“I admitted I am powerless over alcohol—that my life had become unmanageable.”
This will be updated as I remember what happened when they happened as well as my thoughts concerning them now and then.
Me? Powerless? Funniest thing I ever heard in my life. Until I was arrested for DUI. I had also assaulted my wife and hurt her fairly bad. Left a nasty bruise that took forever to go away. Yea, jail time is fun. /ASS™ (<Adjuctive> Super Sarcasm)
I will be using the 12-Step Woksheet with questions from the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) – 12 Step Program at 12steppers.org
My Step 1 Q&A
Q) How did you discover your addiction? Why did you enjoy it initially?
My wife had a talk with me about my drinking every night after work which I had been doing for well over a decade. In case you missed that… every night for well over a decade. As was typical, she was right. I worked for 20-ish years at full service restaurants in the back of the house. After work I would hit my favorite bar to unwind and relax. Talk with friends, play some video games and sometimes play pool. Drinking was my reward to myself after a night’s hard work.
I had started to purchase beer, brand names only, on my days off and occasionally would throw in a pint of JD, Smirnoff’s or Stoli’s. Very early on in my addiction I
had decided that I would only drink after work and never on my days off.
I was fine with this for how long I don’t know.
Q) How did you feel when you had not engaged in an addictive behavior for a while?
At first not being engaged in drinking wasn’t a problem, until it was. Looking back now with a sober perspective I see that I kept myself not engaged in drinking by doing stuff around the house. Chores, watching tv, reading real books and other daily living stuff. I enjoyed it for the most part, well, not the chores. We sometimes took short weekend trips. I kept occupied and busy.
Q) List all the types of behavior of which your addiction consisted. Which did you do most often and why?
Damn tough question. Remembering my drinking behaviors after being sober since July 20, 2024? I’m going to need a really bright searchlight to cut through that fog.