Identification—”How to share an effective ‘war’ story.
The message which can interest and hold these alcoholic (addicted) people must have depth and weight (our lack of control) (AA p. xxviii).
Tell them (newcomers) enough about your drinking (using, acting-out) habits, symptoms, and experiences to encourage them to speak of themselves. (AA p. 91) Tell them how baffled you were, how you finally learned that you were sick. Give them an account of the struggles (failed strategies) you made to stop. Show them (newcomers) the mental twist (how my mind lies to me) which leads to the first drink (drug, obsessive-compulsive act) of the spree. (AA p. 92).
Listen to Chris Raymer, a recovered alcoholic addict from Texas, talk about the Big Book of A.A. definition of a “real” alcoholic addict.
Click here to download “Are you an addict” in MP3 format.
Take this self-assessment test and determine what type of drinker, user, or obsessive-complusive you might be. If the question does not apply to you – leave it blank. These behavioural characteristics can be found on (page: xxviii, 20-22, 24, 30, 43, 44 of the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th Edition, 2001)
Men and women drink (use or act-out) essentially because they like the effect (body allergy) produced by alcohol (drugs, obsessive-compulsive acts). Is this your experience – yes-no?
The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious (yes-no?), they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false.
To them, their alcoholic (addict) life seems the only normal one. They are restless, irritable and discontented (bored, depressed, anxious), unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort (body allergy) which comes at once by taking a few drinks—drinks (drugs, acts) which they see others taking (doing) with impunity.
After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do (Is this your experience – yes-no?), and the phenomenon of craving (body allergy) develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink (use or act-out) again. Is this your experience – yes-no?
This is repeated over and over. Is this your experience – yes-no?
…and unless this person can experience an entire psychic change there is very little hope of their recovery.
SELF-DIAGNOSIS
Analogy: Addicts are like drowning men and women. If we don’t find some way of keeping our heads above water, we are going to drown. So we look for some kind of power to keep us afloat. We notice there are “logs” floating on the surface. These logs look like they’re capable of keeping our heads above water, but when we reach for one of these logs we find that we can only hold on for maybe a day, a week, a month, a year, maybe longer, but at some point, the logs fails us as a power and we slip and drown.
“Logs” are best described as “easier softer ways,” “middle of the road solutions,” half measures” and “human aids.”
| My Log List: STEP ONE (PART ONE) Admitting powerlessness: Check those strategies that failed to keep you permanently abstinent. | My Loser List: STEP ONE (PART TWO) Admitting life is unmanageable. Check what you’ve lost as a result of your inability to stay stopped. |
| __ will power __ resolutions, oaths, promises, contracts __ controlled using, drinking, thinking, behaving __ harm reduction, substitution strategies __ ill health, sickness __ ominous warnings from a doctor, judge, lawyer, employer __ change of environment, trigger lists, avoiding people, places, things __ counselling, therapy, group therapy __ detox, treatment centres, spas, spiritual retreats __ war stories, fear, horror __ relationships, friends, spouse, children, family, sex, pregnancy __ getting a pet (dog, cat) __ church, prayer (faith without works) __ having a sponsor __ going to meetings, 90 meetings in 90 days, “meeting makers make it” __ yesterday’s spiritual experience __ self-help books, personal development courses __ recovery knowledge __ “Big Book” reading / studying __ intelligence / education __ frothy emotional appeals, interventions, threats, ultimatums __ positive thinking, affirmations, self-talk __ poetry: “Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow,” “The Man In the Glass” __ guilt, shame, remorse __ good days/bad days __ keeping busy __ money / no money __ memory strategies “remember when,” “think, think, think,” “play the tape all the way through” __ jail, incarceration __ good reasons to stop, sufficiently strong reasons to stop, consequences __ moral & philosophical convictions, reputation, behavioural modification __ suffering, humiliation, pitiful and incomprehensible demoralization __ sobriety time __ exercise, holistic medicine, acupuncture, hypnotism, healthy diet, vitamins, fasts, cleansings |
__ time __ family __ spouse __ children __ friends __ money __ home / residence __ health __ safety __ hygiene __ opportunities __ careers, jobs, employment __ licence (vehicle, professional) __ education __ quality of life __ hope __ intelligence __ mental acuity __ self-respect __ respect from others __ self-esteem __ self-confidence __ self-improvement __ self-control __ emotional security __ responsibility for myself __ responsibility to others __ volition & agency __ reputation __ freedom __ morality __ spirituality / God __ peace of mind __ sanity __ faith __ humanity |
If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely (Do you honestly want to stop drinking, using or acting out – yes-no? and, based on your log list, have you been able to stay stopped – yes-no?), or if when drinking (using or acting out), you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic (addict). (Do you exhibit little control, when drinking, using or acting out – yes-no?) If that be the case, you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer. (AA p. 44)
Important Note: The LOG list and the LOSER list are universal in application. ALL addicts burn the same logs and ALL addicts lose the same things pursuing their addiction pattern to the “gates of insanity or death.”