Being essentially sober for a number of years including 2 slips, I wonder why it is that it's considered ok for people to be punitive to me for being an alkie. Why be punitive on top of all the other struggles with having this dormant or 'in remission' disease marching along inside me? Are people with cancer or asthma punished? Anyway, the unfairness of the disease rankles at me sometimes. I know that anytime I get into any trouble if alcoholism is discovered the consequences are going to be worse.
To handle the bias and collateral damages of alcoholism I take it One Day at a Time, expect no sympathy from anyone, and try to make a gratitude list of everything that I've been able to do & have.
You know, you can't control what others 'think' ... What others think of me is none of my business ... and how they see or treat me is on their heads, not mine ...
You and I are very near the same age ... and when I got sober working the 12 steps and settled in on steps 10, 11, and 12, ... my life found a whole new meaning ... I had a new outlook on life ... it's those last 3 steps that keep my attitude and perspective right where they should remain ...
Nobody owes you anything ... you must make your own way in life ... and do what you know to be right and just ... if you want to feel good about yourself ... the only time I felt 'punished' in recovery was early on, when the wreckage I made came to torment me ... I deserved it ... AFTER working the steps, ALL is right with the world ... "Thank God for AA"
Well except I DO have cancer for the 3rd time and am currently taking Chemo, which sucks by the way ... ... ... (stage 4 bone cancer) ... SO, ... I suggest you revise your 'gratitude' list, see if you missed something ...
Love ya and God Bless, Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
During my struggle with Stroke I voiced my displeasure with the healthcare industry.
My sister who is a nurse told me I had a 'Persecution Complex'
I'm not sure what that means exactly but I do know it is not something I want or need.
Sometimes life just isn't fair and that is the way it is.
Stick with the program... Life is better when you're sober even if things suck sometimes. :)
Alcoholism is different from the diseases you mentioned which generally genetic or environmental. You chose to drink. This is a program of personal responsibility. Accept your disease with all of its ramifications like the rest of us have if you intend to get sober. Otherwise: Poor me! Poor me! Pour me a drink!
-- Edited by SoberInMI on Friday 26th of May 2017 04:29:31 PM
Off topic...I'd take a closer look at the "sober for a number of years including 2 slips". In AA we count our sobriety from the date of our last drink.
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"God can move mountains but it helps to bring a shovel!"
Off topic...I'd take a closer look at the "sober for a number of years including 2 slips". In AA we count our sobriety from the date of our last drink.
Actually, we count our time since the consumption of our last mood altering substance because, (for those with other substance abuse problems), a term I haven't heard no other use in a long time; time in a marijuana maintenance program, or others, doesn't make for a "sober" person.
-- Edited by SoberInMI on Monday 29th of May 2017 03:44:07 PM
Actually, we count our time since the consumption of our last mood altering substance because, (for those with other substance abuse problems), a term I haven't heard no other use in a long time; time in a marijuana maintenance program, or others, doesn't make for a "sober" person.
-- Edited by SoberInMI on Monday 29th of May 2017 03:44:07 PM
That's an unsettled issue in AA, generally speaking. And it is a difficult issue.
Witness Bill W.'s use of LSD in 1956--1961. First, in a medical research setting in California, then later informally in NY with some AA's and his wife, Lois. Bill didn't change his sobriety date.
I came into the program nearly 30 years ago and it was settled then. Arguably Bill's use as part of research was under a doctor's supervision and was not abuse and would not change one's sobriety date today. The recreational use is highly questionable and I have posted in last few days in another thread that I would change Bill's sobriety date.
NA also holds the converse is true that substituting alcohol for narcotics or "drugs" does not a sober person make.
So if alcoholics can' t work AA's 12 step program before sustained alcohol abstinance, and NA holds similarly about narcotics, then it follows that an alcoholic can't work the same steps NA uses while using narcotics.
Also, keep in mind that AA has 80 years of wisdom and experience that id ABSOLUTELY not reflected in the Big Book.
