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Old 08-27-2009, 10:32 AM
  # 19 (permalink)  
keithj
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Join Date: Apr 2009
Posts: 3,095
Originally Posted by eddie73 View Post
It seems to me that there is a percentage or type of alcoholic that is more vunerable to relapse due to boredom and frustration.
Yep. That type of alcoholic is known commonly as the common alcoholic.

To my ears, boredom and frustration sounds a lot like restless, irritable, and discontent.

Alcohol was my solution, not my problem. My problem has always been me. I try to wrest satisfaction out of life by making the world conform to my desires. And when it doesn't, it doesn't feel fun. It seems boring. And I get frustrated. And irritable.

I don't know if it's the cause or effect of alcoholism, but I don't relate to life very well. In fact, the way I relate to life is sure to lead me to drinking again.

So I had to have a profound alteration in my reaction to life. This is exactly what AA's 12 steps promised me. And it's exactly what I got when I took those steps. Further, my reaction stays this way as long as I'm practicing the principles of those steps.

I'm guessing that people who relapse after a long time either never had a profound alteration in their reaction to life, or they let that alteration slip away by not practicing these principles.
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