2bhappier

I know what is good about being sober but is there anything good about being a sober alcoholic or an alcoholic in general? I have heard people in AA meetings actually say they are glad they are alcoholics and I just don't understand this. I need inspiration to keep myself from drinking. What would make these people glad they are alcoholics?

silentrun

I can't think of anything actually good about being an alcoholic. It did bring me to the lowest depths of depression so I can appreciate being healthy now. Before this all happened I probably took a lot for granted.

Aellyce

Not sure what your AA mates were thinking, but here is something I was already going to share on SR, an impression, might be wrong... I think having been through the hell of addiction, the challenges of recovery, attempts to live healthily, along with all the inquisitiveness and introspection about what really matters in life may eventually create a much deeper level of serenity, mental balance, and compassion than those that never suffered any chronic illness typically experience.

I think part of the experience comes from what happens when addicts manage to quit and maintain sobriety - after usually many years (decades) of madness, "normal" can feel like wonderful long-forgotten peace, which often also creates a desire to help others achieve that, as we can see so beautifully on this board, for example. I guess in AA also, I have never been so no experience with that.

Dee74

Hi 2b

I'm not grateful I'm an alcoholic...thats a bit perverse for me...but I *am* grateful that my alcoholism bought to recovery and to the place I am today.

Even tho my life and myself are far from perfect I like who I am, I like my life, and I have a meaningful existence.

I feel like I have a second chance, and I don;t have to avoid looking at the wasted demoralised stranger in the mirror anymore.

Life, even with all it's ups and downs, is good.
I have a measure of peace.

I wish that for you too 2b

D

HeadLump

Maybe it's the opportunity for re-birth. To see things with fresh eyes and to realise again how wonderful life can be. Maybe like the new air after rain, full of possibilities. The second chance.

I believe that happpiness is all about appreciation. And having been through the hell of alcoholism, I really appreciate life in a way I don't think I could have done otherwise.

GracieLou

I agree with Dee, it is not the fact that I am an alcoholic I am grateful for, it is the fact that because of it I have found a new way to live. I life with peace and serenity.

I see many people that are not alcoholics that run their life on self will that will never know the peace that comes with letting go. They do not have anything in their life right now that is bad enough to bring them to another way of living or another way of looking at life. I am not saying they have never had bad or even traumatic events happen, I am sure they have, but it did not bring them to their knees. They tuck it away, as I once did and live around it rather than release it.

They are, as I once was, plagued by the past regrets, pain and resentments. They do not feel gratitude. They take no action. They run the scenarios that exhaust the mind and body.

So, I am grateful that I am an alcoholic.

PurpleKnight

I guess we needed to be an alcoholic before we could be sober, if I hadn't have decided that I couldn't moderate but instead needed to quit due to being an alcoholic, then I wouldn't be enjoying all the benefits of being Sober now.

Compare that to still convincing ourselves we could moderate, I'd be sitting with a hangover right now, typing this if that was still the case.

Plus I would have never met all you lovely people!!

hypochondriac

I found that odd too. But I heard someone once say that they were grateful they were an alcoholic because it kept them going long enough to get to AA. I thought about my life before and how I would have coped if I hadn't been drinking, and honestly, I am not sure I would be here now. So yeah. I am grateful. I hit on something that made life bearable, until it started creating more problems than is supposedly solved. But even my therapist said that my developing a drinking problem was probably the smartest thing I could have done. I know it sounds perverse but everyone has some sh*t to deal with and this is ours. If you think about it dealing with addiction is a walk in the park compared to some other mental health issues.

The other side of this of course is that you can't change it so you may as well be grateful for it. It isn't going to help you by feeling sorry for our lot but if you can turn it into a positive then sobriety is going to be much easier and happier x

ForMeForThem

I wouldn't say glad to be an alcoholic but it has forced me to work on issues that I was trying to escape from and numb. When hiding behind a bottle no longer worked, I've had to face these things that I may not have otherwise. I've learned to have more empathy for others too. So if in the end I am a stronger, healthier, kinder person, I'll accept it as what was supposed to be, to bring me to who I am supposed to be.

StraightAhead

Richard Rohr says that AA is the organization where the most authentic spiritual growth is happening today. Not church, but AA. He theorizes that in order to have true spiritual growth you need to fall down first, and one thing about being alcoholic, you fall down hard. You have an authentic experience of being at a very low level which I guess opens you up to a more authentic spiritual experience. So that's one good thing about it. Not that it wouldn't be better to get at it another way, but that's something positive about being alcoholic anyway.

doggonecarl

You don't have to be glad to be an alcoholic to not drink. You don't have to be happy about life to not drink. YOU JUST DON'T DRINK.

Sobriety brings its own rewards. But you have to stay sober to appreciate them. Stay strong.

serious

i agree with what a lot of people said here.

one part of me wants to say that the ultimate "happiness" is being a "normal drinker". but really i stopped thinking that there's anything "normal" about drinking.

so in a way, yes.. i am happy that i cannot drink even one drink. i get to see life for what it is and only through the struggles that i've endured did i get stronger and did i get where i am today.

i forget to be grateful for that. but every day sober and healthy is a good day.

jrocks607

I am a bit up in the air about being happy to being an alcoholic. Was I sent down the wrong path from the start or was I just not strong enough to moderate or just refuse. I don't know, but where I am now is a much better place to be than it was last year. I see things differently and appreciate more. It is a tough road to take, but to know that you have earned the spoils in life makes it all worth it. Good luck.
Keep fighting

ScottFromWI

I feel that I AM an alcoholic, and accept that I am. Whether it's bad or good is kind of irrelevant to me, it's a fact of life that I must accept and deal with. If other people feel that it's somehow a good thing for them, or that they are glad, that's fine for them if it helps them deal with it. Others probably feel it's a curse, which is fine too.

Raider

I believe God brings you through things. I believe no tear is wasted. There is a reason for every hardship you go through. God is not going to have you wander around in the darkness for no purpose. You have a purpose and there is a plan. It will be revealed in His time, not yours. Good to be an alcoholic, I don't think so. I just know somewhere somehow I'll know why I am one. That is what I believe.

Raider

Oh and by the way, you never know where your light will shine. There are people on this website that have inspired be immensely, whether they know it or not. There are people here that have actually said I inspired them. That is truly humbling. Me. Me, I inspired someone with my constant struggles. Yes, humbling.

aasharon90

It's not just not drinking alcohol anymore
or not under the enfluence of anykind of
mind altering drug, but rather being on
a natural high.

I guess you have to experience it to
thoroughly understand it. And if anyone
who is an alcoholic or drug addict, remains
sober or clean for any length of time will
definitely understand where Im coming from.

I can sit outside with the sunshining and
listening and watch the birds singing in
the trees and emmediately get a feeling
of euphoria. A gratefulness of having
a clear mind and clearer eye sight at the
beauty that surrounds me. Like being in
a garden of paradise.

I can be in the car riding and emmediately
feel gratfeullness of being exactly where I
am, in the world at this time, free.

It's like an OMG moment. Unbelievable, that
I can actually enjoy life without poison in my
system.

I often heard in early recovery to not leave
until we have experienced the miracle. And
I did hang on no matter what life thru at me,
I hung on and yes, I have experience and
continue the experience of the miracles in
recovery.

So can you...!!!!

LadyBlue0527

Hi 2bhappier,

I don't think that I've ever heard someone say at an AA meeting that they were grateful that they were an alcoholic rather they were a grateful and recovering alcoholic. Could this be what you're referring to?

Threshold

I've talked to people who say they are grateful to be alcoholics because it brought them to recovery...and through recovery they learned to live a more fulfilling life that they had before they even started drinking.

So, in a round about way, without the kick in the butt of alcoholism, they might never have done anything to improve their life to the degree a recovery program has.

Not all people feel that way or have had that experience. Lots of people make changes for the better in their lives without having to reach an alcoholic low to do so, but...it takes what it takes, and for some people they feel it took alcoholism.

Threshold

For me, the good thing about being sober is that I no longer live with the tunnel vision perspective of drug/booze aholism.

I am free to make choices in my life. No longer dragging around that ball and chain, no longer wasted miserable and focused on my next hit. Now I can live.