Alcoholics Anonymous is wrong - alcoholism is not an incurable illness
lilianan...@googlemail.com
Alcoholics Anonymous would have us believe, but rather a self-harming
behaviour problem with its roots in childhood.
So say former alcoholics Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald from Ayrshire in
Scotland. They argue that pursuing lifelong sobriety is not a sign of
recovery from alcoholism, as Alcoholics Anonymous claims. Staying away
from booze one day at a time is treating the symptom instead of the
fundamental underlying problem, and merely a damage limitation
exercise.
Lilian says: "If an alcoholic is willing to identify and thoroughly
address their issues from the past, then there is no reason why he or
she should not be able to consciously change their previously
problematic behaviour patterns, even to the extent of being able to
drink responsibly and safely again in a perfectly normal and sociable
manner. We know that this is possible, because we have done it
ourselves. So have many other former alcoholics who have contacted us
from all over the world through our website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com
"Being able to drink responsibly again is important in itself for an
alcoholic, because it's not pleasant to be socially excluded for any
reason. But being able to drink normally and safely again is even more
important because it is the outward and visible sign that an alcoholic
has resolved his or her problems and is truly well again.
"Nobody is incapable of changing their behaviour. And that is one of
the fundamental differences between Alcoholics Anonymous and us. AA
disempowers people - the first of the Twelve Steps says: "We admitted
we were powerless over alcohol" - but we are fighting to give
alcoholics that power back."
Ten years ago the Lilian and Murdoch MacDonald had hit rock bottom,
sleeping rough for two weeks on the streets of Cambridge, where a
quarter of a century previously as an undergraduate Murdoch had
received an honours degree in English Literature. They had moved there
from Ayr with the idea of Murdoch doing research for a doctorate
(PhD), but reverted to their old habits, started binge drinking, and
were thrown out of their lodgings.
After a fortnight, and when they were just about at the end of their
tether, two nurses on their way home after a Saturday night out took
pity on Lilian and Murdoch, bought them a cup of tea and found them a
place in a homeless hostel.
The couple spent the next twelve months there getting to the roots of
their alcoholism. They tried AA one last time, before concluding that
it was a quasi-religious cult whose ideas on alcoholism were
inadequate and outdated.
Instead, by reading psychology, they decided that the causes of their
alcoholic behaviour lay in problems experienced during childhood. And
that once these problems were realised and addressed, there was no
longer any need for escape through alcoholism, and they could even
drink normally like other people again.
Ten years after selling newspapers from a stand in Market Square,
Cambridge, so that he and Lilian could get back on their feet
financially, Murdoch is now business editor of three local weekly
newspapers in Ayrshire, Scotland and also runs his own public
relations consultancy.
And Lilian is so keen to pass on the benefits of their experience to
others who still have problems with alcohol, that the couple are
building a website www.alcoholicscandrinksafelyagain.com to spread
their message of hope.
Web links:
http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2004/12/emw190602.htm
http://www.famepublicity.co.uk/productssimple1.html
http://www.pressbox.co.uk/Detailed/22135.html
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2004/12/prweb190602.htm
http://www.kntimes.com/knreleases/fullstory03051-insight-news-status-1-newsID-2462.html
http://i-newswire.com/pr1967.html
Main website: