The second question to ask yourself is this: “Can I be happy and content when not drinking at all?” Another variation of this question is to see if you are happy and content when limiting yourself to only one drink per day. If you are trying to limit your drinks to one per day and you are having a hard time doing it, then that is a strong indicator right there. If you have a lot of resentment about the fact that you have to control your drinking in a situation, then that is a red flag as well. These questions that you ask yourself are not so important; what is important is the honesty with which you answer them for yourself.
Alcohol has a funny place in modern culture. On one hand drinking is widely accepted. The beer and liquor industries spend a fortune advertising their products. With long-term exposure to these messages, it’s easy to believe that we should all be drinking every day.
Prayer is simply talking to our Higher Power. Alcoholics Anonymous teaches we should spend most of our prayer time thanking God for all of our blessings. We should not ask Him for anything for ourselves, except where it directly benefits someone else.
You might not be aware of how common drinking and driving accidents are or who is at risk. drunk driving accidents are not limited to adults. In 2008 one out of every 7 drivers killed in a drunk driving accident was under the age of 21. This is below the legal drinking age.
I happen to know that this particular parent’s son has a serious drinking problem. Not only does he drink too often and too much (often during school), he also drives when he drinks. Yet, his parents refuse to acknowledge that he drinks at all, much less has a drinking problem.
Making a plan is the second step in beating alcohol. choose when you are going to stop drinking. Set a time to evaluate your plan to see if it is working and whether you are able to stop drinking on your own. Help from organizations such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) or individual therapy is can be used to help you reach your goal.
Some newcomers to alcoholics anonymous are put off by talk of “God” or “faith” or “spirituality”. That’s understandable since many of us had negative experiences in church at some point. AA members emphasize that the organization does not endorse or claim affiliation with ANY organized religion. Instead, they say, AA is a program that teaches a design for living that relies on some power outside of ourselves. Some members call this power God, but the power can go by any name the member chooses.
I have since learned that the program of Alcoholics Anonymous is not for the people who need it- it’s for the people who want it. All I knew is that I could not continue in the awful self-imposed prison in which I was living.
Del Area De Santa Clara