keithj

I'll point out the obvious, Richard, and say that particular road is not working for you.

I went down that road many times myself, always with a new resolve and increased determination to choose to quit drinking. And I saw it worked with others. But it sure didn't work for me. It just left me drunk and angry and full of self-pity and demoralized. I must just be a big loser that lacks the willpower to stay sober. What I found for me was that no amount of willpower I had was keeping me sober. No amount of hard work or determination was doing it. Hard work and determination were required, but they were not sufficient for me.

I'm a chronic alcoholic like described in AA's Big Book. It fits me to a Tee. And alcoholics like me are generally doomed to keep repeating that willpower experiment.

I had to surrender in order to recover. I had to let go of my beliefs and thoughts on how to stay sober, and just do the actions that others had done. They were successful at staying sober by doing those actions, and they were willing to show me what to do.

I did just what they told me, and I recovered. I'm ever grateful that I stopped playing the willpower game.

If it works for you, you're a much stronger man than I am. But if it's not working, there is another way.