Monday, October 13, 2014

The Functioning Piece Of Alcoholism

                   I learned in Alcoholics Anonymous that I have three basic instincts, a social, sexual and security instinct.  These instincts are God given and necessary for life but in me I can never get enough of  what it is I think I need.  The great psychiatrist Sigmund Freud defines an instinct as a bodily need manifested in our thought process.  So what occurs for us as alcoholics  is our instincts manifest themselves in our thought process and triggers our self centered fear.  I learned in Alcoholics Anonymous that alcohol is but a symptom of our true malady.  Our true malady is self centered fear, afraid that we are not going to get what we want, afraid that we are going to lose what we have.  Once our fear is triggered we reach for our character defects in an attempt to satiate our instincts.  But in us we can never get enough of what it is we think we need.  Then we run around chasing our tail creating havoc in our lives but more importantly havoc in the lives of everyone around us.  This is THE FUNCTIONING PIECE OF ALCOHOLISM.
                  The solution to the problem of alcoholism is a vital spiritual experience, as we must give life to our relationship with God.  How? By letting go of our human nature so that our thought process is no longer propelled by our instincts but rather by the will of God through inspiration,   

5 comments:

  1. As an active alcoholic, the limitations of my life were extreme. Only my fear was limitless. Fear outran every desire and created the mental and emotional havoc that only alcohol could assuage. As a result I drank until the day I first encountered something stronger than my desire to drink, the desire NOT to drink. As a recovering alcoholic, I know that my awakened spirit is the strongest and best part of me. In fact, it is only through the spirit that my life can be manageable or peaceful. There is no doubt that I have come to know the spirit through understanding the Twelve Steps and incorporating them into my life. Livening fearlessly can only occur by living in the spirit. In my human nature, all of my thinking will ultimately be fear-dominated. So the alternative becomes not how I live but where I live.

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  2. My functionability was very dis functional .
    Full of self centered fear, my life was pretty much of a train wreck . Not being able to make decisions or engage in healthy relationships that would have positive results , I lived in a world where negative things just constantly happened & I was left to wonder why ! Lost in a sea of self pity, resentments, my motivation was fear. Totatally dis functional in a phases of life. My alcoholic existence was all there was . Being broke down I came to A. A. for help, they suggested that I follow some suggestions and get a sponsor, and pointed to the 12 steps. As a result of these steps I've been awakened to a new life! A functionable life , a life of living life on life's terms. Amen !

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  3. Michael Love to read when you write " not how I live but where I live." For those who have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body it is the back half of the Eleventh Step which says "praying only for the knowledge of God's will for us and the power to carry it out."...Thanks...Armand

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  4. Don thank you for sharing your experience. An alcoholic handles dysfunction with anger and resentment. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous tells us that "resentment is the number one offender and that we had to be free of anger." This can only occur for us in the will of God through A vital spiritual experience...Armand

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