AA, NA members --- Please help??!
Question:
AA, NA members --- Please help??
I'm working on my first step of the 12 step program and am seeking some experience, strength and hope. My question is:
What keeps you from reconizing your powerlessness and life's unmanagability?
Thanks for any feedback!
Answers:
You are fortunate to have entered the Program. Do you have a sponsor? Hope so.
Just because I drank until I would pass out, does that mean my life was unmanageable?
Just because I would wake up at night and get another drink, does that mean my life was unmanageable?
Just because I would have to have a drink at 5:30 a.m. to stop the shaking so I could get my contacts in, does that mean my life was unmanageable?
Just because I lost two excellent jobs, does that mean my life was unmanageable?
Just because I was shaking so much at work I couldn't write a pink phone message and had to e-mail my bosses, does that mean my life was unmanageable?
What keeps you powerless? Denial. I would go down and get that 5:30 a.m. drink and remember my ex telling the story of a man who had to tie a hankie around his neck and then put his arm through it like a sling, just to get the shot glass up to his mouth -- he was shaking so badly. Did that stop me? Of course not. I wasn't hurting anyone and for a long time I was a functioning alcoholic.
I won't go into why I joined AA right now, but please trust that you have made the most important decision of your life.
If you have a "Twenty-Four Hour" book, read the thought for the day for January 6 (as often as necessary). I have that read at all the meetings I chair.
May your Higher Power be with you.