Originally Posted by
DonnieB 
Indeed- they teach simple and basic bad decisions to be life-long afflictions from which one can never fully recover. Strange premise- always waiting for that dreaded "relapse." IF you can decide to pick up the glass, then it only makes sense that you can decide to NOT pick it up. The decision is yours to make- sobriety is a decision, short and sweet. Seeing the warm, happy smiles of those close to me is all the inspiration I need. They are sooo happy to see a cork placed in the jug.
I do not eat Mexican food because of the effect it has on me- I am not in recovery or wondering on which day I will relapse. I do not like the rather sudden and nasty effect it has on my innards- so I decide to avoid it all together. I do not think I am missing out on anything! I do not see myself as a recovering burrito-holic. I simply will never eat that food, and I will never change my mind!
Same goes for booze. Rather simple premise- and it works!
Good luck my man. Don't over-think this. It really is as basic as presented.
You make the decisions.
Along those lines, I sort of look at people who quit smoking cigarettes. Are they in recovery? No. Are they nicotine-oholics? No (there's no such thing). They used to be addicted to a harmful and addictive substance and now they are not anymore. Once the addiction is broken and you are free and clear of the drug, you are no longer recovering from anything, you're simply not addicted anymore.
Also it helped me to see alcohol for the addictive and dangerous drug that it is. If I equate it to something like heroin or crack, then I don't have to "try" or "restrain myself" from not doing it, I just know not to do it. I don't wake up every day and have to try to not do heroin, I just don't do it because I know it's harmful and I know it will ruin me. I view alcohol the same way now. That shift can be hard because alcohol is legal and most adults use the drug, but the perception of alcohol is based on a societal addiction to it on a macro level and a fair amount of brainwashing and conditioning towards the drug from an early age (from advertisements, pop culture, and other drinkers). Part of the issue is that the portion of society that tells us that there is something wrong with us because we cannot drink "normally" are actively using the drug themselves. Therefore, nothing they tell us about alcohol can really be taken at face value because if they continue to regularly drink (even socially), they are under the spell and illusion that the drug creates. These are Vale's ideas more than mine, but they really click with my mind.