Productive or Self-Destructive?

Many of you, perhaps most, are like us in that we have two basic “gears” – you’re either being productive or you tend to get self-destructive. Unlike most folks, you don’t have a lot of interest in going through life on “cruise-control.”

That’s pretty common with bright, creative, sensitive, and successful people.

More ordinary people get through life floating along, doing what the advertisers or their family or their community tells them and if they’re driving an F-150, drinking Coors, watching the Packers on their 58? wide screen, well, damn, they must be happy.

And when their peer group has them drinking too much Bud Lite and getting a DUI they trundle off to AA, do the steps, and it can even work.

That isn’t you.

For you, the over-drinking can come from needing some respite from all of the over-working, over-thinking, and over-doing, often all three. Not to mention the usual loneliness, anxiety, and so on.

So for you the trick becomes one of finding alternatives to the life-destroying drinking that provide the same relaxation, regression, and relief. Typically, these can be exercise, sex, meditation, and a number of other possibilities based on your personal interests, abilities, and strengths.

It also means shunning life-destroying labels like “alcoholic” and attempting to con yourself and others with catch phrases like “in recovery” or “working my program” or other silliness that’s fine for over age kids but worse than useless for real adults.

Remember, you life needs to be better without the alcohol than it is with or you’ll eventually go back to abusing the stuff. It’s not a disease and fixing it isn’t rocket science but it does take some detective work, planning, paying attention, and motivation and that’s where we come in.

Isn’t it time to get this sorted out, once and for all, and let alcohol abuse fade into the past as just another of those “been there, done that” parts of your life? That really can and does happen. Our clients do it every week and you can too.

Since you’re most likely NOT an alcohol-dependent “alcoholic” – why do they want you to “admit” you are?

Most “treatment programs” don’t actually have anything to sell you that you can’t find for free at a “meeting” near you. Because they only have the AA “hammer” you’re stuck with being an AA “alcoholic nail.”

And once you start labeling yourself as something your aren’t, well, if you really want to be an alcoholic then AA and 12 Step based treatment is the place to go.

On the other hand, if you’re abusing alcohol – and 85% of the people seeking help are – then you’ll want to avoid the label, stigma, and real powerlessness that comes with proclaiming yourself to be a loser.

As someone who is self-medicating various conditions, where your alcohol use is symptomatic, then you’re going to want to use your personal strengths, interests, and abilities – not to mention intelligence – to fix problems rather than hide from them, whether in a bottle or in AA.

Again, that’s where we come in – helping you design a life that you’ll like better than the one you’re currently leading. One that’s better without the alcohol than with. One that frees and empowers you – not one that just substitutes one set of shackles for another.

Time to get a grip and get a life.