If we know.......then why?

[akgirl]

We know....

how bad it is for us
how crappy we will feel the next day
what an ass we make of ourselves
that we are cutting our life short
that it effects those we love
that is is poison and just plain stupid......

So why do we continue

Finally got AF a couple months ago, had some ups and downs but felt sooooo good when
I wasn't drinking. Then.... bam! my roomie comes back and is drinking so what do I do.....yep, join right in. And not even sure why. Such an idiot :upset:

Jumpin back on the wagon......and putting on my seat belt

[Doggygirl]

If we know.......then why?

Alcohol addiction defies logic. It's very difficult to try to out think it. Trying to overcome my addiction on my thought power really didn't work. I thought through it logically millions of times. "I won't drink today." "I will have two and then stop like those other people." "I will never drink and drive." Etc. Didn't happen.

DG

[CS04]

If we know.......then why?

I was just thinking about this today, the tricks our mind plays, and the rituals of habit that we return to despite our better judgment. I wish I understood.

[akgirl]

If we know.......then why?

It just makes absolutely no sense.

I mean, it's like hitting your hand with a hammer and expecting it not to hurt WTF

You would think we would get addicted to feeling good.......not bad

[CS04]

If we know.......then why?

I know. And we consider ourselves intelligent, rational people in other aspects of our lives.

[spuddleduck]

If we know.......then why?

akgirl, ive just posted a very similar thread / thought called 'why continue drinking'. i know the simple anwer is addiction' to alcohol but as you say we all know that nothing good ever comes of it. in almost every other aspect in my life i am careful and controlled. put alcohol into the mix and everything goes haywire. i look forward to seeing responses to this and my other thread. WHY?

[Doggygirl]

If we know.......then why?

CS04;1120674 wrote: I was just thinking about this today, the tricks our mind plays, and the rituals of habit that we return to despite our better judgment. I wish I understood.

Something that was really an eye opener for me was reading the Big Book of AA, which was written in the 1930's. I thought my AL problems were more "modern" than that. Come to find out, AL has affected those of us who are alcoholics in this very way for many many years - I'm sure it's always been this way.

So rather than try to "understand" why this happens - why our logic tells us one thing, but then we drink anyway - I think my energy is better spent just focusing on doing whatever it takes to not drink. The rest of the mystery is what it is, it seems, and that part seems very out of my control.

DG

[sunshinetoday]

If we know.......then why?

Way to decide to get back on the wagon. I think it's when we change our habits when we used to say yes but when instead say NO, it begins to change those cycles. Our mind starts to see there is another avenue to take, so be strong and just say NO. Good luck! As usual, easier said than done!

[Barbara1234]

If we know.......then why?

Well I got through Fri. night. Can't say I didn't think about drinking.
I have to say the reason I got through it was because I somehow found this site, don't even remember how now. I have had wonderful support from you guys here.
I'm doing the CD's that Lav sent me, and reading the book as well. I am also getting acupuncture.
I read a post from Lost in Thailand tonight, and he said he changed his thinking from "I want a drink" to "It wants a drink". He called it his Alcoholic Voice (AV). It really struck a nerve with me. I actually thought it was brilliantly funny. So now when I get a craving I'm going to think of it that way. It's not that I want a drink, it's that "IT" wants a drink. I think it really helped me! thanks LIT!

[hillsidetime]

If we know.......then why?

Akgirl, you have asked one of the key questions in addiction research, counselling and healing. This question was at the forefront of my struggle with understanding my relationship with alcohol; my addiction to it, and near loss of everyone I love and want in my life, as a result of drinking it.

Part of it, I think, is the fact that much like smoking one cigarette, in and of itself, won't hurt you; drinking one beer won't hurt you. If our mind see's things as just one night, or one weekend, it is easier to say "Oh it's fine to drink". The moments are short term, the harm is longer term, so it slips in the back door, sneaks up on us - so does the decrease in brain function, and the worse decision making etc.

Another aspect, I think, has to do with brain physiology. My wife, has an affinity, you could use small a, addiction, to buying things at a bargain. She loves the way her brain feels, when doing this. She buys crap she doesn't need, that she knows she shouldn't buy, but she does it anyway. Frequently she tells me she is not going to do it anymore, but it cycles back. For some people, I think alcohol does a similar thing in our brains.

This addiction is hard to beat, but it can be done, and you can do it. We are here to help.
Hill

[momof3]

If we know.......then why?

AK,

I wrote a post a few weeks ago about being at a dinner party. I did not know the hosts too well and they kept offereing me drinks. A drink within minutes of entering their home, an empty wine glass at my table setting when we gathered for dinner, more offers of wine while eating, even when I declined the first time.

I realized that if it had been early on in my sobriety, it would have been damn near next to impossible to say "no." Alcohol is such a "normal" part of our culture. It flows freely. And, those of us who are alcoholics want so badly to believe that we can be "normal drinker" like everyone else. Almost all of my memories of socializing with others were associated with drinking. It takes alot of retraining and forging of new pathways in the brain.

[Noelle]

If we know.......then why?

I've been on Naltrexone since 12/27 and haven't had a drink since. However, it took me a while to walk normal. It was like my body is so used to drinking, it still reacts like I am. I've been to the bars several times with my daughter and friends, and when I drive home, I tend to weave a little. Like when I was drunk! At the bar, when weaving through all the people to go to the bathroom, I feel unsteady.

I'm guessing my body just isn't used to me not having alcohol in it yet. Sometimes I feel like I talk funny too, like a little slurry.

I'm such a weirdo. :H

Get back on that wagon AK......you can do it!

[stepintime]

If we know.......then why?

I hate this illness. It wants me dead.
It's the only illness that tells you you haven't got it.
The definition of insanity ...
Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different result.

Madness.
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