The Copenhagen meeting

[Charles]

Originally Posted by doucanoe

Thanks Chas.

Difficult at first, but that fades with time. Not that the thought to have a cocktail doesn't cross my mind from time to time. It does, but the frightening reality of revisiting all the "fun" that comes with it wins out every time.

I'm not a evangelical non-drinker like some that hang up the tumbler. I drank enough for several lifetimes so I'm very comfortable in retirement.

RC

It takes about a year to get your mind right, but even then the thought that "I can handle one" comes along. Apparently you can see the fallacy in this line of reasoning.

I find you to be a refreshing sort of teetotaler. My old buddy quit drinking about the same time I did. While I just walked away, he took the AA route, and to his credit, has never faltered. Then again, it was give it up or they have places for people like you in his case. Come to think of it, I believe they did run him through the wringer, and it wasn't just for alcohol.

And while I admire him for what he's done, the Carrie Nation persona that he developed is a little much for my tastes. But if that is what it takes for him to hold his life together, who am I to find fault.

Take care,

Chas

[doucanoe]

Originally Posted by Charles

It takes about a year to get your mind right, but even then the thought that "I can handle one" comes along. Apparently you can see the fallacy in this line of reasoning.

I find you to be a refreshing sort of teetotaler. My old buddy quit drinking about the same time I did. While I just walked away, he took the AA route, and to his credit, has never faltered. Then again, it was give it up or they have places for people like you in his case. Come to think of it, I believe they did run him through the wringer, and it wasn't just for alcohol.

And while I admire him for what he's done, the Carrie Nation persona that he developed is a little much for my tastes. But if that is what it takes for him to hold his life together, who am I to find fault.

Take care,

Chas

Hah! Your not alone in that. That demon on your shoulder that tells you "You can handle one" or "Things are different now" is always there to some extent or another. You just don't hear it as clearly with time. If you start listening, it will start coming in loud and clear though I just don't listen anymore.

If I could drink on a social level and that would be it, I would love to have a couple of fingers of single malt while listening to tunes or out with friends. I just simply can't, so I don't. It's a little more complicated than than but it doesn't need to be.

When I decided that enough was enough, I spoke with my father about it. He said "Well, if it's creating problems in your life there is a simple solution. Don't drink". We both understood that it was in fact a little more complicated than that but after I thought about it for a spell, I started to understand the wisdom in what he was saying.

I know people like your friend and I believe that you are correct in your thinking. Taking on the CN persona for some is all about keeping themselves sober. A lot of people need that.

RC

[merrylander]

My Dad never drank, after his Mum died and his Dad remarried there was apparently a lot of drinking to the point he and his younger brother rented a place and brought their sister in as well. He never lectured me, teach by example I guess. A true gentle-man, hope to be like him some day.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by Charles

It takes about a year to get your mind right, but even then the thought that "I can handle one" comes along. Apparently you can see the fallacy in this line of reasoning.

I find you to be a refreshing sort of teetotaler. My old buddy quit drinking about the same time I did. While I just walked away, he took the AA route, and to his credit, has never faltered. Then again, it was give it up or they have places for people like you in his case. Come to think of it, I believe they did run him through the wringer, and it wasn't just for alcohol.

And while I admire him for what he's done, the Carrie Nation persona that he developed is a little much for my tastes. But if that is what it takes for him to hold his life together, who am I to find fault.

Take care,

Chas

I come from a long line of rummies. My grandfather just stopped drinking and never looked back. My father drank until he had an alcohol-induced seizure which scared him so badly that he went straight from the hospital to rehab and from there into AA. From that point he never looked back either, thank God.

For myself, I went cold turkey for a year and convinced myself that nobody who could do that could possibly have a problem with alcohol. I picked up again with all too predictable results. After a couple of very wet years I realized that I really had to quit and I did, cold turkey again. That was 22 years ago.

I didn't go the AA route right away. I waited a few years to give it a try but I never could commit to the program. It felt a little too much like a cult to me. (Having my father tell me, " I don't have any friends outside the Fellowship and I don't want any." didn't help matters.) I think it's probably been 15 years since I went to a meeting.

Don't get me wrong. AA saves lives, quite literally, and helps people do a lot more than stop drinking. It helps them rebuild their lives out of the wreckage their alcoholism created. It's an amazing program.

I often wonder whether the fact that I was alcohol-free for a number of years before giving it a try was the reason why I never really connected with AA. Maybe if I'd still been drinking when I went to my first meeting and quit with their help AA would have got its hooks into me.

Thanks for allowing me to share.

John

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by doucanoe

Hah! Your not alone in that. That demon on your shoulder that tells you "You can handle one" or "Things are different now" is always there to some extent or another. You just don't hear it as clearly with time. If you start listening, it will start coming in loud and clear though I just don't listen anymore.

If I could drink on a social level and that would be it, I would love to have a couple of fingers of single malt while listening to tunes or out with friends. I just simply can't, so I don't. It's a little more complicated than than but it doesn't need to be.

When I decided that enough was enough, I spoke with my father about it. He said "Well, if it's creating problems in your life there is a simple solution. Don't drink". We both understood that it was in fact a little more complicated than that but after I thought about it for a spell, I started to understand the wisdom in what he was saying.

I know people like your friend and I believe that you are correct in your thinking. Taking on the CN persona for some is all about keeping themselves sober. A lot of people need that.

RC

I admire folks like you doucanoe. You have a problem and you address it.
No BS.
Good job.

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Boreas

I often wonder whether the fact that I was alcohol-free for a number of years before giving it a try was the reason why I never really connected with AA. Maybe if I'd still been drinking when I went to my first meeting and quit with their help AA would have got its hooks into me.

Thanks for allowing me to share.

I would say I drink allot. It's part of the culture I grew up in.
That being said I have not been able to have a drink in bout a year now do to health problems. I do miss a six pack on Sunday afternoons and wine with dinner however it was no challenge to stop either.
If I ever get better I will definitely pick up right were I left off.
I see no real downside to drinking (for me) nor any upside in not drinking.

I do miss a six pack on Sunday afternoons and wine with dinner however.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by noonereal

If I ever get better I will definitely pick up right were I left off.
I see no real downside to drinking (for me) nor any upside in not drinking.

Saturday six packs aside, I hope you do get better.

John

[merrylander]

If I drank a six pack of an afternoon I would never get out of the john.

[noonereal]

Originally Posted by Boreas

Saturday six packs aside, I hope you do get better.

John

Thank you very much.

[doucanoe]

Originally Posted by noonereal

I admire folks like you doucanoe. You have a problem and you address it.
No BS.
Good job.

Well, thanks

However, I would like to say this to anyone that stumbles across my comments on the subject. I did participate, but did not fully complete the important part of 12 step. Looking back, I really wish I did. There is much more to steps 8 and 9 than appear on the surface. I know that now. Although it seems a little hokey from the outside looking in, it is a wonderful program and eminently helpful to lord knows how many people past and present.

My approach may be viewed as a little unorthodox by some but works for me. Partly because I'm ornery and stubborn as a mule, but without the tools I was provided to maintain my sobriety I would have failed more than likely.

I wouldn't recommend going it alone to anyone beginning to address an addiction.

RC