THE INSANITY OF ALCOHOLISM

THE INSANITY OF ALCOHOLISM The INSANITY of Alcoholism is NOT the goofy behavior that people exhibit when they are drunk. Everyone who ingests enough alcohol will act goofy. The INSANITY of ALCOHOLISM is the alcoholic's persistent return to alcohol in the face of overwhelming evidence that it is destroying his or her life, over and over again. There are some in our fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous who have serious mental problems, but most of us joke about how "insane" or "crazy" or "goofy" we are or have been, when what we really are talking about is our emotional immaturity, our impulsiveness, our lack of self-discipline – our character defects if you will. Most of us would have a hard time describing many of our thoughts and actions as being insane. In fact, in some areas of life, we may exhibit a high degree of sanity. However, there is something about the way we perceive the world around us that has always caused us a great deal of discomfort in simply living our lives. Our general discomfort with living has much to do with the way we perceive the effects of alcohol. Our falling short of what is called "well adjusted" is definitely a part of our makeup as an alcoholic. However, that alone does not separate us much from the general population. It is our physical as well as our mental response to alcohol that is INSANE, and that is what separates the alcoholic from the non-alcoholic. There are two problems alcoholics have with alcohol: "(1) the obsession of the mind, and (2) the compulsion of the body, an incomprehensible craving. Somewhere along the line, early or late, we develop an obsession with the idea that alcohol eases our minds and solves our problems. Then, our physical response to alcohol manifests in what the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous calls an allergy. Our alcoholic bodies process the alcohol in a manner which causes us to crave more. The alcoholic insanity of our minds tells us that it is a good idea to drink to relieve our stresses and to have fun. Once we start, our alcoholic bodies tell us we must drink more to satisfy the craving. As every alcoholic should know, that is where the well-known cycle begins, and continues over and over again, leading to death, incarceration, or "wet brain" insanity. What Dr. Silkworth called the "phenomenon of craving," manifesting as an "allergy," is so overpowering that all else comes in second to our primary concern of getting the next drink, even life itself takes second place. That, my friends, is the "INSANITY OF ALCOHOLISM." It is only relieved and arrested by total abstinence, and as we have found, by the thorough application of the 12 Steps of AA in our lives, in all our affairs. to achieve a psychic change, a "spiritual awakening," leading to growth and maturity, and a firm grasp of the reality of life and the world about us. As a young man (with tears in his eyes) in his first AA meeting said: ..."I'm here because I just want to live ... that's it ... I just want to live"... It is as Simple as that!!! Love and Peace, Barefoot ********************************************** Recovery means growing up....... Donna Meek Pike For me, recovery means growing up and not being dependent any more- being my own parent. Not expecting my friends to be rescuers. Being responsible for myself and not shifting the responsibility to them. It means leaving behind the need to hear, "are you OK?" and to say it, but being willing to hear it or say it if necessary. It means assuming others are OK and letting them make the same assumption about me, unless we are 5 years old. It means trusting other grown-ups to tell you if they are not OK, and being willing to do the same. It means not making others guess. It means not testing them. It means not playing "strong" like it is money in the bank, and then expecting them to step up when you need them because you are usually so strong, or because you NEVER ask, or because it is so hard for you to ask for help. It means letting go of manipulation and emotional blackmail. When that happens, I find myself with people around me who respect me and whom I respect. They honestly tell me what they think and don't walk on eggshells. They share their problems with me but are not whiners or human vacuum cleaners, or human time bombs, and I can share my problems openly and honestly with them without fear that they will leave me or call me a whiner (and if they do it is just not a big deal) or take over my life trying to fix everything in it. You know, I never really understood what the term "codependency" meant until I saw this pic. I think it means the relationship between two or more people who are troubled by the dilemma of this photo, and they find each other. When one becomes willing to grow up and lets the other do the same, the co-dependency is broken. Saying it is easier than doing it. Keeping my problems to myself and calling myself strong is not that hard. Growing up and assuming responsibility for my own life is much harder. ********************************************** Walk. Don't walk. —Traffic Light Signs direct us on our way in life. Traffic lights tell us to walk (or not), Golden Arches point us to dinner, geese flying south herald the coming winter, flashing neon tells us what to buy. We know how to read these signs of worlds and weather; they help to guide us on our journey. We can learn to read the signs of human beings, too, to be detectives of the human spirit. Laugh lines around eyes and mouth, the texture of hands, tension in jaws and shoulders can tell much about a person, if we stop to look. All around us are signs that tell us others feel the pain and joy we feel, others need us as we need them, we are understood, and we are not alone. The marvelous bonus in learning to read these signs in others is that we can begin to let ourselves be read, also. Will I make good reading for others today? ************************************************ ~*~A.A. Thoughts for the Day~*~ ^*^*^*^*^ (\ ~~ /) ( \ (AA)/ ) (_ /AA\ _) /AA\ ^*^*^*^*^ Foundation ^*^*^*^*^ "Taking this book down from our shelf we turn to the page which contains the twelve steps. Carefully reading the first five proposals we ask if we have omitted anything, for we are building an arch through which we shall walk free at last. Is our work solid so far? Are the stones properly in place? Have we skimped on the cement put into the foundation? Have we tried to make mortar without sand?" c.1976AAWS, Alcoholics Anonymous, p. 75 "There is a direct linkage among self-examination, meditation, and prayer. Taken separately, these practices can bring much relief and benefit. But when they are logically related and interwoven, the result is an unshakable foundation for life. Now and then we may be granted a glimpse of that ultimate reality which is God's kingdom. And we will be comforted and assured that our own destiny in that realm will be secure for so long as we try, however falteringly, to find and do the will of our own Creator." 1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 98 ********************************************* Thought to consider . . . This day I choose to spend in perfect peace. ~*~*~*~*~*AACRONYMS*~*~*~*~*~ G R A C E = Gently Releasing All Conscious Expectations ************************************************* ~*~*~*~*~*^ Just for Today! ^*~*~*~*~*~ Courtesy, Kindness, Justice and Love Step Ten: Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it." We can try to stop making unreasonable demands upon those we love. We can show kindness where we had shown none. With those we dislike we can begin to practice justice and courtesy, perhaps going out of our way to understand and help them. Whenever we fail any of these people, we can promptly admit it – to ourselves always, and to them also, when the admission would be helpful. Courtesy, kindness, justice, and love are the keynotes by which we may come into harmony with practically anybody. When in doubt we can always pause, saying, "Not my will, but Thine, be done." And we can often ask ourselves, "Am I doing to others as I would have them do to me - today?" 1981, AAWS, Inc., Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, page 93 ********************************************* A PROGRAM FOR LIVING When we retire at night, we constructively review our day. . . . On awakening let us think about the twenty-four hours ahead. . . . Before we begin, we ask God to direct our thinking, especially asking that it be divorced from self-pity, dishonest and self-seeking motives. ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 86 I lacked serenity. With more to do than seemed possible, I fell further behind, no matter how hard I tried. Worries about things not done yesterday and fear of tomorrow's deadlines denied me the calm I needed to be effective each day. Before taking Steps Ten and Eleven, I began to read passages like the one cited above. I tried to focus on God's will, not my problems, and to trust that He would manage my day. It worked! Slowly, but it worked! ********************************************* ~*~*~*~*^As Bill Sees It^*~*~*~*~ Aspects of Spirituality "Among AA's there is still a vast amount of mix-up respecting what is material and what is spiritual. I prefer to believe that it is all a matter of motive. If we use our worldly possessions too selfishly, then we are materialists. But if we share these possessions in helpfulness to others, then the material aids the spiritual." "The idea keeps persisting that the instincts are primarily bad and are the roadblocks before which all spirituality falters. I believe that the difference between good and evil is not the difference between spiritual and instinctual man; it is the difference between proper and improper use of the instinctual. Recognition and right channeling of the instinctual are the essence of achieving wholeness." 1. LETTER, 1958 - 2. LETTER, 1954 ********************************************** *~*~*~*^Twenty-four Hours a Day^*~*~*~* October 29 A.A. Thought for the Day My relationships with my children have greatly improved. Those children who saw me drunk and were ashamed, those children who turned away in fear and even loathing have seen me sober and like me,