H.A.L.T

This is a rerun article from October 2006. I am chaperoning a bunch to 4th graders to the Museum of Science in Boston today so I’m taking another day off from writing this week. Have a great day!

I’ve been going though a copy of “The Akron Intergroup News”, dated December 1998 on the subject of relapse – especially with regard to members having long term sobriety.

“Telling a new AA member to call us before picking up the first drink is excellent advice – but it almost never works for those who no longer have deep cravings for alcohol, because in a subtle, insidious way, they have entered into a private period (weeks, maybe even months) of irrational thinking about their lives, work, this program, loved ones, hobbies, the government or other drivers!

The picking up of the drink is NOT the beginning of a relapse – it comes at the END of the relapse.

1. Exhaustion – Allowing oneself to become overly tired; usually associated with work addiction as an excuse for not facing personal frustrations.”

Remember, the Akron Newsletter is not saying that exhaustion is a CAUSE of a relapse. Hungry Angry Lonely Tired as triggers for relapse does NOT apply – not for recovered alcoholics.

It IS saying that being exhausted and overly tired might be a “sign” that an alcoholic, even one with long term sobriety is headed for trouble.

So where can we look in order to be helpful to such a person?

The answer, of course can be found in the Big Book:

“We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves.” (88:0)

So chances are, if we (Or someone to whom we are trying to be helpful) is tired and burned out all the time, they are not following Step Eleven as laid out.

They are not getting the Step Eleven promise of not tiring easily and they are inefficient.

We can ask them,

“Listen Joe, when agitated or doubtful, throughout your day . . . have you been pausing and asking God for the right thought or action. Do you constantly remind your self that you are no longer running the show, humbly saying to yourself many times each day “Thy will be done.”?

We can bet that the answer will be “no”. (And he’ll think your a freakin‘ genius or a clairvoyant for seeing through his balking.)

Now we have something to work with – we know where the current balk is and can do something about it to re-establish this part of Step eleven – becoming better disciplined – not SELF discipline – that has never worked for us. But GOD disciplined.

It is there for the asking, but we still have to ask.

Another telltale sign that someone may be headed for a relapse – losing his daily reprieve for failure to maintenance the spiritual condition – is DISHONESTY. I’ll do another blog on that soon, maybe this weekend.

Peace,

Danny S