As a recovering alcoholic, I know about the mental obsession aspect of alcoholism. Even after periods of abstinence and like any addiction, the thought of taking a drink still occurs. And once that first drink is taken, the obsession becomes a driving force in all aspects of the alcoholic’s life.
There are a few a common sayings in recovery concerning the first drink – “One is too many and a thousand is not enough” or “it’s the engine, not the caboose of a train that kills you.”
I woke up on March 16th of 1997 and decided to quit drinking. What’s so significant about that you say? At that point in my life, I had been drinking around 2 liters of vodka a day. When drinking that much, one cannot simply quit without some physical problems. I ended up in the hospital going through a severe detox for six days. At several points I was strapped down to the bed to prevent me from pulling out my IV’s. Detoxing from alcohol is serious and can even be fatal. So if someone you know has been drinking large amounts of alcohol for extended periods of time, make sure they seek medical attention if they decide to quit suddenly.
The point of this and how it relates with obsession, is after that day I did not take a drink of alcohol for over six years. One day I decided that “maybe I’m not an alcoholic…. after all it’s been six years since I had a drink.” So one evening with my girlfriend I had a glass of wine with a steak… it was a Merlot. The fact that I remember what type of wine it was and when illustrates how an alcoholic’s mind obsesses about alcohol. Once alcohol enters the system of an alcoholic, the mind begins to obsess about the next drink. Whether it’s a day, a week, or several months, the alcoholic thinking and obsession has returned. For me, it was several weeks before I had another drink and everyone, including myself, thought I was OK. But the truth was, I was constantly thinking about when and how I was going to drink again. After all, I had a glass of wine and the sky didn’t come falling down. “Maybe I’m not an alcoholic after all.”
Within a few short months, I was drinking just as much alcohol as I had been when I quit six years earlier. Even though an alcoholic stops drinking or tries different ways on how to stop drinking, the mind can still obsess about alcohol. That is where working some type of ongoing recovery program comes into play. Unless the alcoholic can deal with underlying emotionally issues, ones that they drank to avoid (whether they know it or not), and develop a life in which they continue to grow spiritually or holistically, the chances of maintaining long-term sobriety are slim.
Checkout alcoholism treatment for more information.