Was One Never Enough?
 

As I was sitting here reading the forums this morning...on day 4 of sobriety for the millionth time...

Every wonder why one was never enough? I was thinking about this process....there is an initial urge to drink...for me....it was an itch I couldn't scratch....never satisfied! After that first drink, the inhibitions are already lowered and the rationalization of stopping right there is gone. The first drink's gone, then there's the 2nd urge to drink. That one ends and well there's the 3rd urge to drink...and so on and so on...ad nausea...
Here's my point...
For everyone out there fighting that urge to pick up the first drink....remember that "one" drink will NEVER make that urge go away...the only thing it will do is make that 2nd urge more powerful!! ...(and the 3rd, 4th, 5th, etc....) Stay in power...don't give the urge anymore power than it already has by fooling yourself into thinking a drink is what you need or deserve. You deserve to stay in power!
Think of every time you don't drink as strengthening that power!

Excellent insight and so very true!

I like the basic text of NA that says one is too many and a 1000 is never enough.
I have had many opportunities to prove to myself that I can just have one or two then stop and not want more. This usually leads to a growing patter over a number of days or weeks where because I've controlled my intake it slowly creeps upward and the thoughts of drinking become all consuming, until I'm physically addicted again.
It's all a bottomless trap. The only way to avoid it is to not drink.

Oh gosh....yeah as I recovered these last couple days from my binge....I remembered I actually drank Thursday too (not a ton)...then Friday and Saturday went crazy....I too do that thing where it starts out "fine"....couple evenings of just cocktails, no hangover the next day....then BAM....It's kinda interesting ... is it just we think we did okay so we stop worrying as much? weird.....

Alcoholism is progressive to the alcoholic

1 drop leads to two drops
Half pints lead to pints
Pints lead to occasional spirits & bringing drink home
Drinking at home, bars, work & all the problems that go with it increases and then starts to happen regularly with more & more consistency

I could carry on but it's heartbreaking writing on from here

All from 1 drop of alcohol

Alcohol to Alcoholics is like what kryptonite is to superman

Oh me too Wildchild! I'm so proud of myself because I only had 1/3 of the bottle. Then it's well only 1/2 and then oh my gosh, did I drink the entire thing?
Ugh!

Can't do that anymore.

I tested the theory of one in November of last year, what happens to me is a few things, I pick up where I left off after just one, my sense of reasoning fades desperate quick so having another seems to be par for the course then all hell breaks loose and I can not, will not, not ready to stop for weeks, the key for me if I were to go back to that event, I should had played the tape through as I knew where it would lead.

Andrew

Thank you wild child. I took a screen grab of your post to have on hand.
Yep, you nailed it.

I never tried to convince myself I was only having "one" drink.

From the very start I set out to drink as much as possible. If I was in a situation where I could only have one or two .. I did not see the point in drinking because I knew I would just become irritated about not being able to have more.

The first drink starts the phenomenon of craving. As long as I don't pick up that one, I'm good.

It's the engine that kills ya, not the caboose