19. "There's a new amendment to the AA 'Blue Book'." In response to In response to 18 Sun Mar-29-15 09:12 PM by denny
The blue book is the bible of AA. The new amendment is called 'A Doctor's Perspective' and it makes a very concise statement.
"An alcoholic is an individual whom, after ingesting an alcoholic drink, experiences the phenomenon of craving".
It's that simple. My brother can drink a beer or two on Saturday afternoon....then eat dinner and go the rest of the night without another drink without even thinking about it. I can't even fathom that. Once I've had ONE drink.....I'm drinking til I go to sleep. My co-workers sometimes have a beer when we go out for lunch. I can't fathom that either. 'You mean we're going have a pint of beer now......and then work for another 4 hours without drinking more?' Because I was a functional alcoholic...I learned to make sure I didn't have my first drink until I knew I could continuously drink til I fell asleep. The craving for the first drink exists....but it's the craving for the second drink that is basically impossible to ignore.
So I came to realize....I'm not really an alcohol addict UNTIL I have a drink. After you've reached the third or fourth week.....you'll notice that your body is starting to return to normal and the physical manifestations of the craving start to subside. A few months later and your liver will completely heal to the efficiency of someone who never drank in the first place. There IS a tipping point where that kind of recovery won't be possible.
Here's the good news......the craving for the first drink gets less and less with time. The bad news is that the craving for the second drink will be just as strong after years of sobriety as it was while you were drinking heavy. So when I crave the first drink....I think to myself.....'If I drink the first beer....one of two things will happen. Either I'll spend all night fighting a craving for more. (no fun) Or I'll give into that craving and end up drinking 9 to 12 beers. Both scenarios suck. Therefor....I simply don't have that first drink. I can deal with the cravings for a first drink....I can't deal with the cravings for the second drink. It took me a loooooooong time to realize that.