One drink at a time, over an extended period
of time.
This isn’t intended to be the setup for a joke, that’s how it happens. The first drink you take in your life or the first time you get drunk doesn’t make you an alcoholic. It takes time and hundreds upon hundreds of drinks which follow that first one. Some substances are known to overtake a person the first time they use it. But alcohol, like tobacco, requires repeated usage for your mind, body and emotions to become dependent on them. The first puff of a cigarette doesn’t hook you and the first drink in your life doesn’t hook you. But once you ARE hooked, the first puff or drink of the day takes you right back to your dependency.
I admit that I liked the sensation the first time I got drunk (even though I threw up). I was not a teenager at the time. But I didn’t wake up the next morning physically craving another drink. I did what many teenagers do, I got drunk whenever (and as often as) I could. It took me years to become dependent upon alcohol.
Does this mean that I was riddled with flaws and defects? I don’t believe so. I was pursuing a feeling of pleasure and getting drunk gave me the feeling of pleasure. However, a point came when the pleasure turned into a dependency, that’s when I became an alcoholic. I can recall the exact day, there its Formation Day of my home state where I’m living, definitely EXACT day – it took time – one drink at a time.
My point…? Just as it takes time to become an alcoholic it takes time to become comfortable as a sober person (again). While sobriety begins when you stop drinking, re-invention is evolutionary and requires time. Maybe you will gain and regain all you desire faster than you imagine. But there are no guarantees. It will be up to you to make the best out of your sobriety.
Some people, possibly many people will disagree with me and say that alcoholism is a disease and one is hooked upon their first drink. I respect differing opinions on the root of alcoholism. However, I don’t believe that it’s horribly important how you got there; I believe that it’s more important how you stop and stay away from there. Follow whatever philosophy or system that works for you, so long as you bring no harm upon anyone else.
Forget Recovery
Reinvent yourself!
Recovery is the accepted or recognized term for us drunks, as in: I’m in recovery; I’m a recovering alcoholic, Recovery Program, etc. For simplicity and to avoid confusion, I use the word recovery in my writings, books, & blogs. But this term makes me uncomfortable.
Someone recovers after surgery, an accident or from a hangover.
I wasn’t recovering from any of those things during my sobering up process, I was reinventing myself.
This is why I prefer to say that I'm reinvented, because I've had to reinvent myself as a sober person.
I had to discover ways to live without alcohol, uncover lost feelings and deep desires.
I found new passions, activities and rewards. I had to radically change my view regarding how I respect alcohol, other people and how I approach social dealings.
The only thing I am recovering from is my own mistakes.
And just because I no longer drink doesn't mean I don't make mistakes. I still fuck-up plenty of things, but at least I'm sober when I make those mistakes.
I will continue to use the term recovery because it's accepted and less confusing. But in reality, I have reinvented myself. That's all I did.
This isn’t intended to be the setup for a joke, that’s how it happens. The first drink you take in your life or the first time you get drunk doesn’t make you an alcoholic. It takes time and hundreds upon hundreds of drinks which follow that first one. Some substances are known to overtake a person the first time they use it. But alcohol, like tobacco, requires repeated usage for your mind, body and emotions to become dependent on them. The first puff of a cigarette doesn’t hook you and the first drink in your life doesn’t hook you. But once you ARE hooked, the first puff or drink of the day takes you right back to your dependency.
I admit that I liked the sensation the first time I got drunk (even though I threw up). I was not a teenager at the time. But I didn’t wake up the next morning physically craving another drink. I did what many teenagers do, I got drunk whenever (and as often as) I could. It took me years to become dependent upon alcohol.
Does this mean that I was riddled with flaws and defects? I don’t believe so. I was pursuing a feeling of pleasure and getting drunk gave me the feeling of pleasure. However, a point came when the pleasure turned into a dependency, that’s when I became an alcoholic. I can recall the exact day, there its Formation Day of my home state where I’m living, definitely EXACT day – it took time – one drink at a time.
My point…? Just as it takes time to become an alcoholic it takes time to become comfortable as a sober person (again). While sobriety begins when you stop drinking, re-invention is evolutionary and requires time. Maybe you will gain and regain all you desire faster than you imagine. But there are no guarantees. It will be up to you to make the best out of your sobriety.
Some people, possibly many people will disagree with me and say that alcoholism is a disease and one is hooked upon their first drink. I respect differing opinions on the root of alcoholism. However, I don’t believe that it’s horribly important how you got there; I believe that it’s more important how you stop and stay away from there. Follow whatever philosophy or system that works for you, so long as you bring no harm upon anyone else.
Forget Recovery
Reinvent yourself!
Recovery is the accepted or recognized term for us drunks, as in: I’m in recovery; I’m a recovering alcoholic, Recovery Program, etc. For simplicity and to avoid confusion, I use the word recovery in my writings, books, & blogs. But this term makes me uncomfortable.
Someone recovers after surgery, an accident or from a hangover.
I wasn’t recovering from any of those things during my sobering up process, I was reinventing myself.
This is why I prefer to say that I'm reinvented, because I've had to reinvent myself as a sober person.
I had to discover ways to live without alcohol, uncover lost feelings and deep desires.
I found new passions, activities and rewards. I had to radically change my view regarding how I respect alcohol, other people and how I approach social dealings.
The only thing I am recovering from is my own mistakes.
And just because I no longer drink doesn't mean I don't make mistakes. I still fuck-up plenty of things, but at least I'm sober when I make those mistakes.
I will continue to use the term recovery because it's accepted and less confusing. But in reality, I have reinvented myself. That's all I did.
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