wpainterw

The more I think of it, the more horrible it seems to be. Addiction, traditionally scorned, despised and shamed as a moral failing, is an illness arising out of the human body's incredible power to adapt and survive. Modern research indicates that it is substantially, but not entirely, genetic and that it is also due to the body's neurological magic of self defense, altering neurotransmitters and uptake receptors to accommodate the ingestion of alien substances. So addicts, although not without moral responsibility (particularly when entering the recovery stage) become casualties of the body's self modification necessary to survive, the product of millions of years of evolution. A process which so often leads to disaster, horrendous suffering and failure
There should be no guilt, no shame. But the two seem inevitable. Immense courage, resolve, stamina and persistence is required to climb the long road back, the long upward mountain of recovery.

W.

Forward12

I think it's an interesting topic on what the reasoning may be from an evolutionary standpoint as to why some become alcoholics/addicts and others don't. Perhaps just a simple brain mutation where the switches are reversed from seeing a toxin, as something as a must have need? I guess we may never know,..

ClearLight

I know that some of the shame comes from a disconnect between how I envision myself and how that vision is destroyed by drinking.
I mean I know that I shouldn't drink. I know there is no logical reason to drink. I know that it's bad for me.
And yet there have been times where I have drank.
That destroys my image of myself as a reasonable, mature adult.
That's really hard to swallow for me.

MythOfSisyphus

Our bodies were tuned to our environment over hundreds of thousands of year, perhaps millions depending on where you draw the line of speciation. When our society, technology and lifestyle changes it's often much faster than our biology can adapt. When we discovered fermentation it was probably novel; maybe a toxin, maybe something we didn't understand. Once humans learned how to ferment intentionally and had enough surplus to make it viable it must have lead to unintended consequences that we're still struggling with today.

August252015

I heard someone say once that we have the "peculiar gift" of alcoholism. I completely agree with this.

I have shared many times on here that I consider my alcoholism- my sobriety- my best friend and constant companion. I tend to it, take care of it, and make the reality that it is always with me into the best possible life I can have. I think of it as the greatest gift I could have been given (to wit, BB pp 417-418, 4th Ed, on acceptance).

I think this is mental fortitude in one of its best forms. As a great book I am reading says "Addiction can seem romantic, but recovery is the path of the true hero." (from Out of The Wreck I Rise by Neil Steinberg and Sara Bader.)

Parsing the whys and wherefores of its roots, or its cause for me, etc, can be interesting to a point. All of that becomes academic and beside the point, sometime down the line.

This is my hand - I want to be able to tell myself "well played," continuously.