Saturday, July 22, 2006
A.A.: There is a Solution: Alcoholic Mind
"... the main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind... If you ask him why he started on that last bender, the chances are he will offer you any one of a hundred alibis. Sometimes these excuses have a certain plausibility, but none of them really makes sense in the light of the havoc an alcoholic's drinking bout creates."
"Once in a while he may tell the truth. And the truth, strange to say, is usually that he has no more idea why he took that first drink than you have."
Alcoholics Anonymous
There is a Solution
Page 23
The insanity of alcoholism is that despite the mounds of evidence to the contrary, every time an alcoholic picks up a drink, he or she is certain that this time will be different. The alcoholic part of the mind blocks the drinkers memory of all the pain and misery of the past. The mind behaves as if the drinker has never experienced a negative consequence as a result of drinking.
It's a logical question to ask, "If you know it's bad for you, why do you keep doing it?" But what needs to be understood is that when you're asking a logical question, you're speaking to a person's 'logical mind.' The 'alcoholic mind' will usually not answer or even acknowledge that it exists. If it does, it will lie.
For me, when my alcoholism wanted to drink, logic and the basis for the question went out the window. My alcoholic mind would not allow my logical mind to consider that drinking was bad for me. My alcoholic mind would not allow my memory to reveal to my body any of the negative consequences that drinking had previously caused. With no warning signals being received, my body willingly went along and took a drink.
About the time the liquor hit the back of my throat, my alcoholic mind would laugh and my logical mind would scream at my body, "What have you done?" Then my alcoholic mind would rationalize with my logical mind by saying, "He's already taken a drink, we might as well enjoy it. Don't worry, this will be the last time." Pretty soon the alcohol would daze my logical mind, my inhibitions would take a nap, my alcoholic mind would have a party, and my body would pay the price.
"Once in a while he may tell the truth. And the truth, strange to say, is usually that he has no more idea why he took that first drink than you have."
Alcoholics Anonymous
There is a Solution
Page 23
The insanity of alcoholism is that despite the mounds of evidence to the contrary, every time an alcoholic picks up a drink, he or she is certain that this time will be different. The alcoholic part of the mind blocks the drinkers memory of all the pain and misery of the past. The mind behaves as if the drinker has never experienced a negative consequence as a result of drinking.
It's a logical question to ask, "If you know it's bad for you, why do you keep doing it?" But what needs to be understood is that when you're asking a logical question, you're speaking to a person's 'logical mind.' The 'alcoholic mind' will usually not answer or even acknowledge that it exists. If it does, it will lie.
For me, when my alcoholism wanted to drink, logic and the basis for the question went out the window. My alcoholic mind would not allow my logical mind to consider that drinking was bad for me. My alcoholic mind would not allow my memory to reveal to my body any of the negative consequences that drinking had previously caused. With no warning signals being received, my body willingly went along and took a drink.
About the time the liquor hit the back of my throat, my alcoholic mind would laugh and my logical mind would scream at my body, "What have you done?" Then my alcoholic mind would rationalize with my logical mind by saying, "He's already taken a drink, we might as well enjoy it. Don't worry, this will be the last time." Pretty soon the alcohol would daze my logical mind, my inhibitions would take a nap, my alcoholic mind would have a party, and my body would pay the price.
I am grateful that today, by turning my alcoholism over to God and working the Steps of A.A., I can remember the consequences of my drinking. It's one of the tools that I use to stay sober.
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# posted by Bill B. @ 1:57 PM 
