Now that I have a family member in AA, + b/c I've been doing some pretty stupid stuff lately, I'm starting to reevaluate my thoughts on alcohol.
I'll never again become one of those cold-turkey people who refuse anything w/ a trace of alcohol in it. I know that. But I've been noticing a scary trend within myself-- the inability to stop. I like beer + I can have fun by just drinking one. But I never leave it at that. Instead I'll need more + more.
I've been told AA is good b/c it shows you how terrible alcohol really is. I've been told it's worse than any other drug. You don't have to make any moonlight deals in the back alley with alcohol. If you need a fix just go up to Circle K.
+ When you drink, it's not considered a problem. Just imagine what ppl would say if you declared, "Hey all, I'm running down the street to buy an eight ball of crack." I doubt there's a country song about going on a C-R-A-C-K-R-U-N.
But you know, they're more alike than they seem.
About Me
- sarah
- I love being steeped in a new town + making comparisons/observations between the places I know + want to know more of. I'm currently working with homeless issues in the lovely city of Cleveland. I love *found* items. I'm constantly picking papers off the ground/outta the trash to see if it's anything worth salvaging. I find immense value in other people's discarded notes.
4 comments:
If drinking weren't considered a problem, there wouldn't be such a thing as AA.
Not exactly in response to anything you wrote, but having an alcohol problem is more about an attitude than how much you drink (drinking a lot is certainly an aspect of being an alcholic, so no one get all hysterical and put words in my mouth). If you got out and get trashed every Thursday night, that's not what makes you an alcoholic (although binge drinking is still something people shouldn't do, for many reasons). It's when you need a drink that you have a problem; when you wake up in the morning and that's the first thing you think about. People can be alcoholics even if they only drink one drink a day, because they feel they need that one drink to function. So, no, I'm not going to feel guilty about going out with the girls a couple of nights a month, because I'm responsible about it and know that alcohol isn't something I crave or need.
Yeah, I guess what worries me is the need to have it.
No, it really doesn't have anything to do w/ how much you drink. Like there are many college kids who binge drink + who are certainly not alcoholics b/c they do it as a social thing.
I guess that brings up another problem-- guilt. It seems like the there are lots of ppl who try to guilt-trip you for having a drink now and then (I know that story) but really there isn't a problem yet.
Also, alcoholics never know when to stop. + If you try to cool them off, they get pissed.
All in all it's a fine line to be weary of.
Yes, I know there are people who try to make you feel guilty, and that's so ridiculous. You know some doctors even think a glass of wine or beer a day is even good for you? Just tell 'em you're improving your health. ; )
Yeah, there are different kinds of addictions. My family likes to joke, even, that we all are addicts (because it is true that all of us have addictive personalities, and we have to funnel them somewhere besides drugs and alcohol). I think I was half trashed at the time, actually, haha, and said mine was that I get obsessed with TV shows.
Do you know, when you were with (one of?) the people who made you feel guilty about drinking, you made me feel like I should be ashamed of drinking, too. Not that I was or that it stopped me, though.
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