BS: Being an alcoholic

Subject: BS: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: GUEST
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 07:27 PM

Being a heroin addict might be worse, I wouldn't know.

I do know about alcoholism, and I can report that it's piss poor. You lose everything and feel bad all the time. Avoid it if you can.

I didn't and I'm in a mess, a huge mess. Jeez, I want a drink....

Subject: RE: BS: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: mg
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 08:29 PM

eat instead. A big steakif you can afford it. Hamburger otherwise...read up on hypoglycemia and consider that you probably have it and one manifestation is alcholism. Treat the hypoglycemia by eating protein and good fats (olive oil, butter, dairy fats, coconut oil) and staying totally away from sugar and starches for a while. Eat whole grains and beans instead. Take vitamins, I think researchthe B vitamins especially. Whenever you want a drink, have a high protein, high green vegetable dinner instead. Read protein power and metabolic body typing and Dr. Schwarzbein's diabetic principal. You can go a long way in reversing this, I think, if you treat the underlying blood sugar problem. You should still look for medical care, support, AA meetings etc. mg

Subject: RE: BS: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 09:04 PM

Pick up the phone book. Find the number for Alcoholics Anonymous. Call it. Find out where the nearest meeting that you can get to tonight is. Go there.

If you're in a reasonably big urban area, there are probably meetings at one location or another almost 24 hours a day.

Even if you can't get to a meeting, make the call anyway. The person on the other end has been through what you're going through.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Barry Finn
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 09:38 PM

Smoking is the most adddictive next is alcohol followed by various drugs, heroin not being at the top of that list either. AA has a pretty fair sucess rate probably one of the best that I've ever heard of. Your odds of succeding on your own are prettty low at best but not impossible. Be prepared for a rough go at it but you are worth. Barry

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: smallpiper
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 09:51 PM

Do not what ever you do stop drinking all at once - that is extremely dangerous and can result in siezures and may even be fatal - reduce your drinking slowly and go see your doctor, get your addiction sorted out then go to AA for the support you need to keep off it.

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Bobert
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 09:57 PM

Antibuse and AA. Be sure to get a sponsor to call when time get tough.
Exercise, eat right.

Lots of folks live with alcolism and sobriety ain't all that hateful.

Goof luch...

Bobert

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Annie
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 10:15 PM

Some of the people I love the most are alcoholics. I went to an AA convention a few weeks ago, and that is one great way to get help.

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Walking Eagle
Date: 19 Feb 03 - 11:09 PM

No advice here, just agreeing.You've probably had plenty of advice. Just remember, you matter in this world.

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: GUEST
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 12:49 AM

I've been dry for 20 years. It feels good and I sorta like myself now.
Take the advice you have already been given and go for it. You are worth something more than just a sponge for booze.
And remember, one step at a time, one day at a time.

troll

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 01:06 AM

Trouble with AA is that you have to deal with all of the christian baggage in those 12 steps. (One site I found suggests that AA doesn't care what god one chooses as long as "that god is loving and non-judgemental." They follow with the remark "Of course, we would agree that sobriety is important, but one will go to hell sober -- if he turns his life over to any but the true God as revealed in Scripture.") Down here in Texas, the god one hears of in this context is usually Baptist. What if the individual isn't a christian, is AA still useful? GUEST might want to check out this link for an opposing viewpoint. And one useful federal government site that offers referrals around the US is here, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, part of Health and Human Services.

SRS

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: GUEST,Guest
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 01:21 AM

Well I am an atheist and have been sober for just on 30 years, the early days through AA. I survived through the serenity prayer (understanding that God was as I understood him/her) and acceptance. Acceptance that I was what I was - I had a problem and that I had to do something about it. Not easy but if you have people to support you well worth the effort.
My vices now are music and I work with a major institution in the collection of folklore, producing CDs and writing.
Sure beats drinking Meths and after shave lotion as I once did.
Rob

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Walking Eagle
Date: 20 Feb 03 - 11:46 PM

refresh

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Lin in Kansas
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 05:05 PM

GUEST who started this thread:

Don't delay. Get help from someone immediately. Liver disease is NOT a fun prospect, and it can happen to you no matter what age you might be. My beloved son was only 35 when he died from it, and no one anywhere should have to go through what he went through.

AA may have a lot of "Christian baggage" in the 12 Steps. And a lot of the things they say may sound like preaching to you. Take only what you can use and leave the rest. The major thing AA will give you is the knowledge that you are not alone.

Please. Don't waste the rest of your life.

Lin

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: katlaughing
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 05:47 PM

I have a friend and a brother who have both gone to various AA groups and been successful in their sobrietty, even though she is pagan and he is not strictly a Christian. Both say you have to try several different AA groups to find the right *fit* and that some are more loosely Christian based than others.

There are many non-AA recovery groups listed at this website including a Pagans Anonymous.

Good luck,

kat

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Wesley S
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 05:53 PM

Trust me guest - all AA groups are NOT alike. Some are "God Squads" - some are not. Try checking some of them out - you may be suprised. You might find one that's a good fit. Stay in touch and let us know how it's going.

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 06:09 PM

I'm a Taoist and my Wife is a devout Tibetan Buddhist. We have both been sober for over twelve years with the help of the things we learned in AA. The idea that AA is a religious organization with a lot of "Christian baggage" and that it "substitutes religion for alcohol" are criticisms that I have often heard, but will gladly refute. AA is a spiritual organization, not a religious one. It doesn't matter if you are a Baptist, a Buddhist or an Atheist as long as you are willing to accept two ideas: 1) You and your little ego are doing a pretty lousy job of living your life and alcohol is a major factor. 2) There is something in the Universe greater than yourself and that if you seek an understanding of that thing - if you seek to transcend that ego that is causing you to drink in the first place - you just might be able to get through this day without taking a drink. Pretty damned simple to me.

Since we live in a predominantly Christian society, it's natural that a lot of AA members express their spiritual concerns in Christian terms. If you do not believe in the Judeo-Christian concept of God you just re-interpret their comments into metaphysical terms that you can accept. Also pretty damned simple.

By the way, we recently lost a good friend to pancreatic failure brought on by years of abuse. She had finally stopped drinking a few months ago, but the damage had already been done.

Bruce

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: wysiwyg
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 06:27 PM

AA is simply a program that people have discoverd can work, and the numbers are behind that. Discarding what works because it has a flaw, as an excuse not even to try, is just another example of stinkin thinkin. We can't pre-know what is going to work-- we have to try it, do our part to work it, then evaluate.

~S~

Subject: RE: BS: Being an alcoholic
From: Haruo
Date: 21 Feb 03 - 06:43 PM

I have to agree with Bee-Dubya-ell more than with Stilly River Sage in the abstract, as far as the "Christian baggage" in AA. When I was new in AA I was told, thank God, "Don't sweat the God shit, all you need to know is there is one and you ain't it." (And if I had refused to believe even that, it would not have affected either their acceptance of me or my chances for recovery, IMO.) I was also told (very early) that GOD was an acronym for "Group Of Drunks", and also that GOD was an acronym for "Good Orderly Direction".

Heck, in the larger US cities you can probably even find "Atheists and Agnostics AA meetings" which may provide some helpful input, feedback, and fellowship.

Alcoholics who are Christians and alcoholics who are atheists and alcoholics who are "Other" all stay sober the same way, by abstaining from alcohol.

FWIW, Mary Garvey says avoid sugar, but what I've seen prove itself in AA is "if you're suffering an acute compulsion to drink, eat some honey or a Snickers bar." Odd as it sounds, the rationale behind the two contradictory bits of advice is almost identical. But I'll stick with the AA advice. (I went to an anti-sugar, Milam-based treatment center a couple years before I sobered up, and it didn't particularly help. But I think the blame if any should be on me, not the treatment folks.)

Haruo (though I go by Leland in anglophone AA)
last drink: 1984.09.01