This is a guest post from The Discovering Alcoholic, who writes a top rated recovery blog, www.discoveringalcoholic.com, covering alcoholism, substance abuse, treatment and recovery issues.
Abstinence, to the recovering alcoholic it can either be a ball and chain or a ticket to freedom; it all depends upon one’s point of reference. Abstinence during my early years of sobriety seemed more like a punitive sentence, damned to eternally long for what I could no longer have. It was all white knuckle and clenched teeth, yet I knew it was at least better than the alternative. I don’t know the exact moment when it changed, but at some point as my recovery matured I found myself doing things and enjoying experiences I knew would have never been possible if I had still been drinking. Food tasted better, friends became real, and opportunities were grasped instead of mourned… abstinence was no longer a penalty, but instead the preferred way of living.
It’s a relative thing, if abstinence means going without then as a practicing alcoholic I had learned to exist without family, friends, and self respect. Now, as a recovering alcoholic abstinence means going without blackouts, lies, and the financial and emotional bankruptcy of my drinking days.
A is for abstinence; thankfully doing without the negatives that accompany drinking, learning how to recognize the benefits, and then fostering an appreciation for the lifestyle.
