There's More to Quitting Drinking
Than Quitting Drinking

by

Dr. Paul O.

Alcoholism is both a drinking and a thinking problem. Recovery can't take place without abstinence, but abstinence alone is not recovery.

"And acceptance is the answer to all my problems ..." You may already know of Dr. Paul's wisdom through the often-quoted passage from page 449 of his story in the 3rd of edition of A.A.'s big book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

Dr. Paul continues sharing his astute insight and gentle humor in "There's More To Quitting Drinking Than Quitting Drinking" with discussions of the physical, mental, emotional, interpersonal and spiritual aspects of sobriety.

"Acceptance," Dr. Paul writes, "has to be repeated over and over and over again with every new situation and circumstance. It isn't a destination; it's a continuous process, a journey, a philosophy, a way of life.”

This book is for the person who has achieved his or her initial goal in a Twelve Step program and now wants more -- more of everything the program has to offer, more of everything they can get by expanding their thinking and extending themselves.

Dr. Paul discusses thinking, feeling and communicating as they relate to the physical, mental and emotional aspects of sobriety. He gives us his interpretation and application of the "Serenity Prayer" and, of course, he talks about acceptance.

"Not only has Dr. Paul targeted problems that face most of us today, he offers invaluable resources and applicable solutions coupled with a light touch and his enjoyable wit. He has a spiritual and humble nature which is woven throughout this book. He incorporates answers for even those questions we hadn't yet realized we need to ask." --Sue M., M.F.C.C.

My Alcoholic Brain
Thinking has always been a problem for me. If my only problem had been drinking, I could have handled it easily. If drinking is a problem, don't drink. I knew that. But my common sense and good intentions dissolved when drinking and thinking joined forces against me.
My brain and my body have always been in conflict. My mind has always wanted things my body can't provide. They never agreed on whether or not we could drink. My body told my brain, "Alcohol gives us high blood pressure, diabetes, a peptic ulcer and colitis. It sickens our liver and unpredictably switches our mind off and on for variable periods of time. It causes mental confusion amounting to a toxic psychosis. We almost always walk and talk funny when we drink. We simply do not handle alcohol well.
After a moment or two of thoughtful consideration, my brain responded with, "Oh, well what the hell! One little drink never hurt anybody."

My Mind vs My Computer
My mind has a defective toggle switch. It indiscriminately turns itself off and on, thinks when it should be resting, rests when it should be thinking, and thinks about things it should ignore.
If I had my way, my mind, in addition to an On/Off switch, would have Erase, Delete and Rewind capabilities. When I type "CLS" on my computer, the screen clears itself of whatever we've been working on, and we start over fresh. In fact, when totally confused and not sure what to do next, my computer stops. It refuses to move in any direction. To get it to start over with not a single memory of the confusion, I press Conrol+Alt+Delete. The screen goes blank. The machine discards all the clutter. In a few seconds it lights up and, in effect, says, "I'm ready now. Let's start over."
I learned how to get my computer to do this by reading the owner's manual. Not only can my mind not clear itself of confusion in such an efficient manner, it came with no operating instructions and no manufacturer's guarantee. I'm completely own my own in trying to figure out how to use it.
Never, after turning of my computer before going to bed, have I known it to turn itself on in the middle of the night and resume working on a problem we struggled with earlier in the evening. My mind, having a mind of it's own, does this all the time.

Copyright (c) 1995 by Dr. Paul O.
Published by Capizon Publishing