mind. To be teachable is to be humble.

The recovery industry, addiction professionals, the disease model and support groups for family members are primarily AA/NA oriented. This alcoholism support group is primarily AA oriented. That's why some people have found it necessary to start a non-12-step discussion forum. So, since I am not an AA member and since I will be posting opinions that will only cause dissension I feel that I and the rest of the members here would be better off if I unsubscribed from this forum and continued to post only on the other one.

I don't see this thread as having anything to do with AA at all.

My family loves me and when I am doing something to hurt myself, they are affected. They worried about me driving, they worried about me drinking myself to death, they worried about me losing my job, they worried when I could not pay my bills, I screamed & yelled at them while drinking & started fights over many trivial issues, I ignored their phone calls, I did not visit with them often because I'd rather hide & drink & they missed me, my mother was trying to figure out what SHE could have done differently so that I was not an alcoholic, etc. The list goes on and on....

It's wonderful that your family wasn't affected by your drinking. I sure caused a lot of pain to mine....

Nondrinker,

My topic has absolutely nothing to do with Alcoholics Anonymous. It's about being aware of the residual effects of our disease in connection to our family members even after becoming sober.

Our family members were forced to adjust to our sickness resulting in a dysfunctional way of living that progressively developed. This is a fact. I was simply attempting to provide acknowledgment and recognition of such.

Perhaps you might ask your family members how your drinking affected them and what their feelings about it are.

For example, co-dependency is one of the more common dysfunctional ailments of alcoholic spouses.

I just wanted you to know that AA is not the subject here.

Peace & ease

Yeah I gave them space about 7 yrs worth so far. some have toxic parent's like me for instance, we never reconciled that, it's sad and unfortanate, but something I can't fix, I have tried so I let it go, had too for my own health. I am in a battle for my life from a disease and not just alcoholism. Some are fortunate to have a family out there that gave them the time of day, in the family I grew up in, it was way too toxic and is something I couldn't fix or make better, I have a family full of alcoholism. now my family is my wife, 3 cat's and 2 parakeet's and AA.

The Big Book states that years of living with an alcoholic would make any family neurotic. I always remember that while I drank my pain and guilt away, my loved ones felt the pain with nothing to medicate their pain with. And congrats Mike, when did you two tie the knot?