Mrak

Hi 2manyBobs,

As drunks we all too often tell ourselves, “I’m not that bad” or “I’ll quit if something terrible ever happens.” Guess what? If you wait for something terrible to happen, it will, and then it may be too late to ever recover from it. You don’t have to wait for a traumatic, life-altering event to take place for you to hit bottom and you don't have to be clinically deemed an alcoholic for it to be a problem.

Anything that gets in the way of you performing your daily responsibilities or creates conditions in your life - that you don't like - is a problem.

Here's a silly example. Let's say I loved playing "Sudoku" and I spent all my time doing it. I am so busy playing sudoku that I don't eat properly, I don't perform my job at work, mow my lawn or show up to non-sudoku events. People would simply say that I am obsessed with sudoku but they wouldn't give me the title “Sudokuholic” or suggest that I go through a 12-step program to stop - but it is still a problem for me.

I could set time limits for myself; "I will only play for two hours tonight," and stop after two hours without it physically affecting my thinking process. Whereas if I said; "I will only drink for two hours tonight..." I wouldn't be able to think as clearly afterwards - providing that I could even stop drinking after two hours.

The difference between alcohol and sudoku, golf, fishing, tennis, etc., is that once alcohol is introduced into the body it physically changes how your brain functions and how your mind interprets signals.

Total abstinence from alcohol is the only way that I can guarantee myself that I will never have problems due to my own drinking. Now sudoku,,, that's another story.

If you think you have a problem with alcohol, you probably already do have a problem with alcohol.

Disclaimer: These are my own opinions and I reserve the right to be wrong.