Don't know who came up with those statistics but do you really want to totally disregard your own willpower? Even on the off chance that you have some?

I'm not even sure what people mean by "willpower." I am not using a program like AA. Does that mean I am using willpower?

I don't really think so..... I don't really have the desire to drink, so willpower isn't part of it. After all, I am not WILLING myself to overcome the desire to drink.

Unless you define willpower as self discipline. It takes self discipline on my part to do the things I need to so that I do not have the desire (or obsession) to drink.

Jersey, I am old school. Willpower means ability to control oneself; strength or firmness of mind. (Funk and Wagnall)

i think the statistics are made up of all the members of the alcoholism group that listed "willpower" as one of their treatments. I could be wrong though. It wasn't until i turned my will over to the care of a higher power that I found some meaningful recovery.

Will power for many is the power to stay abstinent from drinking, it takes much more to maintain recovery and sobriety. But you can't deal with any issues or find a higher power or anything of that nature if you are drinking, so you must be abstinent to begin the other processes.

15 years ago, the day after Easter, I quit drinking - well staying abstinent from alcohol and to this day still am, never picked up a drink since Easter Sunday 15 years ago - it wasn't until about 5 years ago I started dealing with the issues but still abstinent.

Maybe...but for some people, it works. One of my best friends has been clean and sober for 20 years. He quit, after some pretty horrific black outs, a family history of alcoholism, etc. etc. at 22 and hasnt had a drink (or a drug) since. I've quit other things, and succeeded in other aspects of my life based on sheer will power. So like in most things.....its all about the individual!

Willpower never worked for me where alcohol is concerned. Seems that for some people it does but I conclude from that that we don't all have the same problem with alcohol.

I've looked at a few profiles of folks who state that willpower is "working/worked" and have witnessed them reset their "goal" dozens of times.

Of course, there are some who have been able to do it on their own, so I'm certainly not lumping them into the same category...but.....many who claim it's working or worked seem to have a skewed idea of the definition of "worked" as pertaining to alcoholism. :)

If you want some info. on the best information about self will ever written refer to the big book of AA to page 60 start reading where it says; Being convinced.
Stop reading it on page 63 I think " we are reborn".
I am not a thumper but this specific writing is freaking awesome.

not posting this to the originator of this post, but for anybody that wants a good read that is not familiar with the big book.

Self wiil always worked for me. Usually between the liquor store and the garage reefer. Half hour at the most...

Yep. I couldn't use my own willpower because the ole disease had overpowered the mind until the mind was out to kill me. And nearly did. Several times.

The 12x12 talks about the right use of the will.

To do all of the 12 Steps requires sustained and personal exertion to conform to their principles.

We must use our own willpower to conform to God's will.

Don't give up on your own will, just use it right.

My will= bad

HP's will= good

For me anyway. It took some serious soul searching and most importantly step work to even know what the difference was. My will always got me exactly the same thing, Institutions. At one of those institutions i was extremely confused about what God's will and what my will were. I asked a worker there that i had known from the rooms. She told me that that early in recovery all i had to know was that it was my will to use drugs. And God's will for me to stay clean. Since that day i decided that i would try to align my will with God's will and stay clean, just for today. I haven't used since. I know my HP has my back. It doesn't mean that i can't still take my will back at anytime, after all I am still an addict. But i do have the most important gift I have or will ever receive in recovery, The gift of choice. So today i choose recovery.

My will power once kept me sober for like 2 weeks. The rest of the times it was 8-9 hours.