DayTrader

Nah.......I don't buy that Fitz. I think it's simple, really simple.

You never got truly SOBER. (and I mean that using the "old" definition of the word, not simply the "not drinking alcohol" one commonly used today).

My AA great-grand sponsor tells a cool "story" that makes sense to me when he's asked what he's learned about relapse in 53 years since his last drink. He's run a treatment facility (was a therapist there), sponsored many 100's of ppl and has spent half a century in AA as a recovered alcoholic.

He tells about how when we drank, all 3 parts of us got "drunk" - our minds, our bodies and our souls. When we quit ingesting alcohol, the body portion sobers up but the other "parts" are still drunk. So......if you're an alcoholic who has all 3 components of alcoholism that the BB talks about (physical, mental and spiritual), not drinking only treats the physical - resulting in you being 33% sober and 66% drunk. Sure, you're not drinking.....but you're still more drunk than sober. From this point..... we prolly shouldn't even call it a relapse, yanno?

I've got a sponsee who had 5 years.....in AA, going to meetings, had a sponsor, worked the steps, and was sponsoring guys. His sponsor died........and within about 6 months he was out drinking again (actually, he started getting drunk on Listerine......then moved on to regular booze).

Now, how'd that happen? I mean.......he was not drinking for FIVE and a half years, he seemed to be doing all the stuff the AA folks do, yet he got drunk! (and he stayed out for about 6 years of on/off drinking, sobering up, going back out, etc). Unfortunately, he's not a SR member here or he'd tell ya himself. What he'd say is that I was physically sober and probably more mentally sober than drunk........but I didn't really work on the spiritual part. For him, nothing BUT recovery in all three areas will work. He blew 5+ years finding that one out. Maybe your case is similar.....I dunno.....but it's worth considering.