Sobriety

The biggest misconception in recovery is that just quitting drugs and alcohol means instant sobriety. This isn’t the true meaning of the word. We have all had periods in our drinking and using careers where we, through sheer will power have stopped using for a short period of time. We often experience that feeling of restlessness, irritability and discontent. The urge to drink becomes so overwhelming that we can no longer resist the urge to pick up the bottle. Are these brief moments of not drinking considered sobriety, certainly not?

Sobriety is general defined as the “state of being sober and not under the influence”; I have to disagree. Sobriety is only achieved when we can finally live life without the urge to drink while maintaining a sense of serenity.  Although our lives may experience the emotional ups and downs of everyday life, we still maintain the emotional balance we only achieve by working a spiritual program. We are selfish and egotistical people by nature. When we finally accept defeat and are willing to place our lives in the hands of something greater than ourselves do we begin to build on true sobriety. We let go of the human idea that sobriety can be achieved by will power alone.

The Dry Drunk
We have all seen him. The epitome of uneasiness. He is the man that has overcome the physical addiction but struggles daily with the mental obsession to drink.  About 15 years ago, I tried this method believing that abstinence alone will deliver me to true sobriety. I still maintained that I was the one in control and that I alone determined my own destiny.  Little did I realize that I was emotionally unable to handle life on life’s terms when a situation that was out of my control would arise? I was destined to drink again. The dry drunk is a danger to himself, the temporarily bought of abstinence later followed by relapse can often discourage him in the future for seeking a true solution.