The star of a popular television series was recently found dead in the hot tub at his home in Los Angeles. According to press accounts, he was much beloved and recognized by his fans. And he was also very open about his alcoholism and addiction to drugs.
I never watched the show he starred in, so I don't really know much about him. But after I saw all the publicity I watched a couple of interviews where he discussed his disease quite openly. During one of them, he described that he had been in literally dozens of detoxification programs and had attended hundreds of 12 step meetings – but that nothing had worked. He said something about being incapable of staying sober.
In the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous it talks about alcoholics who are "constitutionally incapable" of change. And in another section it mentions that "some are sicker than others." Not being judgmental of this man's premature death at 54 years old, these two quotes came to my mind after I listened to the interview that he was giving when he talked about his difficulty with alcohol and drugs.
Thank God I didn't have as much difficulty getting sober as he did. When I came into the program I realized that I was an alcoholic, something that I had never denied. It just took me a lot of pain and misery before I elected to do something about it and get sober.
And I found when I went into a detoxification unit with the attitude of wanting to get sober, everything changed. After 11 days of medical detox I went to a halfway house, where I lived for a year. During that time I regularly attended 12 step meetings and while I don't consider myself an expert in recovery, I have managed to stay sober and clean for almost 33 years.
One thing I like about the 12 step program is that it's pretty black-and-white, cut and dried. If I do what is suggested I will stay sober. And I have done what is suggested to the best of my ability. And the result is that I have a wonderful life today.
My suggestion to anyone who wants to get sober and stay sober is to follow the simple directions found in the Big Book and in the meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous. The meetings are free and if you're not happy with the results you can always go back out and embrace the misery that you came from.
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