It is clear to me from both the research I have seen (check out Nick Heather’s book Controlled Drinking or the NIAAA’s NESARC studies for references on this fact) and from personal experience and observation that it is completely possible and indeed probable for people who have formerly had problems with drug and alcohol use (commonly known as “addiction”) to eventually become non-problematic users of intoxicating substances (or “moderate users/drinkers” as they say). But how and why do some people find their way to comfortable moderate use while others don’t? Maybe this excerpt from Dr Arthur H Cain’s 1964 book, The Cured Alcoholic, can shed some light:
Why, asks the confused layman, does a person who has not touched alcohol for twenty years insist upon calling himself an “alcoholic?”
Because, he will tell you with considerable asperity, I am only one drink away from a binge. Having once lost control of my drinking I will never again be able to control my drinking. I am powerless over alcohol.
With this adamant attitude, he’ll always be one too. He’s right: as long as he is convinced that his “alcoholism” is a disease with which he must always live, he’ll always be an “alcoholic.” It follows quite naturally that if he should take a drink with his conviction so deeply ingrained in his mind he is almost obliged to get drunk. And usually he takes that first drink for the express purpose of getting drunk, not of drinking “normally.”
…
Let me state as clearly and strongly as possible that I do not believe that “alcoholics” such as those described above are capable, in their present conditions, of drinking normally and I urge them most vehemently not to try.
Yet, I believe just as strongly that there is not a single alcoholic in the world today who could not learn to live normally without worrying in any way about alcohol and even learn to drink normally if he so desired.
Of course, and for those of you who missed it, when he says “in their present conditions” and italicizes it he is pointing to belief in the disease/allergy/loss-of-control model of addiction as the “present condition.” That is, the deeply ingrained belief in loss-of-control is what makes people incapable of moderate drinking – therefore, striking this belief from your mind is a necessary prerequisite to successful moderate drinking.
I hadn’t heard of this book, but that’s a great passage.
I do think it’s easier for some to give it up, but I like to believe in what the author is saying here.
Some people can’t control their drinking in their present state, but that doesn’t mean that their present state doesn’t change.
This is another thing about AA that I think is harmful…it has the potential to really amplify the consequences of “relapse” because of the state of mind of the person exposed to AA if/when they do. They didn’t just lapse. They relapsed, lost their Sobriety and their Serenity, and now have to go back to the group that was their only hope left in shame. All of that is based on belief rather than reality, but belief is powerful.
I love this! I was told in treatment at age 20 that I was an alcoholic, and now it’s 30 yrs later and I have not been drunk once in those 30 years! My mom encouraged me at age 21 to stop going to meetings, because labeling oneself alcoholic is a negative affirmation. And yes, I do drink wine with dinner. I don’t like to be drunk, so I don’t get drunk. Easy!
“Controlled drinking”. Something terribly wrong with that statement. If you have to “Control” anything then you obviously have a problem with it, no matter what it is. “I can’t control my car, my wife, my life and my drinking ?” Not really but I think you get the point here. I don’t need to control the amount of Pepsi I drink. I just drink one and I have had enough. If you think you need to control your drinking, then you probably should not be drinking in the first place.
Hi Michael,
I’m not a fan of the term “controlled drinking”, because it presupposes there is such a thing as “uncontrolled drinking.” The very use of this term by the most progressive addiction theorists and researchers is evidence of how deeply entrenched the “loss of control” theory is in this culture.
-Steven
jesus says verily that you are healed by his stripes..sin is broken..according to the bible getting bladdered sooo.. to speak is a sin against god and his holy temple.live long and be sober..also there is this ..if you constantantly talk about it and spend most your time thinking about it…then maybe you are addicted to something that is mind altering..the discomfort a disire to drink can give you ..the painfull mental obbsession to want it at any cost to use.that is were discipline comes into play ..to admit you are powerless..means you are in the grip of a cunningly powerfull obsession..from which there is a way out its called a.a..god bless live long and be sober.
Michael – you are out of your fucking mind. Anyone with a sound mind reading your comment above can see that you are absolutely brainwashed into the 12 step cult religion. Thank you for the extreme example of what 12 step ‘programs’ do to steal souls. My fucking god man. Get some help.
Thanks for stating addiction is not a disease but a choice. No one is holding a gun to your head. One of the problems with AA is they enforce the disease part and that “you are never cured”. “keep coming back” so we can talk about you behind your back” Accountability, there is none. Let me repeat that, no accountability what-so-ever. You can have a drunk with 3 months sobriety act as a Chairperson to a meeting. He or she has no idea what they are talking about. I have witnessed some that can barely hold a conversation. They are the medical experts? They are supposed to recognize that someone drinks or uses, because they can’t stand the pain inside? They are supposed to be able to recognize when a person needs REAL medical help. It is obvious that they have no clue. Who uses old medicine built in 1935 that has a 5% success rate, oh that’s right AA does. They and I used to wonder why so and so when out and killed themselves, or got drunk, or went to jail. Was perhaps they never got the help they really needed? Every person is different, no matter what AA says. If you think we are the same because we got drunk, it is like saying we are all the same because we breathe air! I don’t hold anyone personally accountable in AA. Lots of nice people there. I do hold a few that should know better but perhaps they were drawn in a weak moment (like me) and couldn’t find there way out. To all AA people, you don’t have to keep coming back! Get a life, spend time with people that really mean something in your life. Deal with your problems, don’t run to AA. We used to run to the bar, we just changed directions. People still don’t care. Oh they say they do, but do they really? Does anyone really care. No, We have busy lives and it is just human nature to care for yourself.
Sorry for the long rant, just had to get some things off my chest. The one thing I do miss about the meetings.
This is nothing new – publication date is 1964 ! ! !
Hi, my name is Payton and I am a 26 year old male from MS. I came across this website by mistake, really. But as I read the comments posted, it hit home with me. I see that a comment hasn’t been written in quite some time now. Since December 2013 I believe? Funny, my last relapse was that exact month. Right before Christmas. Ultimately, it lead to my second DUI, jail, and my fourth round with rehab. This last stay was not in the dependency units however. It was across the street in the mentally acute rehab facility. Happy holidays, right? Not exactly.
My family had opted for a different route this time. Considering I really had lost my sanity (on paper) it was really the only thing left for them to do. And the judge was in total agreement. And for that, I am eternally grateful. Because, I did have to heal. And I did have to change my way of thinking. And in that process I once again found AA.
Stepping a foot into the battle between science and spirituality isn’t something I am qualified to do, so I’ll skip right over that. Odds are, if you’re reading this, you have your mind made up concerning the two anyway. What I will say is this…Please, don’t take away the chance of a better life for someone else for the sake of being able to say “I’m right, you’re wrong”. If you don’t believe in the power of AA, that’s ok. Whatever it is that you have to hold on to that keeps you sober, or “in control”, is all the verification you really need. What do you expect to gain by disproving a positive message to the ones out their still struggling? If they happen to find your way of life works better for them, that’s great! If they chose to go to an AA meeting and give it a chance, that’s great as well!
I think about the last ten years of my life. And it’s a void really. But the aftermath (my family broken, relationships lost, friends that left or over-dosed, hurt, pain, just the nothing-ness) is still left like a burn mark on my life. If I could, of course I would go back in an instant. I don’t think a person has to live a hard life to learn life. But I do know, this hope I have now, the hope I found in AA and people who DO care, is the only thing that will keep me sober. If that works for one single person, young or old, out there, I think it’s hope enough to share.
I had to learn to let my ego go and let my god in. AA won’t get me to heaven, save my soul or cure all the world’s problems through me. But it is a reason for me to stay sober today. And that’s enough.
Thanks to anyone who reads this. I hope what I shared might help in some way if you are struggling.
I’m not sure what to say. 29, and, just reading blogs about other alcoholics. I have 3 baby girls.. 5, 3, 2, which I manage to stay sober until bedtime.. then.. a pint of whiskey in an hour… or beers non stop, I’m not sure what the root issue is, but.. why.. I try, I go a good week, then wanna celebrate, really nobody around me says shit, they just accept tyne way I am, apologizing every day for something, but like, hey mad. Wth… yell at me, make me feel bad, but they just. .. oh… that’s Faith. .. hehe.. what have I become?
Stop having kids. I have drunk 2 beers per day for the last 20 years, but if I were to have kids I would probably drink a gallon of whiskey per diem.