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.
Hello everyone. Yesterday I had the opportunity of seeing the disease of addiction in action. We were out working on some houses. A friend of mine, Carlos, was with us. Things were going along good. We were having a good time. Carlos seemed all there. Later in the day Carlos got Bob to stop and buy him some beer. He had a couple, and I noticed some change. Now he was seeming impatient, and wanting to go. Bob wanted to fix a couple of things so they would be ready for the next step. I know Carlos, and I know about the addictions that still have him.. I knew from experience myself, that what happened was that as soon as the alcohol was in his system, it had taken over. He was now thinking, and reacting with alcohol. I know that, as it did for me, alcohol opens the door that leads to drugs. He was set on going home. I knew he would have even walked home. the drug was calling him. As so many of us, the amount has nothing to do with it. The fact is that we need to know what being powerless really means. It took me a long time to get that. I never understood about being powerless. I could always drink 5 or 6 beers, and I never liked getting drunk. After years of in and out of A.A. I started hearing the people that were close to me. they would tell me I changed when I drank. I could never see it myself. I always thought I was alright, but I started beleiving them. I definetly knew something wrong happened when I drank, because I would do things that I didn't want to do. after I started to realize what really is an alcoholic. Like it says in the Big Book, we have an alergy. now I don't know much about an alergy, but I do know that alcohol in any amount affects me differant, and I change. Like Carlos, if I allow alcohol in my system it takes controle, and renders me powerless over everything. I can't predict the outcome of anything. Although I may still feel very much in control, and even appear to others alright, alcohol renders my thinking powerless. Carlos, like many of us, is a good person, but he doesn't understand that he's powerless. Unfortunately he needs to go his path and decide for himself when he's had enough. Just thought I would share this. It helps me to understand so much when I watch others. god bless. James
god bless
Dionne
While I still believed I had power I thought that if I was determined enough or deperate enough or really, really made a choice or things got really bad or I put all sorts of strategies in place then I would be able to stop drinking.
It had never worked before but the delusions of alcoholism had a firm grip over me and I kept believing that this time it would be different. It never was.
When I grasped that I was powerless when I had taken a drink due to the phenomenon of craving, and powerless before I took a drink due to the mental obsession, the insanity of my behaviour in the face of all the terrible consequences started to make sense.
I realised things would never be any different if I carried on trying to stay sober on my own - it could never work. My rational mind that registered the consequences and the desperation not to drink would always be over ridden by the insane thinking that leads me to the first drink. Looking back honestly at my own experience I could see that this had always been the case.
This opened the way for me to grasp another solution, which required no power from me. Just the willingness, open mindedness and honesty to follow some simple instructions which saved my life.
An alcoholic will steal you're money then come back and tell you how sorry he is.
An addict will come back and help you look for it. He is so far into his addiction he don't care