Originally Posted by JeffreyAK

You did ask for honesty.

Originally Posted by GerandTwine

Eliminating my habituated role as a besotted inebriate freed up a lot of time and effort and that naturally led me into some new territory, but I never accepted that new territory as being limited to just another “vice” or habituated behavior due to some hardened condition of my brain or personality. That kind of rigidity sounds to me like something an addiction treatment professional might suggest to a customer in order to implant the suggestion of further treatment down the line.

Originally Posted by LoveHateWhine

Hi - just surfing the forums and came upon your post.

I suggest you try The Alcohol Experiment. It's at wwwDOTalcoholexperimentDOTCOM. (Wasn't sure if a link would post here or not hence the cryptic website). It is a 30-day "experiment" where you go alcohol free for 30 days. There are daily inspirational e-mails, videos and even a forum like this one with others who are also partaking in the "experiment." It was started by the author of the book This Naked Mind. It presents a more scientific based approach.

I am a member of another forum on SR, and there are a few others who are also trying it.

Good luck.

Originally Posted by Bullwinkle1944

This saying is a matter of context. I've heard this over the years in recovery groups. "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." For me it wasn't and isn't.

Insanity in legal terms pertains to the ability to determine right from wrong when a crime is committed. Insanity mental / illness as such is of a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior. I experienced abstinence many times based on self-will and eventually I surrendered and now experience sobriety. My recovery process was sane behavior.

As a new salesperson, with suggested guidance from my sales manager, I followed her direction and I did the same thing over and over again, realizing that I’d experience rejection the vast majority of the time, but knowing based on my guidance, that eventually I’d make a sale, which is a different result from rejection. After that first experience, I had a frame of reference which helped me become successful.

Also, Page 59, Alcoholics Anonymous reads…Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to “sanity”. Their use of sanity 80 years ago when Alcoholics Anonymous was written was based on ignorance (lack of knowledge).