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The Wingham Advance-Times, 1974-02-21, Page 17Week Crossroads pub- about a town that to** Or#tp in Understanding s Pi. Out of that at- tempt tom sOnIO anzwars eaMe the feet that last in Mount Forex . alone, there were some 160 incidents involving alcohol, `• drugs, pared to ontY silt volving poke of t' s Nam, this is only in one • town, but no one can disputethat aleo is. the biggest drug prob leiaa in the nation; if not in moss of the world. With :th:cold fact staring us in the face, we : will take a look at akehholism and an organization that since 1935 has been instru- ' Mental in understanding and collating the problem: Alcoho- lics Anonymous. • A 's primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoho- lics to. achieve sobriety. It is, a fellowship of men and women who share, their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to. recover from alcoholism. The only " requirement for Membrship is a desire to stop drinking., There .are no dues or fees for A.A. membership and it is self -Supporting through its ovum contributions. A.A. isnot allied with any sect, denimination,, politics, organiza- tion- or institution and does not engagein,. arty + . eon.tr`oversy, �" Jt � 4, any allies. . There are twelve questions compiled by Alcoholics :Anony- mous that everyone should ask himself periodically. And answer them honestly. 1. Have you ever tried to stop . drinking for a week or Ionger, only to.fall short of your goal? 2. I you resent the advice of others who try to get you to stop drinking? 3. Wive you taken 'a morning drink during the past year? 4. Have you ever tried to con- trol your 'ung" by switching from oft, alcoholic beverage to 5. Has'your drinking created' problem at 'home? sw DoyouenvyMtge whoc n drink without getting into trou- ble? 7. •your drinking problem • become progressively more seri- ous during the. past year? 8. At social affairs where drinking lis• limited: do you try to obtain extra 'drinks? • 9. ;Despite evidence to the contrary, have you continued to assert thatyou can stop drinking "on your 'own!" whenever foil wish? 10. During the past• year have You,missed time from work as a result "of drinking? 11. Have you ever "blacked out" during your, drinking? 12. Have you ' ever felt you could do more with your life if you did not drink? A,A: reminds us that "There is no disgrace in admittingthat you have a health problem. If you do have .a problem, the important thing is to do something about it." What is alcoholism? T i ques.- tion is not an easy one to answer, but most A.A. members, as well as the medical profession, be- lieve it is a progressive illness; which can never be cured, but can be arrested. Furthermore, many A.A.'s feel that the illness represents the combination aphysical sena- a mental session with drinking Which, .re- gardless of es, cannot `be broken by will power alone. Some of the ,men and -women, who belong to AA. went through horrible experiences with alcohol before they were ready to admit that it had them licked. They became derelicts, stole, lied, cheated and even killed while they were drinking. They. took advantage of their employ- ers and abused their families: They were completely unreliable - in their relations with others. ALOMOL IS AICONOLAtcahcrllks Anonymous Otetos "tat flit*slily and quantity of Alcohol maters ninth, if Is stir iikohof arod the di nus is aleoh&ikon, Justin, d They wasted their material mental and spiritual ,, s - many others did "not have Pay stitcha high Price before theY joined A.A. There is a saying ih Awl. the -there is no such thing as being little bit alcoholic. Either you • are, or you are not. And only the individual himself .can ' say whether or notalcohol, for him has become an , unmanageable Problem. Few alcoholics deliberately. v Traditionally, 1k3,4.s• never 41— close. tOeir tion A to movementi n pmt;: oA the; ,„ er - ? any other media..,And no one has the right to .,. enk" t anonymuty, of another member; a ,, **(twat; - ' lowed by actio,;then th.terelfql . figment. If there is desire:mina,desire action and no full • one becomes frustrated• • tense ,,. x `. aver three years, ?riot'# m t� { inevi .,iiing lis desire to,drinh O tt :got,* the point' whereit Wait:** longer doing anythingfor nam. `a •` t:platform t - • �desire sand that. to out what waswrang wi „ At. that point vitt ▪ A.A. I didn't feel :I badallriti ig. problem.but f went faun I,d �, F• no place else to go." • At nineteen Justin was an #1- coholic and r drug as+ex;� ,mariw jam► ed b + the MANY WAYS—.There are to drink.them selves into trouble but trouble seems to be the table consequence of ran. alcoho- lic's drinking. • As far as can beide no- one who has �x�� become an: alcoholic 'has ever ceased.to bean alcoho- lic. finding has been that the -at140llbliC will never be'able to control his drinking for any�lengthf. time. This leaves two paths :open; to let your drinking. become<worse and worse with all the damaging results that follow, or to quit completely and develop a new pattern of sober, constructive living. Most A.A.'s will say that it's not how much you drink but'the ef- fect it has on' your life and what it' is doing to you that determines whether or not you are an alcoho- lic. = The "periodic" drinker is baf- fled because he;cannot under- stand why'he should have so' little irte. r rr+ y •• �f � 1 y^ ' ' little control over it once he�starts drinking. But, if his°drinking has become impossible to manage and if the periods between binges are becoming shorter, chances are the time has come to face up to his problem. The basis of the A.A. program is,, and always has been, anonymity. However, after members have been in A.A. for a while, most• have no particular objection if the word gets around that they have joined a fellowship which enables them to stay sober, , bhp nn. A.A. he was. drugs self: • alcohol he needed A.'s 1 "My friends didn't:want,411 ► a v: thing to do with Her My home/Me was very bad because I could not- get along. And even wheat' I wasn't drinking was:wa miserable devil to get along**. `. I was so resentful • and hob a�t�' that. I just -couldn't get alo ." Even though his.father'. bad joined. A.A., taro years prior Justin's membership in it,00 etreet MI* inhibit It S my father's problem but not of mine. You don't get sober unless d you want to. The ire. to stay sober must be stronger than the desire to drink." There is a saying in A.A. that when you hit the "bottom", the only way to go is up .. , or they bury you. • Justin had hit that bottom hard and turned his life around, with A.A.'s help, and right now he is going up. He had started out with alcohol on the good times side, ' a happy -I But to ce.A stoguong many different:ma - -alcohol, but only one way to stop drinking it: by having the desire 401 guy, and ended up; he says, "a. bum". During one year he had bor- rowed $3,000 Much of it went to support' Ins. "I lost my car. I sold it for$,000 with inten- tions to start paying back the money. However, I took a drink and- the thousand dollars was suddenly gone. When you're drunk yondon'tknoT,orcare how *filch lou al* stien411,441 Four° days before attending first A.A. meeting, Justin sat the edge of his bed odemairing and cried. He took a had look hind him and didn't want to the. same thing ahead. He hasn 'touted a drink since then. "My first feeling when I went that first meeting was one that never experienced before in life. I felt I belonged, though, at that point I wasn't en tirely sure I wanted to quit drunk ing. I just felt that if I• could gi t up for" a while that would be good enough." • He couldn't see, at nineteen the prospect of not. drinking for the rest of his• life. "But, AA. teaches one day at a time. They said, just don't take one _drink to- day They told me to try A.A. on or size for 90 days and if I didn' like it, they would refund all of my miseries." Justin tried it. And he found' a peace and happiness he had never before known. "My mind started to clear up so that I could look at things in a far greater perspective. It was at that point I knew I wanted to quit drinking. I hada strong program to follow." There are three legacies in A.A..: recovery, unity and serv- ice. Why A.A. works is no mystery, says Justin. "Its key to sobriety is simplicity. To stay sober one lime." at a me." "The sad thing about young people who drink is that they think„ they are too young to stop drinking. What they are really saying to themselves is that they are too young to enjoy life." his on be - see ,t to my even vee 2inysarold alcoholic, rays once you aro en alcoholic you 1 rarwmaln dr~a, f t L- OMAT WHAT IS IT DOING? Most A.A.'s will say that it is not how much you drink, but the effect 'alcohol has on your life and what it'is:doing to you that often determines' whether or not • He points out that A.A. is not a temperance movement in any way, shape or' form. It acknow- . ledges the fact that many people can drink without having it ruin their lives. However, it can hurt people, as the A.A. members will bear out. When a person admits to himself that alcohol is playing too large a part in his daily life and, he wants to cut it out of his life, then A.A. is there. A.A. does not advocate a prohibition policy for society in general, but only helps those who ask for help. In most towns there is an A.A. Mone number in the directory. Headquarters is based at A.A. World Services, Inc.. Box 459; ' Grand Central Station. New York ty, New York, 10019. Alcoholism is the third most dominant health problem in the 'world. . In Justin's situation, "booze" Was the answer' the beginning, Ad a problem: With answers being a widely sought commo- dity, it is no wonder that alco- bOlism is a giant threat to many. you are an alcoholic. Justin had his first "bout with booze" -at thirteen. "We stole about seven bottles of beer. I may not have been a drunk then but I sure was a thief. I didn't like the taste of it, but it was the effect it had on me and what it did for me. It made me feel a part of every- thing." He was afraid of making mis- takes. Afraid of failure. "I had a large inferiority complex as a child. I didn't want to let people think I was stupid. So, when I had some drinks I felt like I was right on top of everything. I could function then." He points out that quality and quantity of the alcohol matters little. Alcohol is alcohol. The dis- ease is alcoholism. "The only purpose of drinking for me was to get drunk. To get a glow on so I could mix freely with people and be, what I thought, was myself." Today Justin lives without alcohol. Each day he turns down that first drink. Each' day he greets' everyone like long lost friends, because each person he meets is his friend. He has made friends with himself and he is at peace with himself. Justin knows he will never be cured. And he cannot be sure that he will never take that first drink. No one can. But, each day is a new challenge. And so far he has been winning. Don't get- the idea that A.A. tnernbers have beaten their problem becausq although their track/ record is good, tomorrow may throw a curve. Many, torpor• THAT FIRST DRINK---A.A. teaches one day at a time. They advise, "Just don't take that first drink today." Justin, an alcoholic who hasn't had a drink in over three years, says, "They told me to try A.A. on for size for 90 days and if 1 didn't like jt, they would refund all of my miseries." rows do. "My name is Justin. And I am an alcoholic." The statetncntsays so much. it could say, "I have known bad times, I have known fellowship, trust, faith, honesty, joy. I am fighting a disease right now, at this point in time, at this very minute. You are my friend and I am yours. Together, the day will be a good one. And one of tow. ful, clear4hinking sobriety.