This
is the third and final part of this series of posts at www.TalkingSober.com where we have been
looking at the phenomenon of becoming addicted to the idea of
being addicted .

I am suggesting this phenomenon is an
evolutionary aspect of the modern day approach to 'recovery' that some
addiction professionals and counselors create.

Part 1 began with: Not long ago I was chatting with a friend Peter who asked me how I was travelling being a non-drinker.

"Fine. Really well, thanks" I said.

Then Peter asked, "What are you doing these day about your recovery?"

"How do you mean?" I queeried.

"You know. You're an alcoholic; aren't you supposed to be doing something like AA or some other ongoing group recovery program?"

"Only
some people continue on that path" I said, "because they are hoodwinked
into being addicted to the idea of being addicted."

"You're in denial" Peter quipped and we carried on with a robust conversation about addiction, treatment and recovery.

Part 2 began:
'There is no treatment for addiction, although an entire industry is
based upon the illusion that addiction is a treatable disease.' - Jack
Timpey, Rational Recovery Founder (www.rational.org). I agree with that statement 100%.

And so we conclude with the following.

I drank booze for many years. Over thirty years in fact. It caused me countless problems.

When
I tried to control my drinking I failed. When I tried to stop my
drinking all together I needed help and got it from a range of
professionals trained in a variety of therapeutic approaches.

I
did the rehabs, the hospitals and the time off work to 'home detox'
under a physicians care. The medical treatment for the physical aspects
of alcohol dependency are vitally important and are not being disputed
by me here.

I also worked hard on my
thinking-about-drinking, or more importantly - I worked harder on my
thinking-about-NOT-DRINKING and every thing related to being a sober
person, 24/7.

Believe me when I tell you I became mentally
exhausted and all counseled out from the hundreds of hours of seeing
the professionals.

We
talked about drinking and we talked about how I must never forget that
fact I am an 'alcoholic' who could fall victim of 'my disease' at any
moment. And it is for that reason, I would be told, that I would need
to attend therapy sessions or group sessions for many years to come.

But I also found that as time rolled along I began to challenge the notion of being tagged an 'alcoholic'. Don't get me wrong. I totally accept I was addicted to alcohol when I was drinking. It's just that I felt the 'alcoholic' label was pinning me to the past when I wanted to be free to move forward.

I
also began to dispute that my drinking behavior was something outside
of my own control. It wasn't sitting right with me. It never
really did but, hey - the experts were telling me so. Who was I to
argue?

Sometimes however, it suited me to blame 'my disease', my 'alcoholism' or the addiction
for some of my behavior. I certainly found it convenient then to accept
this notion. How weak of me! Weak and dishonest.

So
I took control of my counseling and therapy sessions (something some
people will tell you is impossible if you have an addiction).

I
reached a point where I only wanted to discuss all the positive aspects about making choices not to drink anymore and of my plans for the future
as a non-drinker.

There are so many things to talk about of a
positive nature when changing from a drinker to a non-drinker. Besides that - I'm more
of a 'glass half full' thinker by nature anyway.

I
also totally subscribe to the idea that once you recognize and
acknowledge a problem, any problem, then you help to solve that problem
easier by seeing yourself as becoming a part of the solution and only see
yourself as moving towards the solution rather than trying to move away
from the problem.

The opposite way to do it is like moving backwards into the future while keeping your focus on the past.

There
is also a theory among so called addiction and alcohol/drug specialists
that alcoholism is a disease. Something to do with brain chemicals or
genetics. In other words, addiction is something outside of the control
of the person.

Bottom
line is this; the jury is still out on that. Do the research as I did. We still don't know in an
absolute and conclusive way what role brain chemicals and genetics play
in alcoholism or any other addiction for that matter. It remains an inconclusive theory at best.

As for me, I decided once and for all that I was no longer going to play the part of 'victim' as far as my addiction went.

I
made up mind that addiction wasn't something being done to me, rather I
was doing the addiction. I was acting out the addictive behavior.

I
also made a decision to stop attending group meetings, counseling
sessions, psychologists and psychiatrists appointments. Sometimes when
I was leaving home to attend therapy I used to kid to my partner 'See
you love. I'm off to give the therapist another payment on his
Porsche!' Well, not any more.

My
last sip of any alcoholic drink was June 2007. After those thirty long
and miserable years of boozing and through the countless
hours/days/weeks and years of being in therapy of one sort or another I finally
said, 'Enough is enough'.

For once I took control of the problem rather than the problem controlling me.

I
stood firm and proclaimed 'I'm not going to drink again'.

That's the
beginning and the end of my therapy.

Forget the rear-vision view of
trying to solve the problem. Give me a windshield view of the solution
and let me keep moving forward, thank you very much!'

What that
means for me today is I am no longer addicted to being addicted. I am
free of the addictiveness of the entire recovery industry.

As for the
addiction to alcohol, I simply decided I wasn't going to drink again.

It has worked that way for Jack Timpey of Rational Recovery, and it is working that way for me.

I know it can work that way for others too.

Postscript: I
do not advocate persons making radical changes to any addiction treatment plan without
firstly discussing your ideas with your professional worker(s).

Michael Searles

www.TalkingSober.com