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Slip or Relapse.....

Old 10-23-2007, 06:57 AM
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Question Slip or Relapse.....

When I was in Aftercare, my counselor told me there was a difference between a "slip" and a "relapse"...a "slip" being a momentary, short-lived, isolated intake of alcohol...where-as a "relapse" was more prolonged, etc..

My question: Does a sip of Beer or Wine constitute a relapse and therefore you have to start your "sobriety" count all over???Does it count as a "slip" and you don't have to start all over ( or do you)???

Ah, semantics......
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Old 10-23-2007, 07:04 AM
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In my opinion, alcohol is alcohol and it doesn't matter how much or what kind.

But, of course, your sobriety date is a date you need to be comfortable with. That's all that counts,
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Old 10-23-2007, 07:08 AM
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I don't know what I would call it, but I know that if I had a sip of alcohol, and it was intentional, I would change my sobriety date.
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Old 10-23-2007, 07:09 AM
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Hi,

I agree with Anna...

A slip is relapse, as relapse is a slip....It doesn't matter...You got off the path of sobriety...
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Old 10-23-2007, 07:49 AM
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I am with Rowan, if I chose to have even a sip of wine I would change my sobriety date, how ever if I picked some ones drink by mistake and realized the mistake right away I would not change it. When people in AA speak of their sobriety date it is in regards to thier last drink or first day without a drink.

Slip versus relapse..... just my opinion, but a slip is a mini relapse, anything from a sip to a one night drunk, anything beyond that is a relapse, just my opinion and nothing more.

Remember my opinion and $1.50 may get you or me a cup of coffee.
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Old 10-23-2007, 07:57 AM
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it has never been my daughter's experience to just have a "sip" or a "few drinks". she drinks the whole bottle and goes out and buys cocaine. so this is hard for me to relate to...
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Old 10-23-2007, 10:34 AM
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Let's really Keep It Simple: A "slip" is accidental, a "relapse" is intentional...the latter requires the good old humble sobriety date change.

Remember my opinion and $1.50 may get you or me a cup of coffee.
Guess you don't patronize Starbucks, Taz. Nothing but "top shelf" for this alcoholic!
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Old 10-23-2007, 11:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Jersey Nonny View Post
Let's really Keep It Simple: A "slip" is accidental, a "relapse" is intentional...the latter requires the good old humble sobriety date change.



Guess you don't patronize Starbucks, Taz. Nothing but "top shelf" for this alcoholic!
Hi Jersey Nonny,

I have not heard a slip is accidental...How can this be???

I don't mean to sound uneducated about addiction but I don't understand...:
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Old 10-23-2007, 11:11 AM
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Sobriety
Loses
Its
Priority

And while we could debate this back and forth endlessly, IMO any intake of an alcoholic beverage requires a change in sobriety date.
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Old 10-23-2007, 11:42 AM
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It dosent matter about a count to anyone but yourself.No matter how long you have if you are an alcoholic like me you will always be one drink away from where you were.I dont have slips I have falls.you are the only one who has to live with your sober date.
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Old 10-23-2007, 01:28 PM
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i am not sure what slip means? I agree with all of them, if it was an accident and you picked up a drink not knowing what is was I can see that as a slip. If you picked up the drink knowing what it was i would have to say that would be a relapse. Being an alchy myself I try to avoid any drink that is not mine. We all have done it and is hard. Counting sober days well that is all on you, you were there and you know what happened. You have to live with the dates. Please no matter what the circumstance dont get down on yourself, whether it is it is and now it over and keep going. keep posting. Goodluck:praying
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Old 10-23-2007, 04:06 PM
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I have been sober for...hmmm.....well, the last time I was drunk was August 13, 2007, but I did intentionally have some champagne for my wedding anniversary in early October....so I chose to change my sobriety date to the October date, but I do not let the fact that I "slipped" and chose to drink affect my feeling about my overall recovery. Someone said to me here and also at a meeting something along these lines:" Ok, you slipped. You got up the next day, faced the "music", hit a meeting and got on with recovery." I was really down on myself until I had a friend here tell me that even thought I made a mistake and drank that one evening, I was still miles ahead of where I had been in August when I first got sober, and all was not lost because of my one bad choice. So, I guess, whatever you choose to say your sobriety date is, just don't let yourself feel that you "lost" sober time because you drank once.
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Old 10-23-2007, 04:26 PM
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A slip is when you step on a wet spot (alcohol or otherwise) and loose your footing. If you decide to drink, a sip or a gallon; call it what it is, a "decision" to imbibe alcohol.

You don't have to change your sobriety date if you have decided to start rationalizing your behavior to yourself. In fact if just being able to tell others about your "factious" date is important, count each real sober day as two and you will end up being "twice" as sober.

Point is a sobriety date belongs just to you. It is an intensely personal matter and you should be able to look yourself in the eye and know the truth.

SIMPLE AS THAT!

Jon
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Old 10-23-2007, 04:42 PM
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The word Relapse is found in the Big Book 5 times,

Slip is mentioned 2 times.

There is no real distinction as far as I can tell by reading the contexts.


Interesting to note that under Slip we find Lapse

and under relapse we find to slip

In my opinion, any distinction is personal, and not based in fact or research.

From Webster:

Pronunciation:
\ˈslip\
Inflected Form(s):
slipped; slip·ping
Etymology:
Middle English slippen, from Middle Dutch or Middle Low German; akin to Middle High German slipfen to slide, Old High German slīfan to smooth, and perhaps to Greek olibros slippery
Date:
14th century

: to fall into error or fault : lapse




Main Entry:
1re·lapse Listen to the pronunciation of 1relapse Listen to the pronunciation of 1relapse
Pronunciation:
\ri-ˈlaps, ˈrē-ˌ\
Function:
noun
Etymology:
Middle English, from Medieval Latin relapsus, from Latin relabi to slide back, from re- + labi to slide — more at sleep
Date:
15th century

1 : the act or an instance of backsliding, worsening, or subsiding

2 : a recurrence of symptoms of a disease after a period of improvement

3 : to slip or fall back into a former worse state
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Old 10-23-2007, 05:20 PM
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One other thing.

The worst thing that could possibly happen is this:

Nothing.

There is a certain frame of mind (and I have been there many times) where I would try a little sip of something, perhaps from someone else's drink, and nothing terrible would happen.

This would fuel my reasoning that "maybe I could have just one".

Within a week I would be passing out drunk again.

Please be aware of your possible frame of mind here.

Blessings,

Ted
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Old 10-23-2007, 05:39 PM
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such a great question... is it like asking if I only had a little sex am I still a virgin?

or is it more complicated? I don't know...

ok my 2 cents... and who am I anyways?
I would say a little sip isn't a slip. For me it has always been once I start to feel it the race is on... so one tiny sip wouldn't cause me to become unpredictable. However! HOWEVER! I know one sip could lead to two and well how many licks to the center of a tootsie pop?

And on that note I am not sure one sip wouldn't cause me to loose control. I look at it like this... if you put one bullet in the gun and spin the barrel and pull the trigger and you don't shoot yourself in the head it doesn't mean it won't happen the next time you pull the trigger.

You decide for yourself don't let me tell you what to do but I would say no way for me... it aint worth it... No way I am testing that theory.
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Old 10-23-2007, 06:30 PM
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slip/relapse its all a part of recovery. Brush yourself of and move forward.

I never knew how to sip anyway I just guzzled and took pills and hit up and then collapsed, my DOC was MORE... what a life NOT!

Hey Debaucher, I am a little bit of a virgin, or is that a little virgin or maybe ....


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Old 10-23-2007, 08:17 PM
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So what's the deal? We don't want to make anyone feel bad so we let them call it a "Slip"?
That is a sugarcoated way of saying they made a conscious decision to drink if you ask me.
Dismissing any intentional drinking as a "Slip" and offering them a prayer is granting permission to do it again with our blessing.
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Old 10-23-2007, 09:29 PM
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Interesting read. I LOVE Jfanagle's answer.

Point too - one to ponder, whether rationalizing or not -

If an alcoholic doesn't get honest - an alcoholic doesn't get sober.

The only drink we have any control over - is that first one.
It's not a contest to say,
"I've got this much time' or 'I'm going on that much time' -
And at the same time - us alcoholics have so very LITTLE
when we look at it ... so little that we've actually EARNED ...
when we DO accumulate days - we're proud of it.
As well we should be.

Lying is lying is lying.
That's pretty much it, isn't it?
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Old 10-24-2007, 04:27 AM
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To thine own self be true...

xxoo, zip
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