What is alcoholic thinking?
 

Given that I am very new to recovery and alanon, I thought I would ask another questions here on the AA forum. I have heard of alcoholic thinking and that at times it plagues individuals in recovery. What is alcoholic thinking?

Welcome to SR Ironknob.

From the AA Big Book, The Doctor's Opinion:

"Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks-drinks which they see others taking with impunity."

To me, the key words here are restless, irritable and discontented. Alcoholic thinking is the idea that having a drink is the answer to my problems, despite the obvious outcome, which is once this thinking is takes hold and is followed with a drink, the physical compulsion sets in and off I go again. Alcoholism isn't so much a drinking problem as it is a thinking problem. Once I quit drinking, the next hurdle is to change my thinking.

The same as a co-dependent thinks.
Co-dependendcy is an addiction. The cycle of destruction is the same.
If you grew up around alcoholism or married into it, you are
effected. You can divorce or end the realtionship that you are in
at the moment....You'll somehow marry the exact same person
with the same personallity triats in the future. Unless you get well.
Different name/body but still the same person.

Co-dependcy is actually more cunning. Becuase the co-dependent
plays the role of the victim, or innocent.
However a co-depedent still see through a twist pair of lens.
It takes two to mingle, opposite attracts.

An example
A HELPER...that's a great role to play. The hero, center of attention,
gets all the praise. This still feeds the disease/cycle/ego.
TO be a helper you need a sick person to play with.
Subconciouly the codependent might be doing it without knowing.
Becuase who would of think being nice person can be un healthy.

It's the same as most alcoholics...none of us really belive or thought
we we're alcoholics,addict or co-dependent.

"I'M a SICK PERSON TRYING TO GET WELL"
It's directed toward more to the co-dependent.
A co-dependent playing a role of a vitim will deem an acoholic as BAD
or not GOOD. That feeds the co-dependent DIS-EASE and on
gose the cycle of destructions.

The 12 steps for everybody effected/envolved are the same...hummmm??????

for me alcoholic thinking is so many things. it's the paranoia and self-consciousnous that i felt around strangers and people i knew. the feeling that people were staring at me and thinking terrible things about me. it's also the "all or nothing" attitude i had. if i couldn't do something PERFECTLY, i wouldn't do it at all. it was the feeling that something terrible was going to happen. i didn't know WHAT was going to happen but i knew it would be awful and i just HAD to drink because i couldn't handle it. whatever "it" happened to be. it was the feeling that everyone is in on some big secret and no one's telling me what it is. alcoholic thinking for me was always waiting for the "other shoe to drop." anything that was even remotely good in my life, my head managed to turn into some omen of calamaties to come. it was always depending on something or someone "outside" of me to validate i was worth anything. just like the co-dep. nutz talked about. better words to explain are in my head but they're not reaching to my fingertips. really good question by the way.

hope i didn't confuse you,
ladybug little

Great question...

For me, alcoholic thinking is basically the "isms" of alcholism. It can be something as obvious as the belief that alcohol and drugs can somehow make everything in my life better, or that it is going to be a solution to my problems. And, for me, it can be even deeper than the obvious. It can be any type of negativity I can create in my head that is of a self centered nature. For example, if only I had a boyfriend my life would be better. Again, here I would be trying to use an external thing for an inside problem. Another for me is self pity. Poor me, I don't feel well. Poor me, no one is helping me (except I'm at home isolating and haven't called anyone to talk to). Then, the next thing I'm thinking is "Pour me another drink." Another negative thinking pattern I can get consumed with is being ungrateful; focusing on what I don't have rather than counting my blessings. That way of thinking is going to get me drunk, if I stay in it long enough. One more I can think of right now is resentments. Resentments are like drinking poison and waiting for someone else to die. So someone did something terrible to you. It hurts. Understandable. But to hate that person and let that negative energy fester is only hurting you. That other person probably doesn't think twice about you. Why let them have free rental space in your head? Usually if someone does something I feel is disrespectful I pray for them based on the idea that they, too, are mentally sick and lack general compassion for other human beings. By praying, I'm putting hope in my mind for them that they may get better. A postive thought rather than revenge... It's really that alcholics are self centered by nature; and without recovery that's the way we continue to think. Another quick example is, if a friend suddenly stops calling you to get coffee, we immediately think "What did I do?" When usually, it has nothing to do with us at all. We immediately think of ourselves rather than the idea that the other person might be busy, going through a tough time, or w/e.

To sum it up, drinking and drugging is but a symptom of our problem. For me, once I took away the alcohol and drugs I was sober; but what remained was a thinking problem that could only be worked on by working the twelve steps, praying, and attending speaker and open discussion meetings. I always thought that who I was, was who I was going to be for the rest of my life. I thought it was just my personality and that nothing could ever change me. I was the most negative person in the world. I never thought I could change. But I have, and today, I feel at peace and my life is amazing. I have so much gratitude and love life and being sober. Now, I'm still an alcholic and I still get caught up in that thinking trap from time to time. But today, I have a solution and am way more aware of it when it begins. And I know where to take it; to a meeting or other recovering alcoholics.


Hope that helps and wasn't too confusing.
Anna

HI irondoorknob...

In short the booze directs our thinking, our actions and our whole way of living. - for me alcoholic thinking was placing drinking number one priority in my life. The last few years I HAD to.. Not only did I have the mental obsession but also a physical addiction.

No matter how much I loved other people, no matter how well I knew right from wrong, no matter how much I lost ------ no matter anything -- I did what I needed to do to keep drinking. This included, lying, crying and begging forgiveness, promising most anything, stealing, cheating and the list goes on..

Once sober - not many of those things changed. I simply was not putting booze in my body.. IT took a lot of work and a lot of help to find what I needed to bring about a psychic change in my life so that I could - not only not drink - but learn how to live with not drinking... And that is the hard part.

You got some real good feedback here and I hope it helped..

Linda C.
SS 5/23/80

Your post helped me, Linda C....thanks!

Alcoholic thinking is when an alcoholic engages his noodle (a rare event) and uses his grey matter.

I know alot of people go on about alcoholic thinking that even after quitting drinking you have alcoholic thinking to deal with but in my experience that is all hooey. However I do agree with the poster MUSIC who says that alcoholic thinking is the belief that a drink will solve your problems despite ample evidence to the contrary.

* for the record Bill Wilson's "psychic change" was drug induced, his big spiritual awakening was brought on by the drug belladonna

I agree with Music. I was sober for 9 years during my mid 20's until mid 30's.
I began drinking again thinking that I could handle it and I did for many years. However, during the past year I have spiraled downhill like a rollercoaster. I am now an active member in AA and it has made a world of difference. I am about 1 week away from completing a book about my journey as an alcoholic. I would be more than happy to share it with you if you like or if you think it might help your progress in any way. It's comforting to know that so many have experienced the same things that we have and that on some level we are all in this together. Good luck!

Found myself restless, irritable, and discontented today. As usual. Need to feel more gratitude. DQ!

For me lately it has been insisting that I am always right and getting po'd when someone disagrees.

Welcome to SR delirious :)

D

Delirious..:wave:
Good to know you have started another sobriety..
Early sobreity is often a difficult time...wishing you all the best.

Thank you. I have been in the process of writing a Journal over the past year, even though I was still drinking. I guess in some way I had hoped that by writing this Journal (sort of a book actually) that I would acknowledge my alcoholism and do something about it. I guess it just wasn't the right time. I am on my 19 day today....and it feels good to finally feel good. I have now picked up on the book where I left off and will hopefully have it completed in about a week. I will send out info when it is completed and if my story can benefit even one person then it has been worth everything that I have put into it. Thanks again.

We do have a section for Blogs on SR ..that would be
the best place for journals.
We do not allow links to it on our Boards.

Do remember however....the web is no place for sharing anything
you would not want family..friends..children... or co workers to read.

Personally....I did journal but kept it to myself.:)
it was a good way to gage my progress and to see
where more work was indicated.

I burned each one as I moved forward..no one needed to

And Delirious ,,I hope you will begin a thread of your own..either here in Alcoholism
or in Newcomers so more members will see that you have joined us...:yup:

Alcoholic thinking living with a spouse who is not alcoholic, can be contageous to the non-alcoholic.
Because when the alkie eventually arrives home, the spouse knows what is going to happen next, more alcohol for the next spree.

Ok, when the alkie finds recovery, by that time the non-alkie is at breaking point to. The both may require help. Al A Non.
In my first month of recovery, I went to a few Al a non meetings. I then understood the "other side", it was too late form me to salvage anything, but I did see what damage I caused.
I do not know what they do in al a non, but have heard some speakers and I was impressed from what they understand about the real alkie, recovered or not. many of them have said to me, it takes some effort, as long as the spouse does not go back out there, it can work.

I have to disagree on the analogy of,
I have never had treatment for alcohol, denied and denied the "system", all along. The only "treatment" I know of, overnight lockups, humiliation and a few nose bleeds. Had enough.

Yet my psychic change came in leaps and bounds, it meant that the "rules of the game have changed".....if you read the entire paragraph of what Dr Silkworth says, at the end of that paragraph the last word is "rules"...,
It's a shift. Or, "what a wonderful idea"! arising from pain.

Anyone notice this thread was started in 06?
The orginal posters are no longer here with 1 exception.

Please beguun a new thread if anyone is interested
in discussing their problems with alcoholic thinking.

The Friends & Family of Alcoholics might also be a good
place for you if you wish to discuss others alcoholism.

This thread is closed...it's getting confuseing