3 months Later - I am not an alcoholic
this is a really great post Autan and expresses a lot of what I feel and think in sobriety as well.
I too have a challenge with the term "alcoholic" - though I will use it at AA and sometimes in my writings interchangeably - when I'm amongst other alchoholics. Because I know there I will not be judged for the label nor assumptions and stigmas attached to who I am because of it.
Unfortunately in the "real world" - that is not the case.
" I am a person who chooses not to drink alcohol, because he doesn't like the effect it has on me."
dead right.
Thanks for sharing this post and congratulations on your progress in sobriety.
I too have a challenge with the term "alcoholic" - though I will use it at AA and sometimes in my writings interchangeably - when I'm amongst other alchoholics. Because I know there I will not be judged for the label nor assumptions and stigmas attached to who I am because of it.
Unfortunately in the "real world" - that is not the case.
" I am a person who chooses not to drink alcohol, because he doesn't like the effect it has on me."
dead right.
Thanks for sharing this post and congratulations on your progress in sobriety.
Not saying that everyone that was on this site when I joined is back drinking because they no longer post but there's probably a good % that are.
I no longer have an obsession to drink that doesn't mean, I can't forget an want to try it again. One of the biggest problems alcoholics have is they use alcohol to numb their problems.
I wish you well on your journey an hope you are on here posting many years from now
I no longer have an obsession to drink that doesn't mean, I can't forget an want to try it again. One of the biggest problems alcoholics have is they use alcohol to numb their problems.
I wish you well on your journey an hope you are on here posting many years from now
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Join Date: Nov 2013
Posts: 370
I suppose I more or less agree with your thinking Autan. Describing myself as an alcoholic is limited to meetings, in other company I just say I don't drink anymore. I don't owe people who don't understand this problem more of an explanation than that.
Great post Autan, I also have a tough time with the word "alcoholic". The first time I said it in AA was hard for me and I find it to be an ugly label. I agree, I choose not to drink just like I choose not to smoke.
I know that if I go back to smoking I cannot have just one cigarette, I will smoke a pack or more a day. If I go back to drinking I know I will not have just one drink, I will want the whole bottle.
You are right, I dont tell people I am a smokeaholic or an alcoholic. And you do not have to tell them either for a great post.
I know that if I go back to smoking I cannot have just one cigarette, I will smoke a pack or more a day. If I go back to drinking I know I will not have just one drink, I will want the whole bottle.
You are right, I dont tell people I am a smokeaholic or an alcoholic. And you do not have to tell them either for a great post.
Not saying that everyone that was on this site when I joined is back drinking because they no longer post but there's probably a good % that are.
I no longer have an obsession to drink that doesn't mean, I can't forget an want to try it again. One of the biggest problems alcoholics have is they use alcohol to numb their problems.
I wish you well on your journey an hope you are on here posting many years from now
I no longer have an obsession to drink that doesn't mean, I can't forget an want to try it again. One of the biggest problems alcoholics have is they use alcohol to numb their problems.
I wish you well on your journey an hope you are on here posting many years from now
Fantastic post Autan - has certainly been a line of thinking that has worked well for me these past 3 months. I've always found it interesting that alcohol is the only drug that if you don't use it, you're considered to have a problem with it. It's quite illogical. Am I an alcoholic at the moment? Do I have a problem with alcohol, at the moment? No. Why? Because I don't drink. Of course past experiences tell me that if I were to drink again, I would soon be doing so in a destructive and problematic way, but I'm not drinking so I am not putting that label on myself. Perhaps tenses are important here. I HAD a drinking problem but do not HAVE a drinking problem, although people who know me who see me having a coke instead of a beer will say 'he's having a coke because he HAS a drinking problem, or because he IS an alcoholic'. It's rather irritating actually!
Fantastic post Autan - has certainly been a line of thinking that has worked well for me these past 3 months. I've always found it interesting that alcohol is the only drug that if you don't use it, you're considered to have a problem with it. It's quite illogical. Am I an alcoholic at the moment? Do I have a problem with alcohol, at the moment? No. Why? Because I don't drink. Of course past experiences tell me that if I were to drink again, I would soon be doing so in a destructive and problematic way, but I'm not drinking so I am not putting that label on myself. Perhaps tenses are important here. I HAD a drinking problem but do not HAVE a drinking problem, although people who know me who see me having a coke instead of a beer will say 'he's having a coke because he HAS a drinking problem, or because he IS an alcoholic'. It's rather irritating actually!
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