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SR yes, AA no

Old 07-22-2015, 04:09 AM
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This discussion reminds me of when i was around 60-90 days my sister asked me what drink gets you drunk the 2nd 3rd 4th 5th etc i clearly remember saying the first drink she had how did you know that

i simply replied well if im going to have 1 drink im going to have 2, 3, 4, 5 drinks arnt i
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Old 07-22-2015, 10:45 AM
  # 62 (permalink)  
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I've always noticed that for some people the word "Alcoholic" is a very negative thing while others don't see it that way. I don't think that identifying as an alcoholic ever really bothered me that much, if at all.
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Old 07-22-2015, 11:46 AM
  # 63 (permalink)  
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To me it's the overtones. "Alcoholic" conjures up media-created visions of what an alcoholic is, and most of the time that vision doesn't fit. It's also frequently misused to refer to former alcohol addicts who no longer drink at all, as a kind of scarlet A. I don't use it myself, except among former addicts who understand, and only in past-tense since non-drinkers can't be alcoholics. But it's just a word, people either use it or not, and are either comfortable with it or not.
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Old 07-22-2015, 01:13 PM
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Originally Posted by JeffreyAK View Post
To me it's the overtones. "Alcoholic" conjures up media-created visions of what an alcoholic is, and most of the time that vision doesn't fit. It's also frequently misused to refer to former alcohol addicts who no longer drink at all, as a kind of scarlet A. I don't use it myself, except among former addicts who understand, and only in past-tense since non-drinkers can't be alcoholics. But it's just a word, people either use it or not, and are either comfortable with it or not.


I’m shocked! After many sober years I come to the internet and find I’m no longer an alcoholic. This internet thingee is so far ahead of modern medicine and science.

So now not being an alcoholic I can drink in safety?

Posts like that scare me regarding the newcomer.


BE WELL
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Old 07-22-2015, 02:05 PM
  # 65 (permalink)  
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Originally Posted by IOAA2 View Post
I’m shocked! After many sober years I come to the internet and find I’m no longer an alcoholic. This internet thingee is so far ahead of modern medicine and science.

So now not being an alcoholic I can drink in safety?

Posts like that scare me regarding the newcomer.


BE WELL
I've had this discussion before with Jeffrey. He doesn't identify with the term "alcoholic" because the dictionary definition doesn't include anything that says "Someone who developed an addiction to alcohol but has since stopped drinking." (If I'm wrong, Jeffrey, feel free to correct me.)

No worries -- I'll petition to have it included in the next edition

The point is, whether the dictionary endorses the word being used in this particular way or not, its usage is common enough among people in the recovery world to describe the way an alcohol addiction may be in remission, but still has the potential to be reactivated at any time with as little as one drink.
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Old 07-22-2015, 02:32 PM
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Originally Posted by BackToSquareOne View Post
I've always noticed that for some people the word "Alcoholic" is a very negative thing while others don't see it that way. I don't think that identifying as an alcoholic ever really bothered me that much, if at all.
I agree. I had to stop using that word because when I said that I was people immediately tried to defend my saying I wasn't. I had to switch to "I have lost control over my drinking" or "I broke my off switch". People seem to understand that under those conditions I am better of quitting altogether. Honestly, it is easier for me to see it that way too. I fully understand that I left some boxes unchecked to meet the criteria but I have the most important factor...the more I get the more I want.

I think it conjures up the image of an end stage drinker. Someone who is physically addicted and has lost nearly everything. The sooner a person is able to come to terms with the fact that something is wrong regarding their use the better off they are, regardless off the term they use.
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Old 07-22-2015, 02:43 PM
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It's interesting that some people use the term "Recovered Alcoholic", but to me that would mean I could go back to normal drinking. Funny how you can use words, some say "Its raining cats and dogs" but did you ever see it rain cats or dogs?
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Old 07-22-2015, 03:07 PM
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This is how I see my situation now after 2.5 years. Feel free to call me out if you see a flaw in my logic, I can take it. To me accepting that I am an alcoholic means that I have to accept that I have no choice and this is the way it is. I feel like if I accept that I cannot drink than the problem of alcoholism goes away. As long as my drinking days are behind me so are my alcoholism days.

I don't think of myself as an alcoholic at all, recovered or recovering. I see myself as one of the 50% of people my age who just doesn't drink. My husband is a normie and he doesn't drink because it makes him tired, gives him a headache, doesn't want to feel like crap the next day,,,etc. I don't think drinking is worth it because it turns me into a lunatic. If I drink I have to trade everything I have and everything I am to do so. The consequences far out shadow the possible benefits. I actually don't see ANY upside to it at all. Of course it took me some time to get to the point where I can think rationally about it. I will never keep whiskey in the house or put my self in a risky situation because I have no interest in testing my beyond sober theory. I don't think I am invincible or anything like that but I do trust myself that I will stick with my choice. Is that an alcoholic?
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Old 07-22-2015, 03:28 PM
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Old 07-22-2015, 03:51 PM
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At least on SR conrtibutors can criticize established sobriety systems while evaluating new ones. This should be encouraged so long as things remain polite.
The issues relating to alcohol abuse, or the sane usage which may be available to some, seems best served by relatively open discussion than by any forms of dogma... from either side of the fence.
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Old 07-22-2015, 03:58 PM
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Originally Posted by IOAA2 View Post
I’m shocked! After many sober years I come to the internet and find I’m no longer an alcoholic. This internet thingee is so far ahead of modern medicine and science.

So now not being an alcoholic I can drink in safety?

Posts like that scare me regarding the newcomer.


BE WELL
I think posts like yours can scare newcomers into thinking they have some sort of "disease". They don't, they just pickled their brains too much for too long, and they can become "normal" again and don't have to follow dogma from 1935 unless they want to. Doesn't mean they can safely drink again, but that's not alcoholic according to what everyone else uses as a definition - we can't redefine words as we wish and then judge whether or not people fit or don't fit.

And please don't give me a snide lecture about modern medicine and science, it's not correct and it doesn't help anyone.
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Old 07-22-2015, 04:11 PM
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Cool

"...It's interesting that some people use the term 'Recovered Alcoholic', but to me that would mean I could go back to normal drinking..."

This may be your definition/understanding of the term 'recovered,' but it's not most folks' (certainly not dictionaries); I recovered from a broken leg, doesn't mean I can't break the leg again; or I recovered from the flu, doesn't mean I'll not get the flu again; or the often used, I recovered from a gunshot wound, doesn't mean I won't be shot again; etc.

Many folks use the term 'recovered' because they are in AA, and this is the term used by the founders of AA. In fact, it's even on the title page of AA's BB (all editions)...........:

"The Story of How Many Thousands of Men and Women Have Recovered from Alcoholism"

(o:
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Old 07-22-2015, 04:43 PM
  # 73 (permalink)  
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It doesn't bother me to use the term alcoholic in places like SR but in the larger population I simply say I quit drinking. I abused alcohol, that was an action. And yes, I do believe that at some point I irreparably changed my physiology. I quit drinking, that is an action too.

I think alcoholic sounds ominous to the general population because it sounds like an overlay as to who you are as a person. And I am not ashamed, to the contrary I am fairly vocal about the fact that I no longer drink and that my life is better. I feel like addressing it head on like any other behavior that I have changed removed the shame that some might attach.

I used to abuse substances, I no longer abuse substances. I have rarely heard people quantified as foodaholics, or pornoholics, or gambleholics. Rather they are typically identified as someone who has behavioral issues with a particular strata.

I have found that being open and easy about the fact that I quit has allowed me to help a few close friends who were struggling secretly. I sometimes get frustrated that the idea of anonymity has been absorbed by the larger population as an element of something dark and shameful. I think shame and stigma continues to keep people from seeking help.

I was a fairly visible member of my community. I figure if I can make seeking help a logical and prudent choice that came about as the result of a problem, then perhaps someone else might realize that they too are capable. The fact that I have been able to help two people in the last month I hope was a result of me just being straightforward about an action that I took that improved my life.
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Old 07-22-2015, 05:02 PM
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I AGREE WITH ALLOF US! AND YES THESE ALLCAPS MEAN I AM SHOUTING! Because WE are all correct and WE ROCK SOBRIETY !!

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Old 07-22-2015, 05:04 PM
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That's great Jaynie. I imagine we do have somewhat of an influence on those around us. I remember talking about drinking with a guy at work while I was still using (and didn't have a clue how bad I was). He said he stopped drinking the day he woke up and couldn't remember half the night before. It kind of shocked me back to reality a little. I had blacked out before yet I kept going. That conversation was about 5 years ago and I remember it vividly. I am sure it tripped something in my mind that later helped.

I am like you in that I don't use the word alcoholic outside of SR but it is no secret that I quit and why. There are people at my work that are at risk and I talk about my experiences with them the same way that guy talked to me. This happened and that's when I decided enough is enough. Sometimes just showing a person that certain things, like blackout or waking up still drunk, are not normal may help. I honestly thought my behavior was on the normal spectrum and not the alcoholic spectrum.
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Old 07-22-2015, 05:10 PM
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I LIKE PANCAKES!!!!
With bacon!!!!
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Old 07-22-2015, 05:47 PM
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OK folks......i think this topic has run its course, and please remember that we are here to help each other, not criticize each other or our choices of sobriety methods. Thread closed.
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