Alcoholism: Working the 12-Steps

Alcoholism is a pervasive intruder in the lives of millions of people, either directly or indirectly. It is safely assumed that you know someone with a drinking problem.

Denial Is The Greatest Roadblock Towards Recovery

Denial prevents recovery and is the greatest roadblock towards sobriety. Coming out from denial can take years, or maybe never. Denial keeps the alcoholic, and those who love an alcoholic, believing they don’t have a problem and that they can stop drinking at anytime. But the truth is they can’t stop at anytime. If they could stop at anytime then there wouldn’t be a problem. If you can stop drinking at one or two drinks then show us, don’t tell us.

Most alcoholics, if they have the right divine guidance, can work the program of Alcoholics Anonymous and become sober for life and become better people through it all. AA is a great place to start for many alcoholics for mental and spiritual recovery. Some alcoholics have been known to go through the process of the 12-steps without ever stepping foot in a meeting hall, while others may wish to go to seven meetings in seven days. Overall healing and recovery depends on the individual and their personal circumstances.

How Can Alcoholic’s Anonymous Help?

AA helps the alcoholic come out from the clutches of denial and better understand who they are in relation to others and themselves. It helps them to grow out from self and grasp the concept of their Creator, which gives them faith and hope in God as well as in themselves. The community of AA helps the alcoholic to see that they are not alone in their addiction. They will meet others who are also working towards sobriety that they can identify themselves with and also receive encouragement from.

Having a problem with drinking does not mean you are a weak person, it means you have unresolved emotional issues that have not had a chance to heal. The 12-steps help you to dredge up the past and confront your demons head on with the support of your AA family or with the support of your home family or both. Once you work yourself through each step of AA it helps you to conquer the emotional aspects of addiction.

There is no rush to complete the steps. In fact take your time and make sure that you have actually completed a step before thinking you can move on with your life on life’s terms. Loved ones should be as supportive as possible as the alcoholic is trying to maintain sobriety. AA does not help with the physical addiction to alcohol -- this must been done at home through proper diet and exercise.

Alcoholic Is Not Who You Are

Alcoholic is not who you are, but is an affliction that has taken over your life, controlling the person God meant for you to be. You are a beautiful Child of God, even if you don’t believe in God. God still loves you. Because God loves you, you have the ability to totally defeat all aspects of alcoholism from your life. If you so choose, God will make you strong and give you the faith and courage to conquer alcoholism for good!

You have to decide, “Who you are”. Are you a person who originated from an oyster, monkey, or gorilla? Where did you come from? Are you just another body of the millions of bodies simply roaming the earth who have no set purpose for their life? If you have an attitude like this, you probably won’t get sober, or won’t be able to stay sober for very long. That’s the reality of addiction.

God has a purpose for you, whether you want to believe it or not.

Poor Diet Keeps The Alcoholic Craving Alcohol

“Study after study has demonstrated that the vast majority of alcoholics are hypoglycemic. In one conducted by J. Poulos, D. Stafford, and K. Carron, fifty outpatient alcoholics and fifty halfway-house alcoholics were compared with a control group of one hundred nurses and teenagers. Of the one hundred alcoholics, ninety-six proved to be hypoglycemic; only fourteen of the nonalcoholic controls were hypoglycemic. A three-year study by Robert Meiers, M.D., in Santa Cruz, California, found that more than 95 percent of alcoholics studied suffered from low blood sugar”

The addiction to alcohol, in the physical sense, is probably the hardest aspect of alcoholism to conquer. An alcoholic literally craves the sugar in the alcohol. The brain continually sends signals of needing a fix of sugar because the pancreas just isn’t doing its job properly. This malady has a lot to do with the eating lifestyle of the alcoholic.

All alcoholics are nutritionally deficient and most likely hypoglycemic. Have you ever noticed how usually an alcoholic will not eat sugar foods unless they can’t get an alcohol fix? That is because they are getting their cravings met through the sugar in the alcohol. Low blood sugar is the culprit. Clean up your diet and get sober!

The alcoholic absolutely needs to begin to eat a good daily diet of whole grains, fish, beans, legumes, and fresh fruits and vegetables. They need to replenish the minerals they have lost. This means no processed or refined sugar foods, whatsoever. If it is not whole and natural, simply don’t eat it. Once the body is well, the cravings for alcohol will subside considerably. But don’t take my word for it, try it and see for yourself.