View Poll Results: Are you powerless over alcohol?
Yes
78
45.88%
No
74
43.53%
Maybe
18
10.59%
Voters: 170. You may not vote on this poll
Powerless over alcohol?
Member
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Michigan
Posts: 1,945
I'm powerless but not all AA members are powerless they have power thats not there power cuz there tappped in to the one GOD the bb talks about and they have a daily reprive to stay tapped into it.bb pg 46 we began to be possesed of a new sense of powerbb pg 63 As we felt new power flow in pg 386 4th edition Here was power to live to the end of any given day, power to have courage to face the next day,power to have friends,power to help people.power to be sane,power to stay sober.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Posts: 215
To really find out if your powerless you have to have tried for years to drink normally / safely or tried stopping and staying stopped on your own will power.
If years of repeating the experiment get you nowhere and things actually seem to be getting worse the harder you try, then it might just be that you cannot muster the necessary mental power to moderate or stop.
Any one who drank and drank, never tried to moderate or stop, then one day just said "enough" and willed themselves not to drink ever since, has power.
You either have it or you don't and this determines what type of treatment you should seek.
If years of repeating the experiment get you nowhere and things actually seem to be getting worse the harder you try, then it might just be that you cannot muster the necessary mental power to moderate or stop.
Any one who drank and drank, never tried to moderate or stop, then one day just said "enough" and willed themselves not to drink ever since, has power.
You either have it or you don't and this determines what type of treatment you should seek.
Member
Join Date: Aug 2014
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Posts: 215
To really find out if your powerless you have to have tried for years to drink normally / safely or tried stopping and staying stopped on your own will power.
If years of repeating the experiment get you nowhere and things actually seem to be getting worse the harder you try, then it might just be that you cannot muster the necessary mental power to moderate or stop.
Any one who drank and drank, never tried to moderate or stop, then one day just said "enough" and willed themselves not to drink ever since, has power.
You either have it or you don't and this determines what type of treatment you should seek.
If years of repeating the experiment get you nowhere and things actually seem to be getting worse the harder you try, then it might just be that you cannot muster the necessary mental power to moderate or stop.
Any one who drank and drank, never tried to moderate or stop, then one day just said "enough" and willed themselves not to drink ever since, has power.
You either have it or you don't and this determines what type of treatment you should seek.
Let me make this clear I am not with AA not with AA
And I never done the steps
Nor did I hand things over
I got sober alone cold turkey
For me its an understanding if I drink I knows what happens next and when I drink I can't control it and in abstinence I still have AV
Is that empowerment by not acting on the voice or are we at risk from that same first drink if we do
If it is I'm empowered but to do what not to drink I have always had a choice
I say it for safety to remind your ego mine wants to kill me and the second I think I'm he man or that I've beaten this well there have been field studies and some are still out there suffering because of this so called power and my heart is with them always
I'll never beat this and when I do I won't even know it
Fo real my Fo real this is not castle greyskull and I'm not he man
And I never done the steps
Nor did I hand things over
I got sober alone cold turkey
For me its an understanding if I drink I knows what happens next and when I drink I can't control it and in abstinence I still have AV
Is that empowerment by not acting on the voice or are we at risk from that same first drink if we do
If it is I'm empowered but to do what not to drink I have always had a choice
I say it for safety to remind your ego mine wants to kill me and the second I think I'm he man or that I've beaten this well there have been field studies and some are still out there suffering because of this so called power and my heart is with them always
I'll never beat this and when I do I won't even know it
Fo real my Fo real this is not castle greyskull and I'm not he man
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Posts: 638
That's a question that leaves room for interpretation.
1. The body and brain are powerless over alcohol, in the sense that the chemical will do changes and do the same things it always does. This is why it should never be put in the body.
The body is also powerless against water in the sense that it will hydrate it.
2. The mind may be weakened by the alcohol, but not powerless.
3. Conclusion: I may be powerless over the situtation that alcohol got me and made changes in brain chemistry. But I have the decision to remain sober now and always, and thus am not powerless.
1. The body and brain are powerless over alcohol, in the sense that the chemical will do changes and do the same things it always does. This is why it should never be put in the body.
The body is also powerless against water in the sense that it will hydrate it.
2. The mind may be weakened by the alcohol, but not powerless.
3. Conclusion: I may be powerless over the situtation that alcohol got me and made changes in brain chemistry. But I have the decision to remain sober now and always, and thus am not powerless.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: Washington, MO
Posts: 2,306
"Powerless" is an AA-speak word and a lead-in to trading booze for God. I am still amazed at how many folks refer to the BB as a tome of almighty truth. I do agree with the affirmative quality of the first step being "I can't drink and stop" or "Drinking only causes me problems", but it could have easily been worded as such. Either statement coupled with the Hokey-Pokey and some peer support would net the same results as AA. (IMO)
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: liverpool, england
Posts: 1,708
"Powerless" is an AA-speak word and a lead-in to trading booze for God. I am still amazed at how many folks refer to the BB as a tome of almighty truth. I do agree with the affirmative quality of the first step being "I can't drink and stop" or "Drinking only causes me problems", but it could have easily been worded as such. Either statement coupled with the Hokey-Pokey and some peer support would net the same results as AA. (IMO)
please dont get people like me confused with the holy rollers in aa who think there way is the only way. aa is not about god, its just some of the people in aa who believe it should be about god
thanks : )
I am powerless over alcohol but I do have the power to utilize the tools around me so that I do not have to drink.
I know exactly what happens to me, my family, and my life when I drink. I know that when I am drinking I lose control of everything. I lose the ability to decide how much I will drink or how long I will drink. I do stupid and reckless things when I drink. So yes I am powerless over alcohol.
I also, because of a program of recovery, have the tools to not drink if I choose each day to apply those tools to my life.
So one could say that because of the tools I am no longer powerless over alcohol but I would rather keep fresh in my mind that hopelessness, desperation, and pain I felt when I came into this program as it helps me keep a healthy respect for what alcohol can do in my life which keep me picking up those tools each day so that I do not drink.
I know exactly what happens to me, my family, and my life when I drink. I know that when I am drinking I lose control of everything. I lose the ability to decide how much I will drink or how long I will drink. I do stupid and reckless things when I drink. So yes I am powerless over alcohol.
I also, because of a program of recovery, have the tools to not drink if I choose each day to apply those tools to my life.
So one could say that because of the tools I am no longer powerless over alcohol but I would rather keep fresh in my mind that hopelessness, desperation, and pain I felt when I came into this program as it helps me keep a healthy respect for what alcohol can do in my life which keep me picking up those tools each day so that I do not drink.
and my amazement goes for anyone that has found a book that has helped them in any area of their life and believe what that book says.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: liverpool, england
Posts: 1,708
I am amazed,too! its awesome the theres people out there that found a solution in that book and believe what it says. can ya imagine what it would be like if they were still drinkin???
and my amazement goes for anyone that has found a book that has helped them in any area of their life and believe what that book says.
and my amazement goes for anyone that has found a book that has helped them in any area of their life and believe what that book says.
I read a thread here once where a guy was saying he would sit in AA and hear people talk about having no mental defense against the first drink and not know what they were talking about. He started using again and the next time he quit he knew exactly what that meant. He also said the phenomenon of cravings returned 10fold.
I answered No to that question and I have no desire to go back. Once in a while though my AV will try to whisper some BS in my ear. I think of that guy and how this thing is progressive.
I answered No to that question and I have no desire to go back. Once in a while though my AV will try to whisper some BS in my ear. I think of that guy and how this thing is progressive.
Recovered from Hopeless State
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 2,156
Personally, I don't think there are any tomes of almighty truth. I think there are people, past and present, who speak and write about a way of life that puts others before self. I think the big book reveals alcoholism as a symptom of doing the reverse and describes a step by step procedure for getting things in the right order.
i am entitled to my opinion and its real sad that when me or others who live the program as outlined in the BB get attacked for it.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Posts: 43
Voted no. No one is powerless over alcohol. Some people just lack the necessary willpower, cognitive tools, or perspective to effect their power. They are simply incompetent at stopping drinking.
Just as I am not a doctor - I'm not "powerless" to perform brain surgery; I simply lack the proper training.
A "higher power" is nothing more than a mind trick. Like a placebo.
Just as I am not a doctor - I'm not "powerless" to perform brain surgery; I simply lack the proper training.
A "higher power" is nothing more than a mind trick. Like a placebo.
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