raanch

Regarding Step 1: I am flat out, no question about it, definitely and absolutely powerless over alcohol. That's it. Now, given that I don't think I'm really all that different from all those crazy-assed "normal" people out there who can drink alcohol successfully, what's up with me? Well, I have much of the same issues as "normal" people and I want to escape them sometimes. The difference is, simply, I cannot escape them (successfully) by drinking alcohol. (Truthfully, neither can "normal" people! They just get a temporary escape...) My body reacts differently to it and, when I consume it, I don't know if I'll stop after a few drinks or after a few days. Therefore, it is better for me not to introduce it into my body. Not having that "medicine" for when I don't want to deal with life's issues means I need to deal with them some other way. I'm learning that way in recovery and something I heard not too terribly long ago says it well:

Alcoholics Anonymous does slowly what alcohol used to do quickly.

Regarding Step 2: Being a GenXer, soundbites are my friend. Sometimes, I just need things broken down even simpler than 12 Steps. What Sponz told me is:

Step 1 is the problem. Step 2 is the answer. The remaining Steps are how to get to the answer.