24hr rule....? Is there such a thing as a 24hr rule....? In all the recovery programs I’m familiar with, none of them have any rules....suggestions, yes, but no rules.
Now, AA specifically, when it was founded, the folks back then were getting sober (quitting) for good and all (synonymous with forever and never picking up again).
The 24hr ‘suggestion’ (just for today, one day at a time) came about way later. When a few (note, just a few, NOT many) of the newcomers couldn’t conceive of quitting forever, it was suggested that they think of it as just quitting for the next 24hr (or for the day, just today). Of course this was to be only temporary; the long-term objective was to come to the thinking of quitting for good and all.
Of course one can only live one day at a time; one can only live in today, in the current 24hrs, but for the purpose of quitting drinking or drugs, I can see the value of thinking in terms of just the next 24 hours (just for today) for some newcomers, but not for me, not for the kind of alcoholic/addict I was.
For me, when I was a newcomer, and even still today, I couldn’t think in this matter. I had to quit for good and all; to quit forever; to never pick up again. To me/for me, the thought of just the next 24 hours; just for today, was too limiting. It was as though I was giving myself permission to pick up tomorrow, or whenever, and the kind of alcoholic/addict I was.....well, that was just too dangerous a thought. This was it, or I could wind up dead, in the next 24 hours, or tomorrow; and I didn’t want that.
I’ve spoken to a number of persistent relapsers; folks who seem to wonder why they always seem to relapse after 30 days, or 6 months, or around the year mark. I often wonder if they relapse like this because they’re only giving themselves permission for 30 days (or whatever). .........just a thought y’all....
Noelle