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Physical addiction vs. mental

Old 01-06-2012, 11:01 PM
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Unhappy Physical addiction vs. mental

I have been sober almost one year from the booze. Jan 11th will be one year I think...anyway, I am looking at a lot of people I know and their habits. I was wondering if it is possible to have a physical addiction and not a mental one?

I know that I never really ever had a specific mental craving for the sauce, but by going out, I would drink. Usually I would get pretty hammered going out with the gang, but then when I was by myself I would have a few drinks (2-4) while watching some tv or just relaxing.

I realized my physical addiction was growing very quickly towards the end and didnt like the health side affects that were happening to my body, so I quit. Once I made the decision to quit, mentally I didnt find it hard, but the physical withdrawals were ******* brutal.

I am not thinking about drinking again, but is this possible>? Can someone have a physical addiction and not a mental one?

Thanx,

BigBlue
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Old 01-07-2012, 01:04 AM
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In the Big Book, they describe alcoholism as a two headed monster, one side being a physical allergy that, once we take that first drink, we can't stop. The other half is the mental obsession, that we are incapable of avoiding that first drink. I would think that there are varying levels of the two, especially the mental part. A lot of our enviornment dictates what our mental make up is, and everyone's varies. Being an abuse survivor, my mental make up is driven towards the drink, hence I have to do lots of work on that aspect to help curb the mental half of it, meetings, stepwork, therapy, etc. There are biochemical and genetic aspects to addiction, especially alcoholism that feed the "unable to stop once started" part of it. I am sure that once you have spent some time in the throws of the disease, both parts will be present, your brain has spent to much time out there not to have undergone behavioral changes, but the degree of it I'm sure varies. That's just my laymans two cents, any one can feel free to contradict what I said, I won't be butthurt or anything.


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Old 01-07-2012, 02:43 AM
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Hi Big Blue,

The answer is yes.

Pages 20-21 in the Big Book of AA describe it very well.

Excerpt:

"Now these are commonplace observations on drinkers which we hear all the time. Back of them is a world of ignorance and misunderstanding. We see that these expressions refer to people whose reactions are very different from ours.

[1] Moderate drinkers have little trouble in giving up liquor entirely if they have good reason for it. They can take it or leave it alone.

Then we have a certain type of [2] hard drinker. He may have the habit badly enough to gradually impair him physically and mentally. It may cause him to die a few years before his time. If a sufficiently strong reason—ill health, falling in love, change of environment, or the warning of a doctor—becomes operative, this man can also stop or moderate, although he may find it difficult and troublesome and may even need medical attention.

But what about the [3] real alcoholic? He may start off as a moderate drinker; he may or may not become a continuous hard drinker; but at some stage of his drinking career he begins to lose all control of his liquor consumption, once he starts to drink."



*BB quotes cited from the 1st Ed.
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Old 01-07-2012, 05:25 AM
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The Mental Blank Spot is a very curious thing. I think of Jim the car salesman in the Big Book (More About Alcoholism, pg 36). He is described this way: "Everybody likes him. He is an intelligent man, normal so far as we can see, except for a nervous disposition." (pg35) He claims nothing was wrong before he drank, but look at his thinking beforehand in the below quote. Might he not have had a subtle resentment brewing that he was no longer the boss? Did he not have a motive to make some money by finding a new client at the bar? Jim drank again because he had no mental defense (God and the 12 steps). Inaccurate thinking always comes before the first drink, whether we are aware of it or not. Our defense must come from a Higher Power.

"'I came to work on Tuesday morning. I remember I felt irritated that I had to be a salesman for a concern I once owned. I had a few words with the brass, but nothing serious. Then I decided to drive to the country and see one of my prospects for a car. On the way I felt hungry so I stopped at a roadside place where they have a bar. I had no intention of drinking. I just thought I would get a sandwich. I also had the notion that I might find a customer for a car at this place, which was familiar for I had been going to it for years. I had eaten there many times during the months I was sober. I sat down at a table and ordered a sandwich and a glass of milk. Still no thought of drinking. I ordered another sandwich and decided to have another glass of milk."
"Suddenly the thought crossed my mind that if I were to put an ounce of whiskey in my milk it couldn't hurt me on a full stomach. I ordered a whiskey and poured it into the milk. I vaguely sense I was not being any too smart, but I reassured as I was taking the whiskey on a full stomach. The experiment went so well that I ordered another whiskey and poured it into more milk. That didn't seem to bother me so I tried another.'
Thus started one more journey to the asylum for Jim. Here was the threat of commitment, the loss of family and position, to say nothing of that intense mental and physical suffering which drinking always caused him."
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Old 01-07-2012, 12:16 PM
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Thats a good question. I know nearly all people who are on narcotic pain meds will get physically addicted after a period of time but may or may not have the mental "escape type" addiction developing.
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Old 01-07-2012, 01:01 PM
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Congratulations on being one year sober. I've never made it that far before.

You and me are polar opposites. I find the mental cravings to be unbearable and never had much of a problem with physical withdrawal and cravings. Whenever I quit drinking, I will shake and sweat for 48-72 hours, and then it is GONE. The most enduring challenge for myself is the mental cravings that permeate my life, regardless of how long I am sober.

When I quit smoking cigarettes, I was the same way -- I'd shake a bit during withdrawal (no big deal) but the mental cravings always got to me, sometimes 6+ months after quitting.

Good luck with your journey. It's funny how individuals can deviate greatly with sobriety in regards to their symptoms and problems.
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