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where moth and rust cannot destroy and thieves cannot break in and steal

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Rob Ford Admits to Alcoholism.

Well, not exactly. He said that he's quit drinking. That statement however is an admission of alcoholism because only alcoholics quit drinking. More on that in a bit.

People in transition are beginning to realize that their problems are somehow connected with their chemical use, but they believe they can handle the issue on their own. Working through this stage is going from "It's not my fault. Drinking/drugging isn't a problem for me. If everyone would just leave me alone everything would be fine," to "It is my problem and drinking/drugging is a major issue for me." It almost always requires assistance from family, employers, authority figures etc. to help these people work through this stage. However help may not look the way you think it looks.

The movement through transition usually looks like this:

1) People in transition begin to develop problems that motivates them to question the benefits of their chemical use - Impaired charges; Breakdown of relationships; School problems; or Employment problems. This is where others MUST NOT enable the person to continue using. It is vitally important that the consequences of using are experienced by the user. Nevertheless those who are addicted will still say, yes I've got troubles -
"BUT IT'S GOT NOTHING TO DO WITH MY USING!!!"
. I got an impaired charge because the police are out to get me
. I got fired because my boss is on some kind of power trip
. I got suspended because my teacher's wife left him and he had to take it out on someone
. My girlfriend left me because she can't stand it when I have fun
. I got asked to leave home because my parents don't understand me. They don't know what it's like to be me.

2) People in transition will attempt to fix these kind of problems without considering the role of chemicals in their lives.
THEY WILL FAIL IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO RESOLVE THEIR PROBLEMS

3) People in transition will then attempt to control their chemical use.
. Only use on certain days
. Only use at certain times of the day
. Only take a certain amount of cash to the bar/parties
. Only drink beer not whisky. Only use pot, not cocaine
. Only use with these friends but not with those
THEY WILL FAIL IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO CONTROL THEIR USE

4) People in transition will attempt controlled abstinence.
All chemically dependent people try to quit at some point. Rather than being a symptom of recovery, it's actually one more symptom of an addiction. Social drinkers don't try to see if they can quit, because there is no need to see if they can quit. Those who are chemically dependent try to quit for lots of reasons: To complete a task, or to give their bodies a rest. They quit to show their boss or teacher that they've changed. But most often the reason that chemically dependent people try to quit using is to prove to themselves and others that they can quit. At any rate -
THEY WILL FAIL IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO QUIT FOR AWHILE

5) People in transition accept the need to quit for good.
THEY WILL FAIL IN THEIR ATTEMPTS TO QUIT FOR GOOD

6) So these people accept the need for help, usually in a 12 step group after completing a time away learning about recovery. This is where they will most likely find success.  

1 comment:

  1. Not true. People can quit drinking without having a problem, or ever having had a problem, with drinking too much. It is just the act of deciding not to drink alcohol anymore, which can be for many reasons such as lack of interest, concern for health, money, religious reasons, etc.

    Also, isn't pandering to the inflated (and distracting) media hype about a man whose problems (real or imagined) don't affect anyone but himself, just a bit beneath you?

    ~Anonymous Viewer~

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