Terminally Unique

Addictions tend to be persistent because the human body is designed to forget pain, and to remember pleasure. Think about the last time you hit your thumb with a hammer, for example. You can probably remember that it hurt, but not the actual sensation of pain. On the other hand, it is unlikely that you'll forget what that old buzz once felt like. People who go back to drinking after a long time usually do so because the memory of why they originally quit, once fresh, begins to fade. It is notable that both the 'Big Book' and the Rational Recovery book describe this very common 'forgetting' phenomenon.

Actually, it isn't out of touch. Even the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism is now recognizing that the vast majority of addicted people actually quit along these lines.


Admittedly, I didn't exactly figure it out on my own, and I needed some additional reinforcement and education on how to actually quit drinking. The methodology is based on what people who do figure it out on their own usually do, however.