Originally Posted by
passionfruit 
What is the healing response for a recovering alcoholic?
I drink because i choose to? or what?
Does he have to have a reason why he drinks in order to move past it?
Or does a RA simply not need a reason why he drank and just move on?
From what I have noticed from the recovered alcoholics I have had the pleasure of speaking with, you will know whether they are blameshifting or taking responsibility for the drinking.
Common answers I have seen are:
"I drank because I drank."
"I drank because I was an alcoholic."
"I drank because that was what I did."
No attempts to shift blame elsewhere.
If you are very close to an alcoholic, and they want to bring you in more on their story in a personal level, they may say things like "It started because..."
But that is merely stating the underlying issue that
started the drinking.
I have
never heard a recovered/recovering alcoholic try to blame the
continual drinking on anything other than alcoholism.
Thinking about it, it is probably a liberating feeling to let go of why they kept drinking, and admit they're an alcoholic - like our 3C's.
We resist because we feel it makes us powerless, and when we finally accept them it is a liberating, empowering feeling, and we can move on to the next right thing.
Once you harness that power, why try to hide it again by blaming things that aren't to blame?
Just my two cents.
