| Have
you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so, but only
lasted for a couple of days? Most of us in A.A. made all kinds
of promises to ourselves and to our families. We could not
keep them. Then we came to A.A. A.A. said: "Just try not to
drink today." (If you do not drink today, you cannot get drunk
today.)
| |
| Do you
wish people would mind their own business about your drinking--
stop telling you what to do? In A.A. we do not tell anyone
to do anything. We just talk about our own drinking, the trouble
we got into, and how we stopped. We will be glad to help you,
if you want us to.
| |
| Have
you ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the
hope that this would keep you from getting drunk? We tried
all kinds of ways. We made our drinks weak. Or just drank
beer. Or we did not drink cocktails. Or only drank on weekends.
You name it, we tried it. But if we drank anything with alcohol
in it, we usually got drunk eventually.
| |
| Have
you had to have an eye-opener upon awakening during the past
year? Do you need a drink to get started, or to stop shaking?
This is a pretty sure sign that you are not drinking "socially."
| |
| Do you
envy people who can drink without getting into trouble? At
one time or another, most of us have wondered why we were
not like most people, who really can take it or leave it.
| |
| Have
you had problems connected with drinking during the past year?
Be honest! Doctors say that if you have a problem with alcohol
and keep on drinking, it will get worse -- never better. Eventually,
you will die, or end up in an institution for the rest of
your life. The only hope is to stop drinking.
| |
| Has
your drinking caused trouble at home? Before we came into
A.A., most of us said that it was the people or problems at
home that made us drink. We could not see that our drinking
just made everything worse. It never solved problems anywhere
or anytime.
| |
| Do
you ever try to get "extra" drinks at a party because you
do not get enough? Most of us used to have a "few" before
we started out if we thought it was going to be that kind
of party. And if drinks were not served fast enough, we would
go some place else to get more.
| |
| Do you
tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to,
even though you keep getting drunk when you don't mean to?
Many of us kidded ourselves into thinking that we drank because
we wanted to. After we came into A.A., we found out that once
we started to drink, we couldn't stop.
| |
| Have
you missed days of work or school because of drinking? Many
of us admit now that we "called in sick" lots of times when
the truth was that we were hung-over or on a drunk.
| |
| Do you
have "blackouts"? A "blackout" is when we have been drinking
hours or days which we cannot remember. When we came to A.A.,
we found out that this is a pretty sure sign of alcoholic
drinking. | |
| Have
you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not
drink? Many of us started to drink because drinking made life
seem better, at least for a while. By the time we got into
A.A., we felt trapped. We were drinking to live and living
to drink. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired.
| |
