I'm Not Sick....You're Sick.
 

I heard something on T.V. the other day that really got me thinking.
Someone said that she believed that Addiction was a plague of today.
Thinking about that has been interesting. I started to think about how I am 'sick' with my disease. I then thought that if nobody else around me drank, if nobody in the world drank, would I have such a hard time staying sober myself. I don't think so. I know for a fact, that it is much easier for me to stay sober when others around me ARE NOT drinking. It is when everyone else is having drinks that I really struggle.
Then I thought, most people drink too much. I know all my friends and family do. Most of them. I know very few people who have just one, maybe two drinks and then stop. Most people over-drink. They may not 'misbehave' when they drink, but they get good and drunk. Doesn't that make THEM sick?
Why should I think of myself as the one who is sick when I am clean and sober? Maybe I should think about everyone else as sick. They are the ones who over-drink and in their own ways are dependant on alcohol.
When I think about it that way, it makes it easier for me to deal with not drinking while others are. Thinking that they are participating in this Addiction Plague. Thinking that they are sick and that I am not makes it a bit easier to not pick up.
I'm NOT saying that this is THE WAY IT IS.....I'm just sharing with you a different slant on 'being sick' which has helped me handle not drinking around others who are drinking.

Interesting thoughts! Thanks for sharing tay.

About all I can say is that I know I'm sick. It's that mental obsession thing, ya know? But I'm grateful for the daily reprieve that God, my spirituality, and the program of AA blesses me with.

interesting thoughts indeed...

try to focus on yourself. let others be.

Very interesting thoughts, Tay-lin.

I feel like people with our addiction issues have, to some degree, that "disease of the mind" we're always hearing about. That said, I think that by being sober we're quite the opposite of "sick".

I was in a difficult situation the other day, and had two separate people tell me I "deserved" to "go get a drink". Other people may not have the sickness of mind that we (read: I) do, but I think it's absolutely true that the vast majority of "well" people use alcohol as an unhealthy crutch.

I guess I'm saying that while we are using life to conquer the difficulties of alcohol, other people use alcohol to conquer the difficulties of life.
Either that, or I have no idea what I'm saying...which would pretty much be par for the course.

All the best,

B'sT

I understand what you're saying about focusing on myself. I am. However, in order for me to understand myself, my triggers, etc., I need to understand my environment and be prepared to deal with it. And I have to find new ways to look at and process the things that I have to deal with on a day to day basis. And I'm not judging others. This is just a different way for me talk myself out of joining everyone for a drink.
Having said that, I appreciate your input and your point of view. They are important for me to think about. Every little bit of insight helps.
:ghug2

hundreds of years ago people drank alcohol cause they would die from water from the rivers and wells. Society was very different back then, I wonder if there would be true alcoholics, and if 'normal' people would look at them as diseased.

Don't know how true this is, something I heard from a counselor the last time I was in rehab... in the U.S. at least. Not sure about other countries.

If you took everyone and balanced out their drinking so that no one was abusing and all (even current non-drinkers) drank "moderately" (moderately meaning no more than 2 drinks per day for men, 1 drink per day for women), most of the liquor companies would go out of business.

In my prime, I was drinking 45 times what the moderate drinker would consume per day.

I was told back in 1982 if a person drinks enough to feel a buzz they were alcoholic. I do not find that to be the case anymore. Because people that don't drink all the time do get a buzz off of one drink. And these people were supposed to be addictions specialist.

JustAnotherDrunk;
That just goes to show how much those who do drink, are actually drinking. Not only are the liquor/beer companies in business, they make HUGE profits.
One month my hubby and I looked at our bank account and counted all the liquor and beer purchases, in one month it was over $900.00 which boiled down to 6 $35.00 purchases a week. Which was only a few cases of beer, a few bottles of vodka and a couple bottles of wine. That was just an average week, with 'moderate' drinking every night and weekends. Imagine how much we spent when we were givin' er! That's a LOT of money! How crazy is that.

This reminds me very much of a book I read while in rehab. It's called "The Paradigm Conspiracy: How our Social Systems Violate Human Potential, and how We Can Change Them," by Christopher Largent and Denise Brenton.

The book very much dealt with the situations you are talking about, the society as a whole being sick and how difficult it is to be healthy in a sick system.

zxcirce;
EXACTLY what I am talking about. I think the majority of our society lives with all different kinds of addictions, so many people live in excess, everything is overdone. Living in that makes it hard to live a simple life of health and sprituality.
In NOT drinking/using....we have to constantly remind ourselves that WE are sick. In the past that has proved overwhelming for me and I end up wanting to be like everyone else....and I always pickup. BUT in thinking as I mentioned above, that I am the one who is healthy, and others are sick (those who overdo the drink), that MAY help me to NOT get overwhelmed with feeling down on myself, NOT want to be like others and end up picking up.
Again, just me trying to look at things a different way....I'll do whatever it takes to keep my sobriety, if it means changing my thinking from the 'norm', so be it.

Although I will acknowledge that we live in a society where alcohol and other drugs play a prominent role; for myself, if I focus on what other people are or are not doing, I am not focusing on me and my recovery. I have no problem with calling myself 'sick' - it helps me on those days when I feel less than, and I remember that I have a disease that often affects my thoughts and feelings.

I'm healthier today because I acknowledge this disease. It's all a matter of perspective, IMO.

I agree with that too Rowan;
I am sick, in that I have a disease whereby I cannot ingest one drop of alcohol without turning into a 'crazy'.
I don't undermine the actual disease at all. I don't think it is safe for one minute to forget that I cannot drink.
For me, it just helps a wee bit to look at my surroundings and know that they aren't 'unsick' either.
Know what I mean?
I can't ever afford to stop working on me and remembering that I am an alcoholic.

Maybe I shouldn't have called this thread.....I'm not sick..........
I probably should have called it...........We're all sick.
Cause I didn't mean to say that I didn't think I was sick. I KNOW I am.

Whatever works for you not to pick up Tay-Lyn...

although I agree with Rowan - what other people do taint none of my business.
It's what I do that counts. We could all be sober on Gilligan's Island, y'know ? We have to live and be sober in the real world...that's what a working program of recovery's all about :)

I spent years drinking safe in the sure knowledge I didn't drink half as much as some of my mates - I recognise that now as alcoholic thinking 101 - in the end, so what?

jus' sayin...
D

I respect everyone's point of view.
And you're right....whatever works for you (me). As long as it keeps me sober and working on my recovery.

Hi Tay-lin,

I absolutely believe that addiction is a disease and I know for sure, that I was sick. I am not sick now, though I am still an addict. I know I still have issues to work on, no question about that, but I do not call myself sick now. And, I do not believe that everybody is sick. I know many people who have found peace and serenity in their lives - that's not to say they are not growing and evolving, but I don't believe they are sick.

I disagree that everyone drinks too much. I think that totally depends on your environment. I wasn't living in an environment where there was much, if any, drinking going on. At the time I became alcoholic, there were only a few times in a year where I was in a social setting which involved alcohol.

My perspective is this. I was lost and in a huge amount of pain and I had no self-esteem. Alcohol was an easy option to help me through the darkest of days. But, it could have been food, drugs, whatever. It was a choice I made because I was sick. Now, I am doing much better.

Above all, focus on yourself and disregard the labels.

Hey Anna;
Again, I respect what you said.
But in my experience, MOST people do drink too much. I didn't say ALL, I said most. And our circle of friends and family involves cops, lawyers, business owners, factory workers, etc., through all the different life-styles I have seen in my 38 years, it has been my experience that MOST (not all) people drink too much. And I don't put labels on people, but again, in my experience with AA......there have been a few, also my experience with ALANON....my mother is an alcoholic........most (not all) people consider those in recovery to be sick....that isn't meant to be derogatory, because someone who has diabetes may not be 'suffering' from their disease, but they are still considered 'sick' and need to be ever mindful of their condition.
Again, my post is based on my experience and how I look at things.
To each their own.

I agree that it is your experience that most people drink too much.It isn't mine at all though.But that's ok.I guess what others are objecting to here is the generalisation that that's how it is everywhere in the world.It isn't.I have tons of friends who drink moderately.I wish I could too-but I'm an alcoholic and know I can't.

The problem with alcoholics thinking of themselves as "sick" diminishes the total of what that alcoholic is. I believe I am an alcoholic, but I am also many other things (positive things), and you are too.
Some people call it a disease or sickness but I simply consider it an addiction. Coulda been gambling, sex, food, drugs, or something else, but it's alcohol.
You can think of the "others" around you as being the sick ones but I don't see where anything positive can come from that.
The world is a rough place, and everyone has their struggles, some just more evident than others.
Everytime I get a week or so going I start to feel so strong and healthy I feel like drinking. Well I know where that leads so I got to stop.
Good luck to all. Sorry to ramble.
Sportster