Originally Posted by
daredevil 
least,
yes, I wanted to get drunk more than I wanted to stay sober.
Definition of an alcoholic.
People make it seem like it's so easy.
It's not.
No mate, that’s the definition of a drunk. There is a difference.
The drunk could sober up if he would,
The alcoholic would sober up, if he could.
I have no doubt you are smarter than me. I came to my method of recovery with a higher than average quotient of stupidity, with my iq down around my shoe size. Alcoholism can do that to a person.
Gullibility was another part of my nature back then. Yet neither thing was a barrier to recovery. I was still able to find permanent recovery, thankfully without any mind altering drugs. They were not big on prescribing back then, especially when my real problem was so obvious.
The guy that called me the morning after my last drink probably saved my life. He suffered from what was then called manic depression, as well as alcoholism. He needed to take lithium to be stable. He hated it, and on several,occasions he tried to cut it out. When he did, he went high, thought it was alright to drink, and in a short time was in a padded cell. It took months to stabilize him again.
He eventually accepted his condition, and has been sober and a very valuable member of my fellowship, for a very long time. Now he is dealing with kidney failure due to the lithium.
In my experience it is quite rare, but over the years I have met a handful of people with serious mental and emotional disorders who have been able to find permanent recovery provided they follow their doctors directions as regards treatment for other illness. Not to do so can have devastating consequences, compared to which taking a drink can look trivial.