What Should I Say if a Person Asked Me to get Drunk or Stoned? by Kelly Kettle

What Should I Say if a Person Asked Me to get Drunk or Stoned?

Ideally when people come to a treatment center,  a recovery home, or the rooms of any twelve step program everyone would be on the same page.  Ideally everyone would be willing to humble and willing to accept the guidance of the treatment program. 

If that were the case, complete abstinence from day one would be the norm, and we would all recover nicely and live happily ever after.

Hello!  That would nice – but reality is often a little different ...

The Big Book warns us of the reality of alcoholic thinking early on (page 24):

 “The fact is that most alcoholics, for reasons yet obscure, have lost the power of choice in drink. Our so called will power becomes practically nonexistent. We are unable at certain times to bring into our consciousness with sufficient force the memory of the suffering and humiliation of even a week or a month ago. We are without defense against the first drink.”

Let’s get a Defense!!!!!!

What Should I say if a person asked me to get drunk or stoned?

Some options:

1)  "I do not drink or do drugs - today"

2) "If you ever ask me that question again, I will get in touch with whoever I need to, to make sure you stop"

3) Or you can run and call your sponsor or case manager, therapist, parents, friend, etc  

Life is in session as is going to keep throwing curve balls and the key is to have a defense.

There are a thousand different scenarios that we can act out  and I have found that 1 or 2 patented answers work great for all of them.

I hope to start doing a lot more role playing in our treatment center here at Sober living by the Sea because "frothy emotional appeal" seldom suffices and often times it "avails us nothing" (as the Big Book points out).

But if we get into action, and translate what is essential perhaps we can lower the percentages of relapses.

What used to be the hunch or the occasional inspiration will gradually become a working part of the mind.

Let's make it our goal to speed up the process of learning new behaviors. We live in a changing world where men and women of all ages are dying because they have access to highly potent drugs and alcohol.

In this changing world we must work harder and faster to teach our recovering clients a sound Defense for the battle they wage against addiction.

- Kelly Kettle