DriGuy

I agree with Epictetus. There is nothing wrong with performing an analysis of the language of recovery, especially cliche' and half metaphor. Such things are meant to create an general point of wisdom. The good ones are recognizable to the majority. They also have the appeal of being clever, which makes them memorable. But sorting the cleverness from the wisdom is what you do when you actually internalize bits and parts into a personal philosophy. Exact meanings are not as important as personal meanings that help you find your way. That's why I so unabashedly use my own idiosyncratic definition of relapse, one with a built in slider that I adjust when someone else uses it differently.

This kind of pedantic analysis helps sort things out in ways meaningful to yourself. Just be careful not to come up with meanings that allow you fail. Example: "A relapse involves these specific characteristics. I'm not quite there yet, so having a drink won't hurt that much."

Flower2327

For myself at least, I would describe any alcohol consumption as a relapse. For the decade or so I was drinking, I was a binge drinker; I drank to get plastered. I could have one or two like "normal people" while I was out with them, but I would stop at the store on the way home so I could have another 20 drinks alone. Were I to have any alcohol again, it would lead back to that behavior, so I would call any drinking a relapse.

MelindaFlowers

In my opinion any alcohol, even a sip, is relapse.

DriGuy

Ha! A couple of times, I actually left gatherings where people were drinking so that I could go home and get serious about it. Once a woman who wanted a relationship came to my house. I liked her, but when I found out she didn't want to drink, I couldn't wait for her to leave. When she did, and I got out my whisky and with great relief, I began to get plastered. I knew something was wrong and that my priorities were somehow scrambled, but none-the-less, they were my priorities. These kinds of things were typical of the last 6 months of the sudden onset of my downward spiral. Not just a spiral, but my life was turning upside-down.

SoberCAH

Hope -

I haven't given this matter a lot of thought.

For me, after being sober a good while, it would be the notion of purposefully letting alcohol pass my lips.

I encourage you to think about getting sober sometime.

It simplifies things so to speak.

I finally had to quit fighting alcohol and just give up.

Then I got help, and I have been sober ever since.

In the interim, please continue letting us know about your progress and raising questions like this one.

But I can assure you that life gets better when you finally quit doing battle with alcohol.

In my case, it always won.

soberbythesea

For me - assuming the person has been committed to sobriety - it would mean purposefully ingesting any amount of alcohol or drugs (except for medication properly prescribed/taken for its intended purpose). I agree with RAL, you have to be committed to sobriety for it to be a relapse.

Derringer

You can't relapse if you have not made any serious effort to stop ... which you haven't.