Dalek

The problem is that you can actually drink, and you've probably proven by now that you are quite capable of downing drinks. Instead, you are (apparently) unable to do so without a high probability of experiencing problems such as rapid re-addiction. "I can't drink" is ultimately an unprovable assertion, which is precisely why so many people try these so-called "tests" from time to time to see if the assertion is actually valid.

What you wrote next about being done forever is actually far better than "I can't drink", which externalizes the reason for not drinking, makes abstaining conditional on "not being able" to drink, and which might actually mean "I'm not going to drink for now because I can't, but if that ever changes, then all bets are off."

All the AV has to do with that shaky foundation is to chip away until it convinces you that you can drink. This is not difficult to do, since few can actually prove that they can't drink, and over time, many will forget why they concluded that they "can't" drink in the first place.

I know that what I'm saying may sound like recovery heresy. However, it is far more difficult to convince someone that they will drink, when they have decided that they simply won't drink, than it is to convince them that they can drink, when they already hope that they could.

That's the key right there. After all, if you "can't" but still will, you aren't going to beat the rap. When it comes to beating the rat race of addiction, won't is ultimately what counts. Yes, in light of your experience, I do suspect that you already know this.

No worries. I thank you for an interesting thread, GirlFromCO.