alcoholism

Please don't give up. Its not the end of the world! Everybody slips and stumbles. Even people whove been Christians for years do sometimes. Just trust God because he loves you

Destiny,
I know exactly what you're feeling, because I've been there. I assure you, if I can stay clean, anyone can - and yes, this includes you.

Please, go to a meeting.

Destiny78 said:

i cant do it...so much for staying sober..it's usless..i will regret typing this in the morning. I am drunk right now so I dont care..but you all can quit wasting your time here on me..it's useless. thanks anyhow

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It's not useless Destiny. There are people who know how you feel, you just have to reach out and ask for help. From real life people. And we have all fallen before, so don't let the remorse of that steal your hope. Please.

Michelle

Destiny78 said:

i cant do it...so much for staying sober..it's usless..i will regret typing this in the morning. I am drunk right now so I dont care..but you all can quit wasting your time here on me..it's useless. thanks anyhow

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Nobody here is going to give up on you. I will keep you in prayer as will others here.
You are so young and have the rest of your life ahead of you. You can get sober and stay that way but it must start with a firm decision to take control of your desire for alcohol and to prevail over it.
You don't want to spend the rest of your life this way...it only gets worse.
Have you considered getting counseling from your pastor?
Please don't give up on yourself.

There is an addictions program called Reformers Unanimous that has branches all over the country. It is not like AA or NA....it is church based, and it focuses on deepening your relationship with Jesus Christ, and in that way helping you to recover from your addictions. I'm not doing it justice here in this forum, but I would encourage you, and anyone else struggling in these areas, to find a Reformers Unanimous program and join it. Overcoming this is an ongoing process, but there is an end in sight. You CAN recover and be free to serve God as He intended for you to. Keep going, we're praying for you, too.

I'm not kidding! Eat raw carrots!!

Here is the link to RU:
http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomf...;ampTest=1&remove_url=http://www.reformu.com/

I have not yet checked it out, but I will.

debiwebi said:

the twelve steps of AA
1 We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol-
that our lives had become unmanageable
2 Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves
can restore us to sanity
3 Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to
the care of God as we understood him
4 Made a searching and fearless moral inventory
of ourselves
5Admitted to God, ourselves, and to another human
being the exact nature of our wrongs
6 Were entirely ready to have Him remove all these
defects of character
7 Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings
8 Made a list of all the persons we have harmed, and
became willing to make ammends to them all
9 Made direct ammends to such people whenever possible,
except when to do so would injure them or others
10Continued to take personal inventory of ourselves and
when we were wrong promptly admitted it
11Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our
conscience contact with God as we understood Him, praying
only knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry
that out
12Having had a Spiritual awakening as a result of these steps,
we try to carry this message to other alcoholics and practice
these principles in all our affairs

Now can someone please tell me what is the problem with these steps....


About A.A.

Alcoholics Anonymous® is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy, neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.



Copyright © by The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.

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I don't have a problem with these steps. These steps keep me alive, keep me sober, and keep me healthy.

O'Factry said:

Destiny78

It is not important for you to accept some label in order to improve your life. You recognize that you are better off without alcohol, and yet still have a desire to drink. That's a great start.

You probably realize that after two weeks, you feel better in all aspects. You should also be experiencing a reduction in cravings. This should give you hope and motivtion. It is a fact that cravings only last for a few minutes. Almost anyone can bear up for a few minutes.

It's largely a matter of wanting to do the right thing. In this case, it's to NOT do something. Many times finding the one right thing to do can seem impossible in a forrest of choices, but we know one thing not to choose. At any given time we have thousands of things to choose from, things to do, things to think about, things to pray about. Maybe finding the single best choice is impossible, but avoiding the few bad ones shouldn't be that difficult. In time, it will become second nature to ignore the lure of alcohol. There must be millions of products on the market that do not interest you at all, and alcohol will just be another one.

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"some label"? Alcoholism is a disease, not a label. Please, stop trying to counter the help the rest of the people in this thread are trying to provide. I would also, politely, suggest you find somewhere else for your anti-AA rhetoric, please.

Starcrystal said:

Even if the desire is still there, we can overcome it by drawing closer to God. Its like that "New Mind" message I posted last week. Sometimes our minds transform slowley, other times right away. We pray that the desire goes away as well.
Please don't let people tell you you are an alcoholic after you've been sober. I found that one very large detriment to staying away from alcohol myself. It was a constant reminder, and who needs to be reminded of what they were when they are no longer that. I've been free from alcohol several years and am not an alcoholic. I just don't think about it, so there is little to remind me.
We really hope you continue this path and draw closer to the Lord, experiencing the joy through Christ that only he can give. Each day pray and thank God for the blessings he's given you....

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Hmmm, and by your logic, isf I were experiencing hair loss, am I to stop saying I am balding. If so, will this stop me from losing my hair? Facts are facts. If a person is an alcoholic, no amount of not saying the words "I am an alcoholic" will change that.

Destiny,
It's never hopeless. I'm not giving up, either, and I'll be praying for you.

Bartimeus said:

"some label"? Alcoholism is a disease, not a label. Please, stop trying to counter the help the rest of the people in this thread are trying to provide. I would also, politely, suggest you find somewhere else for your anti-AA rhetoric, please.

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I second that request. Next this guy will be complaining that we shouldn't use the word "sinner" because it's just a label, all we have to do is accept that we violate God's will for our lives.

I used to get drunk all the time. I think what makes a person an alcoholic is the fact that they find some kind of relief from issues in thier life by getting drunk. A type of escape from lifes pressures. And after dinking for reason of some sort of escape for some time it becomes a way of life. Once a person developes a way of life it's very hard to chage that habit, especialy when that habit it provoked by lifes pressures. The pressuers of life never go away so the habit is alway's in persuit of the alcoholic. I found that when I wanted to stop drinking becasue of my beliefs in Christ, their were some christains that showed me verses that they used to say it was ok to drink in a lite socail manor. so i tried that, but my conscience made me feel guilty. So I started to do a study on drinking to find out for myself about drinking and walking with Christ. It's about 18 pages long if anyone is interested in reading it you can check it out at this webpage
you need acrobat reader to veiw it. It's called "sip..sip.. and being true to your true-self." I don't know if it will help you deal with your friend at all. But I thought I would ad my two cents into this conversation. God Bless.
I'll keep your friend in my prayers. I tried to post the page but it wont let me i haven't posted enough this is my first time posting here.

Destiny78 said:

Hi...hmm...guess I will post something in here. I keep coming in here to see if there are any new posts on this, but not so far, so I will post. What makes someone an alcoholic? I have a friend that drinks everyday, but she only drinks maybe one or two mixed drinks. On the weekends she often gets drunk or "tipsy" though. She doesn't usually drink in the morning unless she is really stressed out, but just one or two in the evening socially. I don't know if she feels addicted or not, but where do you draw the line between a social drinker and an alcoholic? Are there different levels of alcoholism? Thanks...

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I just want to say I have just recently this past month gotten involved with AA...for the past two years ive struggled on and of with alcoholism and smoking pot....though being on probation slowed me down alot(which i am thankful for)..anyway i made the decision to use this program and work the twelve steps....i havent drank anything in a month and i havent smoked anything in like 6 months....I am so glad that i found this program so i can put a stop before things really get out of hand...i am only in the beggining stages of alcoholism and have not experience nearly all the things as those who have been alcoholics for a long time..i am only 20yrs old....And i just want to say that from the stories of the people there it obviously works...there are people there who have been sober for a LONG time...there are many diff faiths there and uit is very diverse and open...it feels like home I would recommend anyone who has a problem with alcohol to go to a meeting and just listen....you might hear something you can relate to...i also feel blessed that i got my first sponsor(someone who has established sobriety and helps others to acheive it)and she is so awesome and very spiritual and has 19 years of being sober...she is also Native American which is double awesome because i have always admired them so much, and its awesome that even though there are many faiths the spirit of God is felt there among everyone....I truely think AA is a blessing for any one struggling...
~ravenwolf

I am praying for you all. Good luck and God bless.

Oh, and I meant to post these: http://open-mind.org, http://www.al-anon.org, www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_tableofcnt.cfm

You will do it one day at a time, by the grace of God I have been sober for almost 6 years now....

kerusso said:

I used to get drunk all the time. I think what makes a person an alcoholic is the fact that they find some kind of relief from issues in thier life by getting drunk. A type of escape from lifes pressures. And after dinking for reason of some sort of escape for some time it becomes a way of life. Once a person developes a way of life it's very hard to chage that habit, especialy when that habit it provoked by lifes pressures. The pressuers of life never go away so the habit is alway's in persuit of the alcoholic. I found that when I wanted to stop drinking becasue of my beliefs in Christ, their were some christains that showed me verses that they used to say it was ok to drink in a lite socail manor. so i tried that, but my conscience made me feel guilty. So I started to do a study on drinking to find out for myself about drinking and walking with Christ. It's about 18 pages long if anyone is interested in reading it you can check it out at this webpage
you need acrobat reader to veiw it. It's called "sip..sip.. and being true to your true-self." I don't know if it will help you deal with your friend at all. But I thought I would ad my two cents into this conversation. God Bless.
I'll keep your friend in my prayers. I tried to post the page but it wont let me i haven't posted enough this is my first time posting here.

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What makes someone an alcoholic is the fact that they cannot control their drinking. We are not normal in that sense. It has only a little to do with escape. I had noting to escape from and still was an alcoholic. We are not bad people getting better, but sick people getting well.....

i myself have a struggle with alcohol. i started drinking when i was 18 due to a lot of personal reasons that dont' justify it, but it shows the reason. now i'm 22, and finally i am starting to realize that i have a problem. due to the fact that when i'd go out, it would be 10 to 12 drinks and drive home and the fact that one night i went out, only had about 5 to 6 drinks, and i got pulled over, and neeldess to say i am going through an OVI now. i have used alcohol because i didn't want to feel anything. i wanted to be numb. i drank for a lot for a lot of reasons ranging from relationship breakups, bad relationship with my father, and the fact i missed God at one point in my life and other things.

now i know the struggle is still in me, because i feel it. but through my OVI, i am realizing things about myself that i really need to cut back, or just take a break for awhile. something has to change with it, because i cannot survive on the path of getting drunk a lot of the times, because it messed up my emotions, and put me in a dark place. i was realizing this when i was starting to get my faith back in tact, but i didn't take the lessons i learned in that over to my issue with drinking.

the only way i can say i am dealing with this is to not set myself up for destruction. i am not going to say i am never going to take a drink again. that is unrealistic, and i am not going to set myself up for days that i am not promised yet. i am weak in this area, and i need God everyday with this. so if i ever get to the point to where i never take another drink again great, if i get to the point to where i enjoy it moderately great. i am focusing on the here and now and that is it. through this, i have found a lot of healing. it keeps me real with God, instead of trying to put myself on some podem of changed and enlightened. i rely on my convictions in God, Christians that don't judge me, but see strength in me no matter what, the love of my mother who has supported me my whole life, and my hopes for a better future. the hopes in the future that i will not be an alcoholic husband for whoever my wife will be, to not be an alcoholic father to whoever my son or daughter will be, to not be an alcoholic son for my mother, and to not be an alcoholic brother to my 9 year old sister and more importantly to have spiritual peace and i am finally gaining that, and i am so thankful for this.

sounds cheesy, but sometimes idealistic things can really help out to make the here and now better. i guess kind of setting yourself up for what you want, based on your strengths and weaknesses, instead of what others want from you. i believe God wants us to be realistic and honest, and not fake and un-realistic, but that doesn't mean we have to sin all the time. we will always struggle, and i am so thankful that i am imperfect because if i was perfect i wouldn't need God.

this is my story with my struggle with alcohol, and i hope it blesses anyone out there whether Christian or not. May God Bless you all! <><

it will always be a struggle