Originally Posted by
Redmayne 
' You have power over your mind, not outside events. Realize this and you WILL gain strength.' - Marcus Aurelius
Sobriety is mental.
Referring to my previous response on this post, about my time in hospital. Eight weeks after I had been admitted and three weeks after I'd regainned consciousness my son was the first to tell me I'd spent the first five weeks of my time there in a medically induced coma. Until then I barely knew anyhthing of what had happened to me, in the UK the NHS has a poor record of communicating at any level with those they treat.
On returning to my room, after he'd left I 'saw' or experienced a sense of my own mortality which was quite profound causing me to think,
' A man who has seen his own mortality is no longer a slave and is beyond externals.'
Which adds great weight to the credibility and veracity of the statement that sobriety is mental.
I agree. Once the crutch of alcohol has been removed one has to learn to live life on life terms.
Even Bill Wilson had difficulties.
My experience was once I stopped the immediate problems associated with alcoholic drinking went away.
Which is great. I could begin to pick up the pieces of my life.
But when a person such as myself spent many years using alcohol as a means of coping with stress, unpleasant feelings or situations... I needed find another avenue.
I needed to learn to live outside a scared comfort zone.
Bill W. wrote the 12 steps but they weren't enough. He continued searching for ways to feel more comfortable in his own skin.
I'm sure he realized chasing women and chain smoking were unhealthy substitutes for drinking.
But he stayed sober and was able to put together a productive life.