View Poll Results: Are you powerless over alcohol?
Yes
77
45.56%
No
74
43.79%
Maybe
18
10.65%
Voters: 169. You may not vote on this poll
Powerless over alcohol?
Recovered from Hopeless State
Thread Starter
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: New Jersey, USA
Posts: 2,156
Powerless over alcohol?
I think it's time for another poll. I'm posting this one here because I think it would be too easy, and the outcome too obvious, in the step support forum. So, how about you, are you powerless?
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
As a suffering alcoholic, I was powerless over alcohol. That statement defines the problem that I came to AA to solve.
As a recovered alcoholic,it's a moot point. The problem has been removed. So the question does not arise.
But I never got the power of choice back. For it to be a true choice I would have to be able to make it repeatedly, either way, like my non alcoholic partner, which I could not. I still have the allergy. Add alcohol to my system and all bets are off.
Back then powerless meant I had no effective defence against the first drink. Today that is not the case. I stay sober through Gods grace rather than any power of my own.
As a recovered alcoholic,it's a moot point. The problem has been removed. So the question does not arise.
But I never got the power of choice back. For it to be a true choice I would have to be able to make it repeatedly, either way, like my non alcoholic partner, which I could not. I still have the allergy. Add alcohol to my system and all bets are off.
Back then powerless meant I had no effective defence against the first drink. Today that is not the case. I stay sober through Gods grace rather than any power of my own.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2013
Location: Lakeside, Ca
Posts: 10,208
voted no
because today I'm not powerless over alcohol
but
if I were to start drinking yet again as before
in short time I would be powerless over alcohol once again
the liquid devil is just a waiting
stay away from that first sip
MM
because today I'm not powerless over alcohol
but
if I were to start drinking yet again as before
in short time I would be powerless over alcohol once again
the liquid devil is just a waiting
stay away from that first sip
MM
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: US
Posts: 115
It's crazy, but I still desire to have a drink or 2, I have spent the last 15 years trying to control my drinkng, had 3 months, and a 2.5 year stretch of sobriety.
Picked up a year or so ago, started well enough (well had 8 drinks that first time back) not had more than 3 days sober since, but now I am on day 6 and trying this again but I still wish I could enjoy 2 drinks.
Funny as I lay here at 6:30 AM, I am glad I didnt drink last night, It was a close call though and a hard night.
So, am I powerless over alcohol? Maybe, but I will wait to vote, if I ever endup drunk again, then the answer will be clear. As I write this I already know the answer. 1 leads to 2, to 6, 12, 18... drunk.
Picked up a year or so ago, started well enough (well had 8 drinks that first time back) not had more than 3 days sober since, but now I am on day 6 and trying this again but I still wish I could enjoy 2 drinks.
Funny as I lay here at 6:30 AM, I am glad I didnt drink last night, It was a close call though and a hard night.
So, am I powerless over alcohol? Maybe, but I will wait to vote, if I ever endup drunk again, then the answer will be clear. As I write this I already know the answer. 1 leads to 2, to 6, 12, 18... drunk.
Self recovered Self discovered
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: Toronto Canada
Posts: 5,148
Nawww, I don't look at it that way at all. For me, absolute power over alcohol is the ability to completely remove it from my life, forever, with nothing I need to do to keep it there. No daily promise to stay sober only until the sun goes down, no spiritual condition required, no divine intervention, none of that stuff.
This is how I see alcohol in my life. I made my choice and I decided to quit drinking for good, no matter what. I see that as absolute and total power over that stuff. You can look at it this way: that stuff is just a chemical compound, and just sits there, all by itself with nary a peep. What we are really talking about here is control over our behavior, control over our own actions in consuming it. I haz it.
This is how I see alcohol in my life. I made my choice and I decided to quit drinking for good, no matter what. I see that as absolute and total power over that stuff. You can look at it this way: that stuff is just a chemical compound, and just sits there, all by itself with nary a peep. What we are really talking about here is control over our behavior, control over our own actions in consuming it. I haz it.
Member
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: USA
Posts: 413
For me, yes, I am powerless over alcohol.
It is true that I have ceased fighting everything and everyone, even alcohol. The obsession to take the first drink has been removed.
But this position of neutrality is only a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of my spiritual condition. If I rest on my laurels, the obsession will return. And if I take one drink, I will not be able to stop. This is an essential truth for me. I will never be able to drink safely.
It is true that I have ceased fighting everything and everyone, even alcohol. The obsession to take the first drink has been removed.
But this position of neutrality is only a daily reprieve contingent on the maintenance of my spiritual condition. If I rest on my laurels, the obsession will return. And if I take one drink, I will not be able to stop. This is an essential truth for me. I will never be able to drink safely.
Adventures In SpaceTime
Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: Ottawa, Canada
Posts: 5,827
For me, powerlessness is a subjective experience within the realm of my alcoholism illness. Drinking alcohol created such powerlessness. Quitting drinking ends such powerlessness. Being my illness yet survives in an arrested state after my quitting, am I still powerless over alcohol?
The question is moot since I don't drink. Nonetheless, I'm absolutely powerless over my alcoholism whether I drink or not. How I choose to live my sobriety keeps my alcoholism in check. Since alcoholism as I understand it to be is an illness of mind, body, and spirit, my solution is one of spiritual empowerment to change out my alcoholic mind, bodily quit drinking alcohol, and turn over my alcoholism illness to my HP. Not turn over my self-will as it were though. Turn over my alcoholism illness in fact.
My life and my self-will remain my responsibility.
The question is moot since I don't drink. Nonetheless, I'm absolutely powerless over my alcoholism whether I drink or not. How I choose to live my sobriety keeps my alcoholism in check. Since alcoholism as I understand it to be is an illness of mind, body, and spirit, my solution is one of spiritual empowerment to change out my alcoholic mind, bodily quit drinking alcohol, and turn over my alcoholism illness to my HP. Not turn over my self-will as it were though. Turn over my alcoholism illness in fact.
My life and my self-will remain my responsibility.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: liverpool, england
Posts: 1,708
i should of told the judge who sent me down to prison for 6 months that i am powerless over alcohol and he might of let me off : ) ?
went out for a meal the other day with my kids my daughter is almost 30 and as we were eating i passed wind loudly and said sorry while laughing and my daughter told me off about it as its embarrassing for her, when i regained composer from my laughing fit, i told my daughter i am powerless over me breaking wind in public and she still hit me !!! : )
i was certainly powerless over drinking while i was drinking and even before drinking as i was thinking about it,
but today after 10 years of being educated about me and about my illness i am no longer powerless
as i sat with my daughter out for a meal others around me were drinking booze and i was happy with my coke
never once thought about a drink just enjoyed the day with my kids
i have had to work hard for it daily in the beginning as my mind was so consumed with the need for a drink
10 years on that craving has gone that compulsion is no longer there, thanks to the work i have done and continue to do with how i live my life today.
i never take it for granted, i know i am only 1 drink away from being a drunk again
but today i do have the power to say no if offered a drink and not feel like i am missing out
thanks to aa and the way i have learned to live honestly
went out for a meal the other day with my kids my daughter is almost 30 and as we were eating i passed wind loudly and said sorry while laughing and my daughter told me off about it as its embarrassing for her, when i regained composer from my laughing fit, i told my daughter i am powerless over me breaking wind in public and she still hit me !!! : )
i was certainly powerless over drinking while i was drinking and even before drinking as i was thinking about it,
but today after 10 years of being educated about me and about my illness i am no longer powerless
as i sat with my daughter out for a meal others around me were drinking booze and i was happy with my coke
never once thought about a drink just enjoyed the day with my kids
i have had to work hard for it daily in the beginning as my mind was so consumed with the need for a drink
10 years on that craving has gone that compulsion is no longer there, thanks to the work i have done and continue to do with how i live my life today.
i never take it for granted, i know i am only 1 drink away from being a drunk again
but today i do have the power to say no if offered a drink and not feel like i am missing out
thanks to aa and the way i have learned to live honestly
Member
Join Date: Aug 2013
Location: C.C. Ma.
Posts: 3,697
I’m an alcoholic and powerless over alcohol whether I drink it or not. It’s been a good number of years since The jug got plugged but I know it can be a heartbeat away if the circumstances are wrong.
BE WELL
BE WELL
Member
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Colorado
Posts: 3,474
Behavioral Imperatives
What freshstart57 said twice in Post #7.
Various qualities or powers are ascribed/assigned to Alcohol by no entities other than us. I alone assign it the characteristic of being of no power or future consequence in my Life. Alternately, it is a daily threat if I alone think it is, or allow it to be. As I posted some months ago: 'I don't hit Women. I don't kick Puppies. And, I don't Drink'. We each effortlessly avoid all sorts of influences, and consequent Behavior. A don't kick a Puppy just because it runs up to me. I don't grab and swill a Drink just because some Person I'm sitting with has one.
A few Vegan Pals just 'flip' to eating Vegan. Full stop. For various reasons. Just keep 'their' side of the Grill clean at a BBQ, and they're happy. They don't flip out and grab a Pork Rib just because there's a Plate of them on the Table. This sort of Self Determination is the Behavioral norm to me, and within our Circle-of-Friends.
Harry Houdini [and various Yogis] famously slowed down his Heart Rate using only Mind power to gain himself conscious time underwater so that he could pick Locks on Cages or Chains to free himself before drowning. He hid a piece of Wire in his Hair to pick Locks with.
It seems to me that this question is all about Time Line. IF I pick up and drink, I am again powerless. IF I never do so in the preceding moment, I am very much empowered. To me, the matter of what I do after picking up is a purely theoretical question. It just ain't a gonna happen. Discussion about that theoretical possibility is moot, for me. I don't wake up every day and think 'I'm not going to drink today' anymore than I wake up and think 'I'm not going to kick a Puppy today'.
The struggle regarding Drinking has been permanently retired. It's not an option if you think it's not.
Various qualities or powers are ascribed/assigned to Alcohol by no entities other than us. I alone assign it the characteristic of being of no power or future consequence in my Life. Alternately, it is a daily threat if I alone think it is, or allow it to be. As I posted some months ago: 'I don't hit Women. I don't kick Puppies. And, I don't Drink'. We each effortlessly avoid all sorts of influences, and consequent Behavior. A don't kick a Puppy just because it runs up to me. I don't grab and swill a Drink just because some Person I'm sitting with has one.
A few Vegan Pals just 'flip' to eating Vegan. Full stop. For various reasons. Just keep 'their' side of the Grill clean at a BBQ, and they're happy. They don't flip out and grab a Pork Rib just because there's a Plate of them on the Table. This sort of Self Determination is the Behavioral norm to me, and within our Circle-of-Friends.
Harry Houdini [and various Yogis] famously slowed down his Heart Rate using only Mind power to gain himself conscious time underwater so that he could pick Locks on Cages or Chains to free himself before drowning. He hid a piece of Wire in his Hair to pick Locks with.
It seems to me that this question is all about Time Line. IF I pick up and drink, I am again powerless. IF I never do so in the preceding moment, I am very much empowered. To me, the matter of what I do after picking up is a purely theoretical question. It just ain't a gonna happen. Discussion about that theoretical possibility is moot, for me. I don't wake up every day and think 'I'm not going to drink today' anymore than I wake up and think 'I'm not going to kick a Puppy today'.
The struggle regarding Drinking has been permanently retired. It's not an option if you think it's not.
Member
Join Date: May 2014
Location: liverpool, england
Posts: 1,708
Originally Posted by IOAA2 
I’m an alcoholic and powerless over alcohol whether I drink it or not. It’s been a good number of years since The jug got plugged but I know it can be a heartbeat away if the circumstances are wrong.
BE WELL
BE WELL
quat
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: terra (mostly)firma
Posts: 4,822
I voted No, because I have made a choice to never drink again.
I was addicted to alcohol but by making the choice to never drink again , I ended the addiction.
The likelyhood of my becoming addicted again is only predicated on making the choice to start drinking again. But I realize I suck at drinking, so of all the activities possible in life , that is one I will not do again, ever. Nor will I change my mind about that decision.
So No, not powerless, I hold the cards.
I was addicted to alcohol but by making the choice to never drink again , I ended the addiction.
The likelyhood of my becoming addicted again is only predicated on making the choice to start drinking again. But I realize I suck at drinking, so of all the activities possible in life , that is one I will not do again, ever. Nor will I change my mind about that decision.
So No, not powerless, I hold the cards.
Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Eastern Us
Posts: 1,366
I am not powerless over alcohol. I control what I put in my body. Every time I drank I made a choice to do so. Frankly I see the question as absurd, like somehow I was a victim and not responsible for my poor behavioral choices.
Member
Join Date: Sep 2013
Location: New England
Posts: 3,805
I used to have a problem with this question. I now see it differently. At this point in my life I am powerless over alcohol. If I chose sobriety and had an extended period of such only then I would not be powerless. It's actually a great question. Pretty much describes what an addiction is.
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