I was listening to talk radio today and they were discussing a call from local liquor makers to have booze sold in grocery stores. Right now only beer and wine are sold there and even that is relatively new. I live in Ontario, Canada which has had a Victorian Era outlook on booze. People were calling into the radio station to give their two cents as to why they either agreed or disagreed with the idea. One caller adamantly opposed the idea. His reasoning was that it would trigger and cause alcoholics to drink. I cringed upon hearing him.
I attended my first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous on January 7, 2005 and have been sober since. As a result of working and living the 12 Steps of AA I have become a recovered alcoholic.
As a recovered alcoholic I am not triggered by seeing a bottle of booze. I am not triggered by seeing a beer commercial. I can go into a bar and watch a band while people drink around me without being fearful that I will run up to the bar and begin to drink. As a recovered alcoholic that is the freedom I was promised and the freedom I enjoy today. Bill Wilson, co-founder of AA, did not want people to hide and cower from booze. The program he and the first 100 members of AA developed allows one to lose the obsession over alcohol and thus not have to worry about being triggered.
One
can easily fall back into danger if he/she does not continue to work and live
the 12 Steps but if one has a good sponsor and self-awareness he/she can stop
this backslide and return to a healthy, spiritual, physical and emotional,
recovery.
Dave
the Dude.
