The Alcoholic Addict and Step Three

STEP THREE: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

After having come up with our own concept of a higher power in step two This seems like it should be an easy step to take but it’s not so easy for alcoholics who were used to running their own lives and acting based on their own will. After all it says in the big book that we were perfect examples of self will run riot. How can we have that level of blind faith with something most of us had either negative or little experience with? The reality is that whether we are aware of it or not we had that level of blind faith in alcohol. Alcohol was def a power greater than us. We had faith  in it every day. we had faith that it would do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, that we would be taken care of and that it would do for us what we needed it to do. So you see we had no problem turning our will and our lives over to a higher power. This continued on until we sought out alcohol addiction help. The big fact for us was that we were very familiar when it came to the concept of faith. We only had the illusion of control and even though we were acting on our own will, we were still powerless. If we were willing to have even a quarter of the faith in a higher power that we had in alcohol then we would be set. There are many places designed to help with this and the other eleven steps such as; an affordable rehab, AA, and drug addiction detox. You or your loved ones don’t have to do this on your own. It can be scary to make an honest decision to turn your will and your life over. The payoff though is the removal of fear, peace, serenity, and an amazing fulfilling life.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step Two

STEP TWO: “We Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

This is a big deal for us alcoholics. Let’s look at the first half of step 2. “We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves”. This is important because first we had to come up with our own concept of a higher power. What does that look like? How is that possible when most of us who were raised with a God and were brought up with these ideas that he was damning, and shaming? Or when we think about God we think about religion and the feelings around it such as fear and judgment? Many of us didn’t come to AA thinking the greatest things or with the best feelings when it came to a higher power. After all if a higher power existed how could he/she/it let all these horrible things happen to us? We didn’t realize that our problems were of our own making. We were after all the perfect example of self will run riot. Many of us were unaware of the fact that we took over our lives and kicked “GOD” out of it. We were playing God until we found alcohol addiction help. In AA and through the second step we got to come up with our own beliefs and concepts of our own higher power. By doing that we found a loving and caring source which we could have faith in to take on all of our life problems. Many outsiders might think that sounds wishy washy to be able to create our own idea of GOD but it’s hard to imagine anything other than this working. Especially considering how defiant we are when we first get sober. Being told what we had to believe in wouldn’t have gone over too well. Now let’s take a look at the second half of the first step “could restore us to sanity”. This requires us to look at the fact that we were indeed insane before we sought out help whether it be through an addiction program in Los Angeles, AA, or a drug rehab facility in LA.When we were out there using it was very much insane. It went hand in hand with the unmanageability. The definition of insanity is “the condition of being insane. A derangement of the mind.” That could definitely be applied to our behavior surrounding drinking. Through this step we learn to trust in an infinite power rather than our finite selves and through that we are restored to sanity. What a remarkable blessing for a group of people who all at one point and time felt helpless, alone, crazy, and scared.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step One

In Alcoholics Anonymous there are suggested actions that people take called the steps.

Step One says: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol and our lives had become unmanageable.”

Many places such as 30 day rehab programs or a California alcohol rehab are twelve step centered. Let’s take a look at the first part of the first step: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol.” In order for us to be ready to admit that we first had to reach our bottom and truly see/feel our powerlessness so that we could get to the point where we could surrender and seek out alcohol addiction help. We had to get to the point where we finally realized that not only has drinking not worked for us for a while but more importantly that no matter how many different ways we tried to control and enjoy our drinking it would never work.

In other words we had to fully admit to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics and therefore could not drink alcohol normally. This brings us to the second part of the first step.

“That our lives had become unmanageable.”Notice it doesn’t say and because of alcohol our lives had become unmanageable. That is because we come to find out that alcohol was not the problem. It was a symptom of our alcoholism. We also learn that it is a disease that centers in the mind as well as a spiritual malady. Our lives were not unmanageable because we drank it was unmanageable because of what that brought up for us and meant to us. Once we drank we couldn’t stop. The problem wasn’t in the liquid but rather the person that drank it. We were spiritually bankrupt and lacked the ability to recall the damage that came about as a result of our alcoholism. Through working the first step and starting to build a foundation we not only began to get relief from the years of suffering that drinking brought about but we found that piece by piece we were putting our lives back together and slowly watched as the unmanageability faded.

Powerlessness and Asking for Addiction Help

“Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this power?”  We Agnostics pg 45 from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

As alcoholics we spend our whole drinking career searching for power and control. We try many different methods to gain control and power over our drinking, but the last place we usually look are places we can get addiction help such as an affordable rehab, AA, or treatment centers in California. We would rather defend our right to drink or use to the death than accept alcohol addiction help. We continue to seek out power until we exhaust all of our option. At that point we can finally surrender. It’s when we don’t have any other choice than an alcoholic finally truly surrender and can get sober. In recovery we find what we have been searching for our whole lives… POWER. We start to build a relationship with a power greater than ourselves and in return regain control of our lives but the question still remains, where do we find this power? That’s easy by doing the work available through various 12 step programs or  a Los Angeles rehab. You can start on the path toward regaining power in your life. Through recovery you’ll be able, not only to regain control, but also mend broken relationships, and become happily and usefully whole. Through this lifestyle you will find a sense of purpose and joy for life that many of us have been searching for long before we got sober.

Alcoholism and the Phenomenon of Craving

“Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that while they admit it is injurious, they can’t after a time differentiate the true from the false.”-Doctors Opinion pg xxix From the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Most people first try alcohol out of curiosity, experimentation, or as a sort of right of passage. However what happens after the first drink for the normal drinker vs. the alcoholic is very different. It is an entirely different experience and effect. The normal drinker will drink once in a while. For the alcoholic a phenomenon of craving sets in. Usually from there on out the difference between them and their fellows becomes obvious. Often times we drink to get drunk, have poor boundaries regarding alcohol, and try to ignore the consequences. While normal drinkers drink, stop before they have had too much, and have little to no consequences around their drinking. As alcoholics we are often times blown away by normal drinkers ability to do so. We realize it has a harmful effect for us usually long before we realize we have a problem yet we can’t stop. Furthermore it’s been scientifically proven that alcoholics breakdown alcohol differently on a chemical level. Also as alcoholics that part of our brain that’s job is to remind us of cause /effect or harmful situations greatly lacks in its ability to do so when it comes to alcoholics brain chemistry. So it’s basically like we are touching a hot stove after we have been burned several times before, knowing we probably shouldn’t, and but not remembering why. How does one get out of such a seemingly hopeless situation? The only possible way is by getting and staying sober. If you suffer from alcoholism and are tired of getting “burned” here are a few good places to start…AA, researching a drug rehab blog, or finding an affordable rehab. Also if necessary there is drug addiction detox. Whatever route you or your loved one chooses you never have to feel like this or struggle again.

Alcohol Addiction Help and a Spiritual Experience

“If a mere code of morals or a better philosophy of life were sufficient to overcome alcoholism, many of us would have recovered long ago. But we found that such codes and philosophies did not save us, no matter how much we tried. We could will these things with all our might, but the needed power wasn’t there. Our human resources, as man should by the will, were not sufficient, they failed utterly.” We Agnostics pg 44-45 from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

As alcoholics, it’s not that we lack morals. We are simply doing what we need to do to get our “medicine” so we can get “well”. If alcoholism could be cured by better morals or better philosophy then we would all straighten our act up and try this new approach. We would all hold ourselves to a higher moral standard that a lot of us in recovery do. But it’s not enough; we must experience an entire physic change through alcohol addiction help. We must turn our lives around and have a spiritual experience as a result of the work we do. This work can be done in many environments from AA to 30 day rehabs. If you are unsure what type of environment would work best for you, a good place to start is by looking up FAQs about rehab and recovery Los Angeles to get a better idea of what each place has to offer and find out what’s the best fit for you or your loved one(s).

Los Angeles Rehab: The First Step Walking Away from Fear

“Selfishness- self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at sometime in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. They arise out of ourselves, and the alcoholic is an extreme example of self-will run riot, though he usually doesn’t think so. Above everything, we alcoholics much be rid of this selfishness. We must, or it kill us!” How it Works pg 62 from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics know fear all too well. We are terrified of almost everything: fear of not getting what we want, losing people in our lives, doing things wrong, death, life, success, or failure. If you can name it we probably have fear around it. At times it can be debilitating and often times we don’t realize how fear affects us, or those around us. It’s an isolating feeling that is usually not based in reality. It pushes people away and dictates our actions. If we look back through our using we can see how most of the things we did we driven by fear. Whether it’s being afraid of people leaving, or people not liking us. So we take the actions needed to push them away before they can leave. Out of fear of not getting something or enough of what we need, alcoholics may steal. Fear is one of the biggest things that keep us from getting sober; fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of getting sober, and fear of losing something. It takes a lot of courage to walk through these fears and make the decision to go to a California alcohol rehab. But when you are willing, there is always a Los Angeles rehab ready to help and many of them also offer support for family of addicts. Through places like these you can begin to walk through fear and recover. We no longer have to be crippled by this thing that has run our lives for so long.

 

Finding Serenity in Sober Living

“Resentment is the “number one” offender. It destroys more alcoholics than anything else. From it stem all forms of spiritual disease, for we have been not only mentally and physically ill, we have been spiritually sick. When the spiritual malady is overcome, we straighten out mentally and physically.” How it Works page 64 From the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

As alcoholics our ability and desire to hold on to all resentments or harms done to us or by us is unmatched by normal drinkers. We have a hard time letting go, forgiving, and forgetting. We have an amazing memory recall, except when it concerns alcohol and what it does to us. We would rather be right than be happy. Our thoughts are usually that of “if only you didn’t do this, then I wouldn’t have had to do that, if only they understood, or if only people acted right. I wouldn’t have had to retaliate.” Little do we know that the world was judging us by our actions while we were judging ourselves by our intentions. Resentment is the number one thing that takes people out after getting sober. Resentment also plays a key role in keeping us out there using and drinking longer than needed.  But how does one overcome a spiritual malady when one does not know they are spiritually sick? Furthermore, if that is the only way to “straighten out” mentally and physically, yet we cannot figure out the nature of our spiritual sickness and how to be rid of it, how can we ever get well? That’s why there are places and things such as; rehabs that take insurance, AA, drug rehab blogs, and other 12 step centered sober living CA. Through these places and things you or your loved ones can get the alcohol addiction help that is needed. As well as, getting the tools to overcome this spiritual malady called alcoholism, so that you never have to go through what you’re going through ever again.

Going to 30 Day Rehab and Leaving Regret Behind

“We will not regret the past nor wish to shut the door on it. We will comprehend the word serenity and we will know peace. No matter how far down the scale we have gone, we will see how our experience can benefit others. That feeling of uselessness and self-pity will disappear. We will lose interest in selfish things and gain interest in our fellows. Self seeking will slip away.” -The promises page 83 from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous

When we are drinking/using oftentimes we were full of fear and wrapped up in the bondage of this disease. We are full of anxiety, feel helpless, and are shut off from the world and our loved ones. Most of us know it is only going to get worse never better until we stop drinking and get sober. However there are many things that keep us from recovery and whether it be dependency, or fear, most of us are afraid to give up the booze. It is understandable to be afraid of letting go of something that at one point and time used to work for us in exchange for something we know nothing about or to have blind faith in this thing called recovery. At least with alcohol we know what it’s likely to do to us, and it’s familiar. Fear of change or the unknown is a big one for alcoholics but many of us can assure you that the promises have come true. There is no such thing as a helpless case. Everyone can get alcohol addiction help. We find purpose in helping others through our experiences. We care about other people and their happiness. It is no longer about us or our feelings because we know we are taken care of and are living a fulfilling life. Through 30 day rehab, AA, or an affordable rehab, the many gifts of sobriety are available for anybody who doesn’t want to live the way they are living anymore, and wants to get sober.

There is a Solution: 12 Step Addiction Programs and CA Rehab

“We are average Americans. All sections of this country and many of its occupations are represented as well as many political, economic, social, and religious backgrounds. We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, of friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful. We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness, and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to captain’s table. Unlike the feelings of the ships passengers, however our joy and escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways…The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we’ve discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action”- There is a Solution page 17 from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

It does not matter where you’re from, the kind of upbringing you’ve had, or the type of person you are. Regardless of age, sex, and race, alcoholism does not discriminate. It is believed that persons, places, things, or situations do not make us alcoholics. We find that regardless of those things many of us have similar experiences when it comes to alcohol. We know all too well the feeling of uselessness, self- pity, and loneliness. We know what it’s like when our disease takes over and we are caught in a world full of darkness, fear, desperation, powerlessness, pain, and emotional/spiritual bankruptcy.  When we feel helpless it can be hard to see a way out, however when we are ready to surrender and ask for alcohol addiction help we can try different things; such as California rehab centers, AA, or California drug treatment. Once we seek out help and get sober we begin to get the gifts of recovery that’s mentioned in the excerpt from “There is a Solution”.  We are able to find happiness, form meaningful relationships, and come to know a joy that we never knew could exist. There is light where there was once darkness. There is peace where there was once chaos. There is love where there was once brokenness, and the life we live is truly indescribably wonderful. It is a life beyond anyone’s wildest dreams that cannot be transmitted, but is available to those who are willing to get sober and work to achieve recovery.