I negotiated abstinence many times. I'll stop, slow down or only have a few. This time will be different. I wasn't lying each time I promised - I truly thought I could.
This oft referenced paragraph from Alcoholics Anonymous sums up the problem "Most of us have been unwilling to admit we were real alcoholics. No person likes to think he is bodily and mentally different from his fellows. Therefore, it is not surprising that our drinking careers have been characterized by countless vain attempts to prove we could drink like other people. The idea that somehow, someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death."