Do you think alcohol problems are a choice?

Question

In AA, they teach that you are powerless and have no choice. I thought I started to drink too much, so I read online about tips to cut back, how to de-stress in healthy ways, etc. I used those tips and have cut back. How would I have done that if I was powerless like AA says? If I believed what they taught at AA, then I would not have tried and would have been living more in fear that I may relapse. Yesterday, I had 3 beers and nothing bad happened. I drink less days than I don't drink. And I don't feel like having one now. I have been gradually improving over a few months. Is AA wrong or are they calling too many people an alcoholic?

Answer 1

I have no experience of AA, but I believe that for far too many, drinking is an excuse.  If I were a judge, the sentence would be doubled where drink was involved, because people need to learn to make responsible choices, and drink is a choice.

However, you are obviously a much stronger person than your AA branch expected.  Congratulations on your progress.

Answer 2

"Is AA wrong or are they calling too many people an alcoholic?"

AA does not call anyone "alcoholic".

Only you can do that.  If in a meeting you describe yourself as alcoholic, or introduce yourself with the suffix "alcoholic" then you are one.  NO other way.

Powerlessness means that when an alcoholic takes a drink he cannot predict what will happen.

Normal people can take a drink or two and then just stop.

The alcoholic, because he suffers from a fatal progressive, incurable disease, which when a drink is ingested sets up a reaction described as an allergic reaction which causes a "Phenomenon of craving' which will cause the alcoholic to drink all he can get and most times will not be able to stop on his own short of unconsciousness.

You are basically practicing controlled drinking.  Some time in the future there will come a day when you won't stop at a few and could wind up in jail or dead.  That is your choice.

AA is only there for those that want it.  It only works for those that want to work the program thoroughly.

From your phrasing, you are pleased that you have found another solution to your problem and I hope it works for you.

If it does not we will welcome you back with unconditional love.

keep coming back

You say that in AA they teach you.  We don't teach; recovery houses teach recovery dynamics and Alcoholics Anonymous says that recovery dynamics are not AA approved and cannot be covered in AA meetings.

Come to some real meetings where you are not forced to do anything and see the difference.  We are a group of people that would not normally mix having a great time staying sober one day at a time  

Answer 3

maybe at the begginning its a choice, but once dependance on alcohol has set in, you have a lot less choice and its more like a compulsion.

Answer 4

AA does not work for everybody.  Different people learn self control different ways.  Its kinda like trying to quit smoking.  There is SO many different treatments that people seek for help.  Whether it be cold turkey, hypnosis, lasers.  Everyone is different, but if you think you have a problem, it might not be best to drink and wait for something bad to happen.  Just try to stay away from it.

Answer 5

I think everyone has a choice and if you want to quit, honestly walk around outside more it REALLY helps! Try drinking pop.

Answer 6

Alcohol is a problem and a disease here just like drug addicts its not a choice its a diesease! I been to AA and I was told that I don't belong here and I was like so where do I belong then! So I'm doing this on my own and I am doing this on my own I been clean for 5 years all by my self! They wanted me to spend thousands on drugs for what when I can get it free and get high with friends! Oh they don't want to hear that one! So your not alone here!

Answer 7

You have to drink a lot for a long period of time to get addicted. Up until that point, it is a choice. But once you are, it is much harder to quit. You brain sends signals that it is dying without alcohol. The choice becomes harder and harder.

AA was originally for skid-row type alcoholics. I've heard of some early meetings where they threw people out for wearing wristwatch, the thinking was if you still had your watch, you hadn't hit bottom yet.

Now they call everybody alcoholics; they've cast a wider net hoping for converts. They petitioned the courts to have people sentenced to AA in the past, but that all blew up in their faces in the last 15 years or so. They created so many disgruntled EX-members that they outnumber members. 95% of all new members leave in the first year.

The important question is "Does AA work?" and the answer is no:

http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effe...

Source(s):

Drink Too Much?

http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrinkTo...

Without AA:

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/wit...

Answer 8

because you are not truly an alchoholic!

Answer 9

It is a problem when it becomes a problem.  One person could drink one beer a day and not have a problem, where another can drink one a day, turning to 3 a day, then 6 a day, and so on.  Those who need AA are those types, that cannot stop once starting.  They have used the alcohol to go to sleep, have fun, erase memory, and cope for too long.  

So, if you thought you had a problem and have cut back, then good for you.  You still had control over it and not the alcohol over you.  Keep that going for you proved your own theory because you felt it was getting out of hand and that is where AA helps those that went further than you.

Answer 10

i believe that aa is simply switching addictions. just as an overweight person chooses the cheeseburger over the salad, drinkers (and druggers) choose to have the first one of the day. my husband is an alcoholic who is getting out of jail in 23 days after 5 months. he has to choose which life he wants to lead, the one he left behind (which will cost him his family) or the new one he can have.

Answer 11

It's always a choice. People just use that as an excuse to make them feel better. Everyone has the choice to drink and whether or not they get completely stoned IS up to them. The people that turn alcoholics are usually the ones that have problems and they use it as a quick way to feel better or to forget, that, or they just like drinking. There are many scenarios as to why they become one, but it is always a choice.    

Answer 12

AA is not wrong, they just find ways to get through to people about the subject so that people can better help themselves. for your ex, they say that your powerless, i bet that makes people think "im not powerless! i CAN get over this!" so they do what you did, and started getting better. they do alot of diff techniques to help individuals. i was an alcoholic, and after a stay in a psych hospital for it, i got better on my own and dont drink at all anymore. keep up the good work!

Answer 13

Alcoholism is a disease, just like cancer.  I know a lot of people don't agree with that, but it's true.  When they say that one is "powerless" it means over the disease and it's meant to help them think that there is something else helping them... like God.  You know if you are an alcoholic.  If you need more help, I hope you get it.