I first went to an Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step meeting 2 months ago. I was at the trough of my life cycle, having gone on a 3 month continuous bender after my wife left me for another man, and was ready to settle down a little and start to sew my life back together. Well, my Alcoholics Anonymous meeting worked wonders- just a couple of months and I’m cured, honest.
At alcoholics meetings, they will tell you that this is a lifetime addiction and that you are always in the process of recovering from the evils of drinking. I know. I’ve been through the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step program at least a few times already, which almost makes me an expert on it. Perhaps they should even hire me as a trainer one day. I think that Alcoholics Anonymous really does do a lot to help people – I mean they cured me – but this part of their philosophy is, if you will pardon the expression, a bunch of hokum.
I simply do not see the necessity of spending the rest of my life going to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, and the idea of never have a single drink again is outright ridiculous. I know people who do not drink. They are a bore. I am no teetotaler to spend my life away from whiskey. I love a drink, and thanks to two solid months of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, I think that I could handle one properly right now. But my Alcoholics Anonymous support group made me promise them that I would at least wait another month before committing what they described as “the biggest mistake of my life.”
I know that they mean good but gee whiz. These people take themselves just a little bit too seriously in my opinion. I mean, won’t I know better than anyone else, even better than Alcoholics Anonymous, when I am mature and responsible enough to have another drink and when I am not. I mean, it was me who came willingly to the meeting in the first place. I can take charge of my life.
My advice is, if you are going to Alcoholics Anonymous, do not try to convince them that you have reached the point that I have reached – the point where you are ready to start drinking responsibly. They are simply trained not to believe you for fear that people assume success too early. It is almost like brainwashing in a way. For many people, the Alcoholics Anonymous group ideal of never drinking again might work, but for me it is not necessary. I can’t do without alcohol.