Triggers??
I hear a lot of talk in the rooms about triggers. "I need to avoid my triggers" " I need to be aware of what my triggers are" etc.
IMO this contradicts the 1st step. This tells me that if I can control my outside circumstances and avoid my "triggers" Ill be okay. If I were powerless over alcohol and could not manage my own life, how is it possible that I can control my desire to drink by managing my surroundings? The lesson I learn in the 1st step is that, unless I tap into a new source of power greater than me, I will drink no matter what.
If I were to make a list of the things that used to "trigger" my drinking, it would include one thing. Being awake.
I drank when things were good, when things were bad, when I was anxious, happy, depressed, excited, bored, nervous etc. I drank when my job was going great and when it was going terrible. I drank when everyone around me was acting the way I wanted them to and when no one would cooperate with "my plans."
I know that certain life situations can increase the feelings of discontent, agitation, anger, depression etc which may indeed have fueled my drinking. But to say that my sobriety depends on all of the outside circumstances in my life going the way I need them to so I avoid "triggers" is crazy. One of the gifts I get in sobriety is I can be present to live life. Both through the good and the bad.
The first step tells me my problem. Powerlessness. The second tells me the solution. Higher Power to restore me to sanity.
If I am restored to sanity through the process of working the remaining steps, "triggers" are not an issue. IMO only a spirtually unhealthy, insane, alcoholic mind can be triggered to drink.