deeker

Reprinted With Permission From AA World Services
The Big Book, Chapter 3-More About Alcoholism

Quite as important was the discovery that spiritual principles would solve all my problems. I have since been brought into a way of living infinitely more satisfying and, I hope, more useful than the life I lived before. My old manner of life was by no means a bad one, but I would not exchange its best moments for the worst I have now. I would not go back to it even if I could."

Once more: The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink. Except in a few rare cases, neither he nor any other human being can provide such a defense. His defense must come from a Higher Power.

-How did you come to realize you were truly an alcoholic? How did you learn to accept it? And... How did you find your Higher Power?
POST REPLY

Veritas1

Motion to move to 12 step AA forum

Seriously...

My very experience is what convinced me.

I would have to say that coupled with learning what it meant to be alcoholic helped.

I guess I have comet to accept it. What else can I do!

I discovered God as a teenager.

Alcohol caused me to abandon God, church and all good things I could have been.

Now I seek God again, and the AA program, members and speakers, Christian preachers, and my Bible lead the way.

Dee74

I think the post is fine where it is for now

D

Veritas1

Motion to move! with a smiley face, sorry just thought since there were 84 reads with 0 replies, that deek would get a better response with an aa question on the aa forum.



No worries..

Just me being silly.

Jsober

Acceptance came with hundreds of failed attempts and experiments. The facts were always there, I just chose to rationalize them. It will be different this time etc. Surrender to the truth was key for me. I had to be humbled in order to surrender and alcohol did that for me.

I came to a higher power because the fact was I could not stay sober myself. I needed something other than myself to believe in. That started when I admitted that many things are out of my control. There is a power at work and I am not it. That opened my mind and it is still developing. It is growing as I stay sober.
I would not go back to the other life. I am more positive to society and myself now and I would not trade that. The change from negative to positive- that is a power at work and it's awesome!

HappyDestiny3

For me it was not acceptance of being a alcoholic..

I had known that for years.. I drank to stop shaking,vomiting, just to get out of bed.. So I was well aware..

What I could not accept was that I could life a life without it... After many failed attempts..

My last drunk was nothing special. Another week long binge which I don't remember much, to detoxing like I did the very first time I quit..

And I just said, I am going to give myself a chance at sobriety and truly work the program that I have been told to work for the last year and half..

As for my HP, I started with the groups of meetings I attended.. For I just felt the power of these people doing something I didn't think I could ever achieve.. And they told me to just start praying, and I didn't know how, and that didnt matter..

Just to get down on my knees and talk in the morning ask help to stay sober, and again at night to thank something for helping me..

And slowly but surely I developed my path to my own personal HP and God..

Only for the Grace of My God and AA do I have sobriety for today...

lilyrosemary

i decided i needed help when i realized that drinking was way too close to the top of my list of priorities. i didn't want that life. i wanted to live a life that i believed God wanted me to live. a lie of thankfulness and honor to Him. He had given me so much and i felt i was throwing it back in His face. i checked into inpatient treatment kind of spontaneously, jumped into it with blind faith i guess. the first night i woke up at around 3 am and bawled my eyes out for about two hours. i couldn't figure out what the deal was. i wanted to be there. anyway, i have not been the same since. God broke me down to make me new, and i am. i feel it was a miracle. it took me about a year to figure out what exactly took place that night. that was over three years ago and i am very thankful.

deeker

That is awesome! Something good always comes out of the despair eventually. It's always darkest before the dawn. Thanks for the inspiring comments Everyone!