Tasma

Hi everyone,
I've been an alcoholic for as long as I can remember. Even when I wasn't drinking I probably still had the predisposition to heavy drinking. Nowadays I simply try to avoid alcohol completely because I know I will not be able to control the amount I drink.

I do have a question though, is the state of mind of the alcoholic a big factor in whether he drinks or not? I find that the periods when I have been happy with my life I tended to drink less. When depressed I tend to go drinking binges. My state of mind is not what makes me an alcoholic, but my state of mind can start me off on a drinking binge.

If this is the case can working on emotional problems, depression etc be a step to undergo in the process of recovery?

Miss Pink

Alcoholism is a *thinking* disease that manifests itself into the complusive act of drinking.

Its a mental illness, hence, it distorts the thinking of the individual. If the thinking issue is not treated, the disease cannot be arrested. You can white knuckle and never drink again, you can be dry, but if the disease is not treated spiritualy, you will be a *dry drunk* and will have very little peace or sustained happiness.

In fact, dry drunk syndrome is often worse that active drinking.

mike_mass

yes, almost all alkies I know have drunk in order to treat anxiety/depression. It becomes a vicious circle.

problemchild

Anxiety is a huge trigger for me, i am taking meds for it now and it is pretty much under control..

Take care,
John

reed

the "ism" and depression can go hand in hand.

the spiritual thing (dry drunk symptom), thats an AA thing and up to you to believe it or embrace it.
After I quit, most of my depression vanished. It still comes around now & again and is probably normal. We'd never appreciate happiness if we weren't bummed every now and again. If you have severe depression issues see a certified somebody.

Tazman53

Tasma I am an alcoholic, I drank for 40 years, I was far more likely to drink more then what I normally did when depressed which seemed to be most of the time!

My mental state helps me in not taking a drink today, but my spiritual state is what keeps my mental state in a good state to where I do not obsess for a drink as a solution.

I tried for many years to stay stopped drinking by simply not drinking, my problem was my mental state when I was not drinking I was obsessing for a drink and seeking a reason to drink. I was already at a state of mental frustration and depression because I was thinking about not drinking but looking for an excuse to drink. Sometimes the excuse would be "Well I am not an alcoholic, how could I be one, an alcoholic can not go 3 days with out a drink!" so I would start drinking again, or I would get mad about something and figure, well a drink will make that better.

I found that in order to stay stopped I had to do more then just not drink, I had to find a way to change my mental state to one that did not view a drink as the answer to everything. I had to change me!!!!

The way I found to change myself, my mental state was through the 12 steps of AA, thanks to the steps I am free of the obsession or need to drink. I am a changed man, I am happier with myself and the world then I have been in over 30 years, I love being sober!!!!

I am now very aware that when I drank it did not really give me a serene feeling, it depressed me, and once depressed I continued to drink until I was so depressed I did not care any more because I would find oblivion in the bottle.

So to answer your question, for this alcoholic my state of mind determines whether or not I will drink, and my spiritual condition determines what my state of mind is.

Tasma

Thanks for the comments everyone. I agree with your point that it is possible to be a "dry drunk". I wonder about the different approaches to handling the "spiritual" part to alcoholism and can psychological evaluation play a role in this process. Thanks again.

Freedom1990

Alcohol IS a depressant, yet I drank when I was depressed. I drank when I was happy. I drank when I was mad. In other words, any excuse to drink would do!

Mercedes1

Tazman...EXCELLENT observation and I totally agree.

......"My mental state helps me in not taking a drink today, but my spiritual state is what keeps my mental state in a good state to where I do not obsess for a drink as a solution....."

Tasma

@ Mercedes, my state of mind is not an excuse for drinking. Like I said in the first post "My state of mind is not what makes me an alcoholic, but my state of mind can start me off on a drinking binge."

nandm

I drank for any occassion, any state of mind. I was not more prone to drink when I was down than when I was up. It did't make a difference for me.

Just a thought here and it is not personal experience, but heresay. I have listened to people who have gone back to drinking after a period of sobriety. The majority of the time their picking up that first drink was not because they were angry or depressed. It was just out of the blue. No real reason that they could come up. Yes, some had excuses, but in general there wasn't any reason or rhyme to their relapses. They just drank because they are alcoholics. I know from listening to others who have experienced those relapes that it still hasn't gotten any better since I was out there drinking. Drinking is still not the solution for me. Therefore I know that I have to continue to apply the steps and principles of AA in every aspect of my life so that I will not find myself one day out of the blue picking up that drink.

Tasma

Unless I'm mistaken there is a spiritual healing process as part of the AA steps. A spiritual approach connotes the appreciation that there is an emotional aspect to alcoholism. Some sort of deep down healing that may not be evident on the surface. Otherwise it should just be a case of dealing with the physical ie stopping the consumption of alcohol. The AA steps seem to involve a change in thinking or outlook on life that is essential in the long term recovery from alcohol. Is this fact not indicative of a psychological part to alcoholism treatment? The spiritual state of the alcoholic is not the cause of his alcoholism but may be a trigger to the alcoholism.

Would love to hear peoples thoughts on this.

nandm

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tasma

Unless I'm mistaken there is a spiritual healing process as part of the AA steps. A spiritual approach connotes the appreciation that there is an emotional aspect to alcoholism. Some sort of deep down healing that may not be evident on the surface. Otherwise it should just be a case of dealing with the physical ie stopping the consumption of alcohol. The AA steps seem to involve a change in thinking or outlook on life that is essential in the long term recovery from alcohol. Is this fact not indicative of a psychological part to alcoholism treatment? The spiritual state of the alcoholic is not the cause of his alcoholism but may be a trigger to the alcoholism.

Would love to hear peoples thoughts on this.

Just my experience but spirituality and emotionalism are two different things. I find that religion tends to have emotionalism tied to it. One of the reasons for the tendancy to be judgemental of others, the belief that their way is the only way to salvation, all other religions are wrong, etc..... Spirituality tends to not have those types of emotional belief systems tied to them. It is more open to love, tolerance, and respect of differences. Emotionalism is not a factor in it. It is about a personal spiritual connection with a Higher Power. Not a set of black and white rules that dictate how one should believe.

The Steps and Principles of AA give people the tools to live life without creating more destruction, resentments, shame, and negativity. It can not treat mental health issues. The Big Book even states to seek outside help for those things. It is a spiritual plan for living. Alcoholism is a disease of the mind, body, and spirit. Yes, the mind is part of it but the other two components are also just as important. The steps help relieve the mental aspect of guilt, resentments. They do not cure depression. They can help with situational depression (that which is caused by the situation, such as guilt and resentment) but they can not treat chemical depression.

Not everyone who is an alcoholic has mental illnesses such as chemical depression, bi polar, etc.... In fact many do not fight with these things. They are separate from the alcoholism. They may be contributing factors for those with mental illnesses as it is not uncommon for them to self medicate their illness with alcohol and/or drugs.

Just my thoughts, experience, and opinions.

mike_mass

My experience is that such people really do not want to come clean about why they picked up. For me, whenever I have had a temptation to drink my excuses fell along the same lines that you describe...kind of a vague 'wouldn't a drink be nice' sort of feeling. However, I have come to find that such urges have their roots in what I like to call the Peggy Lee syndrome. In other words, due to boredom, spiritual laziness, and passive defiance I gradually drift off mentally into a relapse, which is the first step towards physical relapse. I think people who say 'I drink because I'm an alcoholic' are superficially right, but are refusing to look at the underlying reasons for wanting to picking up.

nandm

Well put, thanks.