The statement that stuck out to me was " THIS IS A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH" . Ask yourself is it worth that one drink or bender where you might not make it back?

For myself a drink is not an option.
Whats your thoughts?

slips are very rare, planned drunks are more common

Excellent timing G. Wow! This is really powerful....no one that ever has stuff like this happen EVER thinks it could happen to them. Why not you or me? What makes me more special than Bob, Jack or Ann? Not a thing! Not a thing!

Slipping is another word for procrastination.

Thanks gjm for the scary reminder!

Slips or planned drunks what the heck is the difference other than the wording. My wife after over 3 years sober weather she slipped or planned to drink never returned from her drinking as she put a gun to her head and killed herself.

The point here folks is that if we go back out for whatever reason....

WE MAY NOT RETURN

This disease of ours wants only one thing, to take our lives, one way or another. Think it can't happen to me, well think again because it can.

Mike, Still Truckinsober

If you've already experienced problems from drinking, then it's true that the next drink could be your last. When I first experienced health problems, I thought to myself "why didn't I see the signs and stop sooner"? Then I made some improvements and proceeded to drink again. It's a sick cycle that drives us to these measures, but it's a relief to wake-up before it's too late.

ive gone through that thought before " i can just stop again!" then i think it through and realize i prolly wont get the oppurtunity to stop again , i,ll prolly be in jail , or dead every time i play the tape through it alwasy ends with me alone , shamed and desperate theres to much to lose to give it another shot are change my sbd

The next time you think that a drink is the answer.....go down to the nearest Detox Center and look around at all the sick people there. Try talking to that wet brain sitting in that wheelchair who will never speak again (and he is only 26). Dying to a drunk is not scary as most of us wanted to die while drinking. If I go back out there dying would be the easy way out. Sitting in a wheelchair, staring at the wall every day for the next 20 years, having someone feed me and change my diaper......now that scares the hell out of me.

A drink is not an option. Staying sober is not an option either. The only option is life or death or insanity.

Drinking is always an option, just not a viable one for me if I care to see many more sunrises. I go back out and am guaranteed to lose everything. Then it's downhill from there.
No man is an island...
Hugs,
Dennis

I stopped slipping when I stopped relying on my own power - the old Gail had to be killed off in order to survive. The Big Book mentions being reborn - and yes, I had to be. I could not rebuild the person that had led to my near destruction. I had to change everything with honesty, an open mind and willingness.

Today I rely on a Power greater than myself and guess what - it works!

For some reason I often get to sponsor chronic relapsers. They all seem to think that they have accepted powerlessness and yet they all display an attitude to relapse which indicates that they believe that they are still in control.

It is incredibly difficult to sponsor these people because they have been in AA so long that they have heard it all before, its do difficult to find something to say to them that is different because they already "know" everything that they've heard a million times. Trouble is they have listened but they havent accepted or done anything.

Every time they relapse it gets easier to relapse next time and they get more confident that they can drink and then come back to AA. AA will always be there but they and I never know when the time will come that they cant make it back through the doors.

I spent some time a couple of years ago sponsoring someone who has been in AA for 20 years and has had no meaningful periods of sobriety. At the point I sponsored her she was absolutely convinced she was powerless but everything she said indicated that she had no concept of what powerlessness was about and certainly didnt believe she was. She has been relapsing regularly for all that time and that has given her the illusion that it is safe. I've done it for 20 years so one more time will be ok.

I havent seen her in a while.

Sorry to hear about that truckin. I was merely modifying an old saying "There are no slips only planned drunks" I guess the point is the word slip is almost a denial word.

Thanks for the topic gjm...I guess we can ALL picture a time where we give ourselves permission to "slip"...I focus on how very hard it was to gain my sobriety that I don't want to "test" it...no slippage here :-)

I don't focus on how hard it was to get sober. Once I realized that I couldn't drink, that I was done, it was doable. (I never really tried to cut back before quitting.)

I focus on that it is poison. I focus on knowing that if I drink it will end up running my life again. Even if I drank occasionally, it wouldn't work for me. I would spend sooooo much time planning what day I could have a glass of wine or beer. Or whether I could have one or two. Even if I didn't drink to passing out every day it would still run my life. And then it would ruin it.

And the buzz, the fuzziness of thinking, then the slurring of words, the "happiness" which is just the result of deadening the senses and the mind. When it isn't ruining your life, drinking still isn't all that great.

Slippin, relapse, triggers... It's sad when others do, and I hope and pray they can take the action towards a better path, but my life is my responsibility, and I will not put it at risk. I don't need to go and find out if I can drink again or not. I remember.

I gain strength from the encouragement and accountability of those around me, and my faith grows stronger in prayer. My life, and those around me is not worth the risk. Uh uh, no permission granted here. Not an option for me either GJM.