Morris 1
Keith Morris
Ms. Kate Hamm
ENG 101 Sec, 102
12 June 2013 Recovery from Alcoholism Alcoholism is a chronic disease that is devastating not only to the dependent person life, but also the lives of their families and friends. According to Melissa Sundwall some 15,000,000 people suffer from alcoholism. Many alcoholics will have successful recovery with the right treatment program. Those who do manage to recover have normal lives and develop life skills that would never be possible if they choose to keep drinking. Alcoholism is more of a thinking disease then a drinking disease. Drinking is only a symptom of the disease. If an alcoholic has to changes his thinking, and become honest with himself, accept that he/she is powerless over alcohol and turn his will and life over to a power greater them himself. An alcoholic has to be honest with himself and take responsibility for his actions. He must become accountable and not blame others. It is so much easier to blame other people, places, or things for our screw ups. He must take a close look at his own character defects,own them, and become willing to change his defects of character. An alcoholics mind will lie to him, saying he wants to go to a bar just for the socializing aspect. When in actuality his subconscious wants to drink. An alcoholic has to be honest with himself that his life sucks and he is powerless over alcohol. Before he has any hope of recovery. Step 1 “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become unmanageable” (AA Big Book pg. 59). Secondly the alcoholic has to accept that he or she is an alcoholic, and will never be able to consume alcohol ever again. He must accept that his self-will, old ways, and ideas will only cause him to drink again, and his life will continue to suck. He must be willing to let someone or something Morris 2 greater then himself take charge. He must realize that he can not control other people, places or things, the only person he needs to control or change is himself. Step 2 “Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity” (AA Big Book pg. 59). Thirdly the alcoholic has to realize that he cant do this alone. He needs to be able to turn his problems over to a