Recovered and or Recovering

[AnotherDrunk]

Originally Posted by Rob B

It reminds me that there are are a lot of sick and suffering folks in AA who have not had a drink in years. My unsolicited advice, find a sponsor who has recovered from alcoholism and can tell you exactly how it works. Your life may very well depend on who you choose as a sponsor, anybody that is not pushing you to growing spiritually is one to be leary of.

How can a person tell if a person has recovered or not? It's a process and never ends so when you say "recovered" it sounds like something that I've never witnessed.

I was sober 22 years and relapsed. I thought I had or was on the road to recovery but yet I drank again, merely as an experiment.

I don't believe there is such a thing "recovered", there is only recovering and it's impossible to get into someone's mind to know if they're verging on drinking.

[Rob B]

Recovery is ongoing, agreed.
To recover from alcoholism simply means the problem has been removed.It does not mean I am cured. I will always have an alcoholic body. However, in a recovered state, There is no craving and no mental obsession.

This topic gets kicked around here every now and then, In the Foreword to AA's Basic Text, the Big Book, the authors write, "To show other alcoholics precisely how we have recovered is the main purpose of this book

You either believe it or you don't. I believe it because it has happened to me. My book tells me exactly how to recover, and how to maintain my ongoing recovery by using spiritual priciples.

[CarolD]

I noticed I was using the term recovered
when I was about 10 years AA sober.
It simply happened that I shifted my perception.

2 members of my home group got peeved with me
because I often said Carol...recovered alcoholic.

Sooo, I did some on line checking and found
a site that listed all 87 times recovered was
used in our basic text...with page numbers.
( The Primary Purpose site I think.)

I printed it out and handed it to both members
and here we are years later

I still say Carol...recovered alcoholic.
And they still mumble.
We are all active in our group and sober!

Sharing my experience with recovered vs recovering.
I hope everyone is finding their way into recovery.

[sugErspun]

Recovered. My grand sponsor says it each time he qualifies.

All the symptoms of alcoholism are gone, and the 'hidden' allergy is not an issue since he hasn't poured any alcohol on it.

I also heard said "If you recover from alcoholism, drinking won't be a problem."

Recovery is so much more than not drinking. The book promises us this.

If you are really curious - read the BB and count how many times the word 'recovered' is used, not recovering, but recovered.

There is a difference.

If you think AA relegates you to a life of 'recovering', you may want to read the common solution again.

edit (I didn't see you posted the book reference Carol - tks)

[BP44]

I have recovered from a hopeless state of mind, body and spirit. This happend as promised after the course of action taken in steps 4 -9. The only place a process of recovery is mentioned is in The Family Afterwards. And I have found this to be true, as well.

[CarolD]

As we were replying on another thread
we got off on this topic.

I split the thread as this deserves
it's own space .

Please continue to share with respect
Thanks!

[best]

As I well know... I am still an alcoholic as in the fact that when alcohol gets added to my system things don't go well for me inside but I don't crave alcohol and my spiritual nature is healing more and more each day.
I am a work in progress... a recovered work in progress but like a house of cards...I can be knocked over easy if I pick up that first drink.

My old desires are healed but just as a bone heals from a break...it could break again if I do the wrong things.
Recovered...not cured.

[Signal30]

The simplest way I look at it is every day behind me is a sober day (physical and emotional) and was a recovered day. I was not tempted nor had the temptation to drink, I did my best to live and act by Gods will, did my best to have concern for others, and my intentions were in the right place. Today I am recovering.

If I die emotionally and physically sober then I figure others can say, "Tom was a guy who recovered from alcoholism".

Tom

[stone]

As far as AA goes it says at the start of the BB 'the story of how many thousands of man and women have recovered from alcoholism'...but later it says 'we are not cured of alcoholism, what we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition'.

Recovered and cured sound like synonyms to me. So those two statements are contradictory...to me.

I dont really worry about it tho, I just focus on...

'what we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition'

[stone]

Ok, I think I get it now! LOL

Recovered, the problem has been removed, as in the obsession to drink.

We arent cured though because we could never drink like normal people.

Maybe that is it?

I am a bit slow sometimes!

[1cor13]

I have been reading the First Edition Stories in the Big Book and a good portion of the people in those stories prescribe to the fact that they are cured or have found a cure to their alcoholism. I haven’t read the 2nd Edition Stories but haven’t seen cured in the 3rd or 4th.

Keep in mind that this book needed recovery stories and they needed them fast this book was going to print. So the daily reprieve contingent upon the maintenance of a spiritual condition was not read by anyone until the book was released.

I have found that if I keep to the spiritual principals and live the 12steps to the best of my ability I stay sober if I don’t over the course of time I backslide into my old ways.

[stone]

I have to admit I haven't read a single story in the BB!

The first 164 pages are the BB to me, they could drop the stories as far as I am concerned.

[jimhere]

A lot of people that say that they are recovering aren't.

[1cor13]

Originally Posted by stone

I have to admit I haven't read a single story in the BB!

The first 164 pages are the BB to me, they could drop the stories as far as I am concerned.

Yes I have felt that way too but then realized that Dr Bob’s story and AA’s number three were pretty important readings. In fact these stories and people were instrumental in bringing this fellowship together thus giving birth to AA.

[stone]

Originally Posted by 1cor13

Yes I have felt that way too but then realized that Dr Bob’s story and AA’s number three were pretty important readings. In fact these stories and people were instrumental in bringing this fellowship together thus giving birth to AA.

Yea, I have read those two actually.

[Tazman53]

I am recovered today, as long as I stay spiritually fit, I have at times slid back into recovering when my spirituality slips. Just my spin on recovered vs recovering.

I have a lot more recovered days now then I used to, and I do prefer the recovered ones to the recovering ones. That being said I have heard plenty of folks in the program say recovering with a lot of time under their belts that simply glow with recovery, I have no business debating with them whether in my book they are recovered or recovering, if I did they would probably just laugh!!

[sugErspun]

There are many references to the stories in the big book in those 'first 164' (i.e everything from the title page until the end of 'A Vision for You'.)

My personal opinion is that any version of the book which leaves out the personal stories is incomplete.

[Tazman53]

My personal opinion is that any version of the book which leaves out the personal stories is incomplete.

Which ones? 1st, 2nd, 3rd, or 4th edition? LOL I agree the stories do offer hope.

[PaperDolls]

Growing up I was taught "Once and alcoholic, always an alcoholic" and that you are always recovering not recovered.

You never know when there might be a bump in the road. Thank goodness we can learn something new every day.

[Sheryl85]

Originally Posted by stone

As far as AA goes it says at the start of the BB 'the story of how many thousands of man and women have recovered from alcoholism'...but later it says 'we are not cured of alcoholism, what we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition'.

Recovered and cured sound like synonyms to me. So those two statements are contradictory...to me.

I dont really worry about it tho, I just focus on...

'what we really have is a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition'

The forward to the first edition talks about being recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. However, I totally agree with Stone, when he quoted the part about it being contingent on the maintenance of our spiritual condition. As we draw close to Step 10 (and have done everything asked of us between Steps two through 10), the BB makes that statement about sanity will have returned. I will reiterate that it doesn’t say one darn thing about sanity staying… we’ve got to do the maintenance to keep it. So, normally when I say that I’ve recovered I add the part about from that seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.

I will admit to you that I do try to practice K.I.S.S. and keep it as simple as possible by just saying my name and then adding that I’m a alcoholic. For me simple is better and less confusing for the newcomer.

Oh, and as far as the stories are concerned, if I hadn't had the chance to read all those personal accounts in the back of the book I would have never gotten to learn about acceptance being the key to all my problems today or how 14 days of prayer can help me overcome a stubborn resentment or one of the best definition of insanity I've ever read....what a personal loss that would have been.

[Tazman53]

Paperdolls when the BB speaks of recovered it is:

We, of Alcoholics Anonymous, are more than one hundred men and women who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body

That I have recovered from as the BB says, I will always be an alcoholic, but I am no longer in a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body.

[1cor13]

Recovered and Recovering?

Step 11, Sought through pray and meditation to improve conscious contact with god as we understand him praying only for the knowledge of his will for us and the power to carry that out.

Sought (still seeking) to improve my relationship (make something better) with god as I understand him. Praying only for the knowledge of his will (continued happiness sobriety) and power to carry that out (the know how to do it).

Recovered suggests something that no longer requires treatment, something that I no longer have to act on or take care of. Recovering suggests continued treatment.

I’m an alcoholic I think I’ll stick with that, it seems to stick with me.

[Tazman53]

I will always be recovering from my alcoholism, I have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body. Could I return to a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body? You bet, my alcoholism could take me right back there if I do not maintain my spiritual condition fit.

I can fix a flat on my car and the tire will stay inflated as long as I do not run over something again, when I do the tire is no longer inflated, it is deflated!

I’m an alcoholic I think I’ll stick with that, it seems to stick with me.

Me too! LOL

[1cor13]

How do you know LOL?

[FightingIrish]

I can't wait until I'm recovered, so I can drink again.

Or, as I heard recently in a meeting:

"I wish I weren't an alcoholic, then I could drink all the time."

Originally Posted by 1cor13

How do you know LOL?