LKKPA

Ok...am on day 120 and have been doing pretty good thus far. I am going to AA meetings, meeting with my sponsor, working out at the gym and have lost 11#. I also have a job interview tomorrow and am working at getting my medical license back. My current problem is whenever I attend AA meetings or meet with my sponsor or work on the steps, I start craving a drink. It's when Im not at a meeting or doing any recovery related activities I don't think about alcohol at all. My sick mind wants to rationalize and convince me that I don't need these recovery activities because they only make me think of drinking but I know that if I stop my recovery activities that I will eventually relapse. I just wanted to know if meetings, sponsors and doing the steps are a trigger for others. If so, how do I get beyond this? I know I need to attend meetings and work the steps but they cause me to start thinking about drinking and when I don't I seem to be fine. So confused.....all I know is that I don't want to relapse and will continue to do everything that I know I should. Seems to be a bump in the road for me and a double edge sword. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!! Thanks!!

yeahgr8

By day 120 i had finished the steps, which meant the compulsion to drink had left me...what step are you on?

By the way good job on the other stuff:-)

LKKPA

I am only on Step 2. My sponsor is pretty fanatic and wants to go slow. I have lots of home work and have 4 parts to step 2. Will be finished with it this week and on to Step 3.

yeahgr8

Thanks the reason i ask is that the relief and the promises only come in the later stages of the steps...you coould post, as well, in the Alcoholism 12 step support forum if you want to get a perspective on this from more other AA members:-)

LKKPA

Okay, will do that. Thanks!!

OZboy

..good wishes with your recovery.

..be proud of who you are......ozy..

Tazman53

yeahgr8 asked & responded what I would have said. You may want to ask your sponsor if you 2 could go through the steps a bit quicker. For this alcoholic real releif came after steps 4 & 5 & grew even more from there. That being said & not knowing you perhaps your sponsor wants to make sure you just do not WORK the steps, but you take them to heart! My experience is there is a huge difference between working the steps & taking them to heart. That is not to say that one can not take them quicker if need be.

intention

You posted in the Step study as well, I'm just pasting my reply here as well.



Hi, well done on 120 days and going to meetings and working with your sponsor.


According to the Big Book this is not a craving for drink. This disease of alcoholism is made up for a physical craving in the body and a mental obsession. If you are at step 2 you would have read about this in the Dr's Opinion.

The physical craving of the body is removed quite quickly and easily in a matter of days of being sober. It will only appear again if we take the first sip of alcohol back into our body and then the cravings start and will be overwhelming. This is why the advice is to always stay away from the first drink.

What you are experiencing is the mental obsession to drink. This is very different and cannot be removed by quitting drinking. This obsession of the mind tells us to drink even when the body doesn't need it. It tells us to drink when we are least expecting it. It is "cunning, baffling and powerful" to the point it will tell us to drink even when we are doing lots to keep ourselves sober.

The only way that I was able to remove this mental obsession to drink was working all the Steps. It promises us in the Big Book at Step 10 that "the problem has been removed" - p84-85


If you are like me then the only way to get beyond this is to work all the Steps.
The longer you stay where you are you are, you are fighting this obsession of the mind on will-power and will-power will eventually run out.

You need a Power greater than your own will-power so you can recover from this mental obsession. I would suggest you speak to your sponsor and look to working through the rest of the steps thoroughly......but quickly.
Good luck.