Originally Posted by
keithj 
If the problem were as simple as a physical addiction, then a detox would be sufficient for recovery. Just get your body 'unused' to those things, and we'd all recover. Time spent without ingesting alcohol would be a cure.
My alcoholism centers in my mind. I have an obsession that I can't think my way out of.
I disagree. I quit both smoking and drinking for six weeks a while ago and then two months on different occasions. I was out of the detox phase on both. What led me back to both was my inability to deal with reality in a positive way - a lack of coping skills to be exact. Again, a choice. I could have made another choice but didn't know what other choice to make.
As a sidenote, I had a bottle of wine in my fridge for a month and FORGOT about it - yes forgot. I was on a maximum dosage of mood stabilizer when this happened - my miracle drug. It is not about an "alcoholic mind." FOR ME. It's about neurochemistry and coping skills or lack thereof.