One Day at a Time

Antabuse Is Power

But not for powerless alcoholics.

Surrender is critical in order to recover from alcoholism. The "Big Book" devotes fifty one pages to part one of the surrender procedure -  which is to come clean and admit that we have a problem that we cannot help ourselves with -  namely alcoholism.

But WHY can't WE do anything about it?

• Can't we go to enough meetings?
• Can't we use our superior willpower?
• Can't we go to church and pray our way out of this predicament?
• Can't we take Antabuse to stop?

   " We learned that we had to fully concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery.  The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be, has to be smashed." (Alcoholics Anonymous 30:1)

Believe it or not, the word surrender is not in the AA Big Book, "Alcoholics Anonymous" -  not even  ONCE. So how do we know that we have to do it? And if we do know, how then can we all get on the same page as to just what that entails. The answer is - we cannot. We are left to our own definition of "surrender" and hence there is no common understanding. That's my nice way of saying that we are confused.

Another word for surrender might be "concede". That is in the Big Book. We must first learn to "concede to our innermost selves that we are alcoholic". That means we entirely give-up, or surrender on the idea that may be able to drink safely ever again.

Most people do not think they are alcoholic because they have not yet learned "Our description of the alcoholic" the one that is used in AA - the one the co-authors described and the one which clearly describes the problem for which the whole Program of AA (twelve steps) is designed to solve.  Most people and unfortunately many AA members themselves still view alcoholism as a behavioral problem. They overlook "Our description of the alcoholic" which does not consider alcoholism behavioral but a malady of both mind and body characterized by insanity combined with an abnormal physical reaction to alcohol.

Remember, we real alcoholics are beyond human aid - “you may be suffering from an illness which only a spiritual experience will conquer.” (44:0)

Not an illness that Antabuse (humna aid) will conquer.

Show me someone who "Just can't get it" and I will show you someone who has not bought the allergy theory. Show me a real alcoholic who has not bought or does not understand the allergy theory and I will show you a someone who is not finished drinking yet.

Show me someone in AA for whom ANTABUSE is a solution to their drinking problem and I will show you a non-alcoholic who is in the wrong place.

If Antabuse works for me, that’s beautiful. But it also means I am not a real alcoholic and am totally incapable of passing on THIS message – the one that the real alcoholic must hear and act upon in order to recover and stay alive.

Peace,

Danny S