Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
it's the same disease: addiction. it's the drug of choice that differs; sometimes the behavior of choice:
-alcohol
-crack/cocaine
-heroin/opiates
-gambling
-sex
-marijuana
-pills
these are all addictions. look at AA. it's been adapted/modified to assist not only alcoholics, but narcotic addicts, sex addicts, gambling addicts, and food addicts. the twelve steps may differ from program to program, but the basis is the same.
i walked into an NA meeting once and walked right back out. i've stuck around for AA meetings. i've considered finding a home meeting. but alcohol has never been my first drug of choice.... until all my other drugs were taken away, that is.
why the different stigmas associated with alcoholics and other drug addicts? we've all heard the term 'functioning alcoholic'; most of us probably know one. how many of us really have seen 'functioning heroin addicts' in action? 'functioning meth addicts'? they exist, but the stigma is different. if you're a crack or heroin user, you're a junkie; you're in the gutter. if you're a cocaine user, you party too much and are high strung, possibly maintaining a job but not a full on junkie. if you're an alcoholic, you can run the gamut of in the streets to professional who puts on a great face.
so why do i identify more with alcoholics? is it because i grew up surrounded by alcoholics in denial and i'm familiar with the patterns? is it because it's my most recent addiction? is it because alcoholics are less judgmental than other addicts? or is it the 'clientele', so to speak. most alcoholics in recovery seem more mature, they seem more ready to take recovery seriously. they seem more interested in WORKING THEIR RECOVERY? is that it?
does that mean alcoholics and addicts of other drugs are NOT the same? should alcoholism be treated differently than other addictions? addictive behavior is addictive behavior: what is the difference that makes one addict pick crack, one pick meth, one pick alcohol?
-alcohol
-crack/cocaine
-heroin/opiates
-gambling
-sex
-marijuana
-pills
these are all addictions. look at AA. it's been adapted/modified to assist not only alcoholics, but narcotic addicts, sex addicts, gambling addicts, and food addicts. the twelve steps may differ from program to program, but the basis is the same.
i walked into an NA meeting once and walked right back out. i've stuck around for AA meetings. i've considered finding a home meeting. but alcohol has never been my first drug of choice.... until all my other drugs were taken away, that is.
why the different stigmas associated with alcoholics and other drug addicts? we've all heard the term 'functioning alcoholic'; most of us probably know one. how many of us really have seen 'functioning heroin addicts' in action? 'functioning meth addicts'? they exist, but the stigma is different. if you're a crack or heroin user, you're a junkie; you're in the gutter. if you're a cocaine user, you party too much and are high strung, possibly maintaining a job but not a full on junkie. if you're an alcoholic, you can run the gamut of in the streets to professional who puts on a great face.
so why do i identify more with alcoholics? is it because i grew up surrounded by alcoholics in denial and i'm familiar with the patterns? is it because it's my most recent addiction? is it because alcoholics are less judgmental than other addicts? or is it the 'clientele', so to speak. most alcoholics in recovery seem more mature, they seem more ready to take recovery seriously. they seem more interested in WORKING THEIR RECOVERY? is that it?
does that mean alcoholics and addicts of other drugs are NOT the same? should alcoholism be treated differently than other addictions? addictive behavior is addictive behavior: what is the difference that makes one addict pick crack, one pick meth, one pick alcohol?
Well thats your viewpoint and its an absolute, but thats not my experience. I attempt to stay away from using the absolutes of broad brushing. I know recovered alcoholics that have been sober for decades that smoke weed.
How about prescription drugs?
Due to pain management, I know abstinent alcoholics that had no intention of using prescription drugs beyond whats prescribed. Not only had they become addicted to the prescription drug but they also drank again. Yet, I know other abstinent alcoholics that had no problem taking pain meds. One size doesnt fit all.
BTW, Ive heard your viewpoint from many AA fellowship members over the years, that is, while some are puffing away on cigarettes. Some of these AA fellowship members that are addicted to nicotine are also spending their time at the casino gambling their paycheck away. Yet, they claim to be sober.
Impermanence writesrather than solve out problems We get used to getting the artificial reward and no longer need to face reality. It doesn't make much difference which drug we use.
In the context that you wrote, non-substance addiction another artificial reward which also changes body chemistry to alter reality. As the saying goes, its doing the outsides, which is trying to heal inside wounds with outside dressings.
Gambling, shopaholism, workalism, etc. are obsessive disorders of the materialist capitalist society. Shoppers kill each other on Black Friday just to save a buck.
Even compulsively posting on forums like this, or attending AA meetings can turn into an obsession. In the context of this type of behavior, no obsession works, it creates tunnel vision, where the addict is predisposed. In essence the predisposition tends to block out other relationships just as alcohol (ism) or any self-destructive addictive substance, including nicotine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=czu_8e6J-R8
My OD reply / comment on #27 was in the context of addicts having to control their intake. The poster wrote addicts and to me this means ALL addicts and this isnt true, so I corrected the error. Experienced smokers know what they want by how they feel and what strain they use, thus they dont OD. Its that simple.
Besides, if you were confident about your experiences / opinion, you wouldnt react in an angry manner. I dont get angry with anyone on these forums and Ive been posting on these types of forums for about 14 years. Im a new poster on this forum and I have already had arrows shot at me for my viewpoint. I considered the source, which comes from ignorance (lack of experience / knowledge).
Forums are places where people come to learn and grow. If everyone agreed all the time the learning would be very limited. As with any group, theyll be some heated discussions and some will get their feelings hurt. Hurt feelings sometimes are just symptoms (indicators) of unresolved emotional / mental issues. Uncovering, discovering and discarding these issues is what can help one grow.
BTW, Im also a mcmick, Im of Irish descent from the original hood, South Boston (Southie) Massachusetts. The Irish call Southie the 33rd county of Ireland. The neighborhood house on my block had a Sinn Fein plaque over the entrance door. As a young adult, I drank with IRA members at pubs that still exist today.
Im lucky I survived my neighborhood; in my day (I was born during WWII) it was one of the most brutal in the USA. I was afraid to go to school until I got big and strong enough to take care of myself in my junior and senior years of high school. This was due to my competitive Freestyle and Greco Roman wrestling experience. Therefore, Im not impressed with your tough guy routine.
addictive behaviors are addictive behaviors. it's not enough to abstain from the substance or behavior; that's the first part. the second part is doing the self work to find out what drove this behavior. when i stopped smoking weed, i started drinking. when i stopped doing coke, i went back to weed. i then spent 11 years 'clean' - drug free - but went through bouts of binge drinking that now make me cringe. it's only these past 11 months that i honestly consider myself sober.
i have been prescribed painkillers that others abuse - i don't abuse them. i have been presented many opportunities to drink - i choose not to. not just because i decided to abstain, but because i have been working on addressing the underlying reasons for my addictive behavior; i am not a 'dry drunk'. can i buy a lotto ticket without it being my 'drug of choice' now? sure i can - because i'm addressing that behavior. a few years ago when i went on a cruise, the casino was a huge problem for me because i hadn't recognized the behavior.
the addictive patterns of thinking and addictive behaviors are what make addicts addicts and alcoholics alcoholics. i appreciate and agree with the statement 'i drank because i am an alcoholic' but how much self work has to be done, how many steps have to be worked, before that realization is made? how much addictive behavior is changed?
'a lot' is the answer.
Alcoholism runs in my family so I believe there could well be a genetic link. No matter how much work I did on my behaviour etc (and I did a lot over the years, but particularly through the 12 Step programme) I was not going to recover without a spiritual solution through a Power greater than myself. The simple facts of my experience and consequent recovery.
Most of the differences in lifestyle from one drug to another are caused by the drugs prohibition or lack thereof rather than the drugs pharmacology
Lots of dual addicted folk in our meetings and they often introduce themselves as such but don't share on using rituals, drug paraphernalia, eating disorders or any addiction per se. They share about their alcoholism. To do anything else would only serve to confuse those of us who are not similarly afflicted or addicted and water down the message of recovery from alcoholism. There are many, many 12 Step alternatives and so all are catered for in one way or another.
Different opinions are what makes the world go round. Having said that, scientifically speaking alcoholism is an addiction
i was hoping to ignite an interesting, respectful discussion.
I know that for me I'm grateful for AA's singleness of purpose.That identification helped me realize I had a huge issue, and one that had a huge solution:-) Thank god. If I'd walked into an NA meeting I never would have stuck. Ditto for gambling, sex, hording, etc. etc. Just not "my* thing.
I don't think all addictions are the same. Similarities yes, the same, no.
Then at the same time, there are some of these same AA members that practice a type of separatism, that is claiming that any mind altering substance is considered a relapse or slip. This is while some are puffing away on their cigarette and / or spending their mortgage payment at the casino!
Both Al-Anon / ACOA use the 12 Steps. I used both these programs for my recovery from alcoholism more so than I used AA. My recovery from alcoholism was mostly by addressing via Al-Anon / ACOA my co-dependency issues, re: Im not enoughism and fear of abandonment. Being addicted to relationships that dont work is still addiction no matter how anyone wants to rationalize it. Obsession is just another word for addiction and in this context, obsession(s) dont work!