FeenixxRising

Karate, I assume you're interested in the "powerless" concept as it's taught in AA. If so, I believe the idea is clearly laid out in the Big Book. "Powerless over alcohol" means you do not have the ability to stop yourself from taking the first drink:

Quote:

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

BB pg. 43

That is, the only thing that will stop you from taking that first drink is God as you understand him; that human willpower or even the help of other humans will not stop you from taking the first drink; that without God's help, you will drink again. Of course, not everyone agrees with this interpretation. Personally, while I am a spiritual person, I do not believe I am unable to stop myself from taking the first drink. Others believe the lack of power only starts once the first drink is taken.

Whatever the case, the solution, according to AA, is still the same: you must turn your will and your life over to God as you understand him, or you will drink again.

Now, as I said, I don't believe this to be true, but that is my interpretation of the AA concept of "powerless".

Jfanagle

My individual experiences with alcohol have shown me that I am effected by alcohol in a negative manner. For reasons that I don't know how to explain I have lost the ability to control my drinking. The inability to control alcohol leaves me without the power to safely and beneficially use the substance. I AM POWERLESS WITH REGARD TO ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION. Not with regard to my life or my choices or my work ethic etc...

Many times I have seen people take the reference to powerless over alcohol and extrapolate that into the inability to control other parts of their lives. I have never found that to be the case, as long as I don't introduce alcohol into my equation.

Jon

yeahgr8

If you can drink a couple of drinks then stop and continue doing this over a period of time, say a year, then you are not powerless over alcohol.

If you keep drinking more than you plan to or drink when you have made a decision not to (or end up on a recovery site lol) then you are powerless over alcohol. The only way to empower yourself over alcohol then is to abstain for the rest of your life.

All cleared up now:-)

leviathan

Im not saying this to argue...my feelings of powerlessness, in general, were very present when using took over. Finally saying "this isnt working. screw it. The only thing i havent tried is quitting." Was a moment of power for me. -actually choosing a path that i knew would take planning, and effort in order to improve my future.

I do find myself pretty powerless once the 1st drink goes down, though. Cant argue with that. I was ALWAYS the last one up. Used to actually take pride in it. What utter crap!

GunnyL

I had to modify the view a tad to fit for me. I have all the power in the world over alcohol ... as long as it isn't inside me. THEN, I AM powerless. I can't control it, or myself like I once could.

When I'm doing stupid crap I'd never have thought of sober, or even drunk a few years ago, and then it gets to where I can't even remember but bits and pieces, if that, I'd call that powerless.

EndGameNYC

One of the qualifying criteria for Alcohol Dependence in DSM-IV captures powerlessness in its own way: "Drinking in larger amounts or over a longer period than intended."

Tamerua

To me it means once I have one, I don't know when I will stop. Could be one, could be a bender ending in badness... I'm powerless once I got it in me.

jdooner

When I read how others interpret this it sometimes undermines my own interpretation. Alcohol, like sugar, like wheat, and like cocaine never added anything to my life. How I define how powerless I am over alcohol really does not matter as it only steals from my life. I am fortunate to quit before I have lost everything. This is difficult because you can rationalize how I am not as bad as that person. This only serves to paralyze the addict though. For me I see myself in the homeless man on the park bench if I allow time and progression to take place.

Don't get caught in the definition game.

GunnyL

I think too often people get so caught up defining things they lose sight of what they are trying to accomplish. Some of these programs drive me batty with all their definitions. I've seen what happens first-hand when an OC person gets hold of one.

My definition is "what works for me."

miamifella

Like many who are not in AA, I believe that I am personally powerless over alcohol and substances. In the program though it is not individual but rather "we"(meaning the human race) who are powerless. There is no human aid or earthly power that has power over these things. Only a "higher power" can help.

I think one of the differences between those for whom the program works and those for whom it is not so helpful lies in whether they experience their powerlessness.

oak

I don't think I am powerless.

I can see how someone would call it powerlessness, given the intensity of compulsions and obsessions during active addiction. I do think that it is hard to choose not to drink during active addiction due to whatever is going on in the brain, but I think it is a choice to drink or use.

I go to NA meetings and find them helpful and calming. I like the idea of surrender a lot! I like the idea of surrendering to recovery and connecting to something bigger than just me. I think I substitute 'having intense obsessions & compulsions' for 'being powerless'. That works for me.

ru12

I find the entire premise of powerlessness anathema to my experience with addiction. I drank too much for a couple of decades. I made and own every choice that preceded me drinking. When I finally wanted to stop drinking more than I wanted to drink... I finally stopped for good. It took me understanding that I had the power to put the drink down and the power to decide to leave it alone to recover. I'm so glad that I did.

polaris

When you begin to drink do you control it, or does it control you?

Grungehead

In my experiences before and after taking the 12 Steps, powerlessness is all about my obsession with alcohol. As long as I obsess over alcohol I will be powerless to resist the first drink which will then kick start my physical craving for more. Removing the obsession is the key, and for me working the steps removed that obsession.

DoubleBarrel

Being powerless is reality.

The illusion of control is ego.

We really have very little real control of most things.

In my own recovery, that has been a great relief. To stop trying to control everything, and just be.

Aellyce

Many possible interpretations; one of my favorite "powers" is that I'm a kind of person who loves problem solving - for myself, others, subjective, objective, many kinds. It's the process of sorting things out, learning from lessons, moving forward, finding new problems, etc etc... - somehow intrinsically very rewarding to me when healthy.

Drinking very seriously dampened both my motivation and ability to do these and made a lot of it impossible.

stairs

I can't control my using for any length of time and that means I am powerless over my addiction.

freshstart57

If we want to be sober, why the heck are we talking about what happens AFTER that first drink?

miamifella

But given the context, we are talking about powerlessness as it is viewed by AA which is a lot about what kind of help you can get BEFORE the first drink.

freshstart57

I agree with you completely, MiamiFella, a lack of control BEFORE any alcohol is consumed is a serious issue, one that AA seeks to address.

But look back over these posts. Over a dozen are 'powerless over alcohol', and all but two specify that AFTER consumption, not before. Is there some need to claim a level of intoxication beyond which we have lost the power of choice? And if we want to get and stay sober, why do we say what happens AFTER we start drinking?

Based on this, it seems that we may have much more control over our alcohol consumption than we like to claim.