I thought I would post a few clear (and I'm sure common) examples of classic excuses I've used to continue poisoning myself with alcohol, followed by a brief reconstruction of the faulty reasoning contained in each delusion. I've been employing this technique on myself lately, and although I still drink, I'm logging more and more sober days under my belt than I have in years.
WINE DELUSION: I'm only going to drink one bottle of wine from now on, as one bottle is a modest amount that doesn't lead to ill effects.
REALITY: Although consuming a single bottle of wine might not make you sick, this is because you have a dangerous tolerance to alcohol. More importantly, you rarely have stuck to this resolution in the past, and usually wash down that 'single bottle' with another one, or a pint of whiskey.
WHISKEY DELUSION: I'm only going to drink one double of scotch, because it's a great way to relax. I've learned from my past mistakes of bingeing on scotch, and will consume it in moderation from now on.
REALITY: You have successfully moderated your intake of scotch on so few occasions that it's best not to ascribe any significance to these rare occurrences. Usually, you drink an entire fifth of scotch and immediately regret the decision the next day.
BEER DELUSION: I'll stick to beer because, by virtue of having more liquid volume than other drinks, I drink it slower and thus don't get very inebriated.
REALITY: You may drink beer slower, but what good is that when you drink no less than 12beers per sitting!
NON-SPECIFIC DELUSION: I haven't had a drink in 4 days. I feel great! I deserve to drink tonight, as I can always start work again on abstinence tomorrow.
REALITY: Historically, such decisions to drink often ignite a binge that lasts several days at which point you end up in worse shape than you were before you made the decision to drink.
I'm sure many of you have had these or other delusions, but I find that clearly identifying them can, with some practice, ward off a drinking binge without going through the frustrating inner struggle and deliberation about whether or not to drink. For example, tonight when I experienced thoughts of buying some scotch just to have 'one drink', I calmly noted to myself that this was an instance of the Whiskey Delusion, and almost immediately stopped thinking about drinking and instead did something productive.
WINE DELUSION: I'm only going to drink one bottle of wine from now on, as one bottle is a modest amount that doesn't lead to ill effects.
REALITY: Although consuming a single bottle of wine might not make you sick, this is because you have a dangerous tolerance to alcohol. More importantly, you rarely have stuck to this resolution in the past, and usually wash down that 'single bottle' with another one, or a pint of whiskey.
WHISKEY DELUSION: I'm only going to drink one double of scotch, because it's a great way to relax. I've learned from my past mistakes of bingeing on scotch, and will consume it in moderation from now on.
REALITY: You have successfully moderated your intake of scotch on so few occasions that it's best not to ascribe any significance to these rare occurrences. Usually, you drink an entire fifth of scotch and immediately regret the decision the next day.
BEER DELUSION: I'll stick to beer because, by virtue of having more liquid volume than other drinks, I drink it slower and thus don't get very inebriated.
REALITY: You may drink beer slower, but what good is that when you drink no less than 12beers per sitting!
NON-SPECIFIC DELUSION: I haven't had a drink in 4 days. I feel great! I deserve to drink tonight, as I can always start work again on abstinence tomorrow.
REALITY: Historically, such decisions to drink often ignite a binge that lasts several days at which point you end up in worse shape than you were before you made the decision to drink.
I'm sure many of you have had these or other delusions, but I find that clearly identifying them can, with some practice, ward off a drinking binge without going through the frustrating inner struggle and deliberation about whether or not to drink. For example, tonight when I experienced thoughts of buying some scotch just to have 'one drink', I calmly noted to myself that this was an instance of the Whiskey Delusion, and almost immediately stopped thinking about drinking and instead did something productive.
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