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Originally Posted by intheknow  When I mentioned the AA meetings, she said that addicts/alcoholics need to go to 90 meetings in 90 days to ensure success.
He mentioned tonite when I was talking to him about this that he thought he was doing pretty well. Is this denial? Is this the disease?
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Hi - I am sorry.
The 90 meetings in 90 days is a recommendation to help alcoholics get a good start on their recovery. But, alcoholics have to want to stop drinking, and be truly honest with themselves that they are indeed alcoholics.
In Big Book speak this would be "acknowledging powerlessness over alcohol" and believeing that "my life is unmanageable".
If an alcoholic does not really believe these things, then the "90 in 90" won't
ensure anything. What the 90 meetings can do -- if the person can stay sober -- is to help them hear the stories of others so they can make their own decision to stop drinking and work on their recovery. They can begin to make the mental shift that will be critical to achieving long-term recovery.
Is he in denial? Who knows.
All I can say is that from my experience, if the
only thing he is doing is not drinking, then he is not really working on recovery -- and he will likely relapse.
It is critical to work on fixing the underlying problems for which alcohol was the solution. If he is not doing this, then he will ultimately fall back into the old traps.
Take care.