The fundamental requirement; easy to take for granted...
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Join Date: May 2009
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The fundamental requirement; easy to take for granted...
Something that has been recently resonating with me is the fundamental requirement for continous sobriety; the ability to not take that first drink. It's very easy to take for granted just what a massive thing this is, and how difficult it is for many to ever reach the stage where they accept that it's the first drink that does all of the damage. If the first drink continues to be taken then the cycle will keep progressing and negativity increasing. Of course, this only applies if you're an alcoholic.
It's so easy to forget what a massive realisation and acceptance this is and I know by witnessing various things recently in relation to criminal justice then the first drink/drug is going to be taken again and then the cycle just keeps going round and round. I guess many will never reach the stage where they are willing to accept that it's the first drink/drug that's doing all of the damage. This has much wider implications than merely the act of not putting the chemical in your body. Effectively to enable this to happen it requires a willingness to totally and utterly change one's life, something which certainly isn't easy and takes time and there ain't no magical quick fix. It also is paramount that total and utter acceptance that a) you're an alcoholic and b) the first drink is the one that does you in every time.
I know for me then this is absolutely the case. That total and utter acceptance that it's the first drink that does all of the damage is so crucial, without that absolute knowledge then I would be hopeless. I am very grateful that I gained the necessary knowledge of my alcoholism and that I smashed myself down as low as I could do in order for me to want sobriety more than I wanted to get f*cked up. I guess I had to reach that point or else I would just have kept taking the first drink, as without total acceptance and knowledge of my situation then why wouldn't I have done? I guess that's the difficult thing in that you have to go down so low before you are ready to appreciate and gain the knowledge of the reality. Even then you have to commit to sobriety/recovery 100% and be totally willing.
Grateful to be sober and grateful to be an alcoholic.
Peace
It's so easy to forget what a massive realisation and acceptance this is and I know by witnessing various things recently in relation to criminal justice then the first drink/drug is going to be taken again and then the cycle just keeps going round and round. I guess many will never reach the stage where they are willing to accept that it's the first drink/drug that's doing all of the damage. This has much wider implications than merely the act of not putting the chemical in your body. Effectively to enable this to happen it requires a willingness to totally and utterly change one's life, something which certainly isn't easy and takes time and there ain't no magical quick fix. It also is paramount that total and utter acceptance that a) you're an alcoholic and b) the first drink is the one that does you in every time.
I know for me then this is absolutely the case. That total and utter acceptance that it's the first drink that does all of the damage is so crucial, without that absolute knowledge then I would be hopeless. I am very grateful that I gained the necessary knowledge of my alcoholism and that I smashed myself down as low as I could do in order for me to want sobriety more than I wanted to get f*cked up. I guess I had to reach that point or else I would just have kept taking the first drink, as without total acceptance and knowledge of my situation then why wouldn't I have done? I guess that's the difficult thing in that you have to go down so low before you are ready to appreciate and gain the knowledge of the reality. Even then you have to commit to sobriety/recovery 100% and be totally willing.
Grateful to be sober and grateful to be an alcoholic.
Peace
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Join Date: Feb 2011
Posts: 267
Originally Posted by NEOMARXIST 
how difficult it is for many to ever reach the stage where they accept that it's the first drink that does all of the damage.
Snarf Snarf
Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: ATL
Posts: 835
Thanks for this post, NEO. I had a discussion about this with a couple ladies at work yesterday. They were asking if I could just have 1 drink and shut it off, and I was like, "Nope. That's not how I roll. Once I start, I keep going, and it ends up badly." Then one of them asked me (since I'm planning to get married next spring), "What about champagne at your wedding? You won't even have a glass to celebrate?" Again, nope, that's not how I get down. I told them that the first drink won't ruin me, but it will lead to more and more and more booze, and that will certainly be the end of me. So I explained to them that if I don't want that to happen, I just can't take that first drink.
I'm thankful that I'm now able to think along those lines. Rather than living out the insanity of trying to control my drinking and counting the number of drinks I have and trying to space out the shots and the beers, it's so much easier just to not have that first drink. It's been working pretty well for me so far.
I'm thankful that I'm now able to think along those lines. Rather than living out the insanity of trying to control my drinking and counting the number of drinks I have and trying to space out the shots and the beers, it's so much easier just to not have that first drink. It's been working pretty well for me so far.
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Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: UK
Posts: 4,682
I found that knowing it is a physical allergy helped immensely in the understanding of what actually happens to us if we take the first drink?
There is of course the metal obsession to keep drinking but it also the "body" craving more of the same too...this means that if i do take that first drink then i am going to have 20, i would not want to control the amount nor would i attempt to anymore if i was to drink again...its pointless...
Before i went to AA i was just told that i was an alcoholic...wtf does that mean? lol I guess one day there will be more info widely available about alcoholism and that will be good for all new yeahgr8's and Neo's...having so much willpower and not being able to understand why i couldn't stop drinking literally drove me to the gates of insanity..y'know without the stuff in the Big Book i would still be convinced that it was a matter of willpower and thats scary...well its not scary for me anymore but i feel scared for others who don't have this information!
There is of course the metal obsession to keep drinking but it also the "body" craving more of the same too...this means that if i do take that first drink then i am going to have 20, i would not want to control the amount nor would i attempt to anymore if i was to drink again...its pointless...
Before i went to AA i was just told that i was an alcoholic...wtf does that mean? lol I guess one day there will be more info widely available about alcoholism and that will be good for all new yeahgr8's and Neo's...having so much willpower and not being able to understand why i couldn't stop drinking literally drove me to the gates of insanity..y'know without the stuff in the Big Book i would still be convinced that it was a matter of willpower and thats scary...well its not scary for me anymore but i feel scared for others who don't have this information!
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