A LIFETIME PROCESS
We were having trouble with personal relationships, we
couldn’t control our emotional natures, we were a prey
to misery and depression, we couldn’t make a living, we
had a feeling of uselessness, we were full of fear, we
were unhappy, we couldn’t seem to be of real help to
other people. . . .
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, p. 52
These words remind me that I have more problems than
alcohol, that alcohol is only a symptom of a more
pervasive disease. When I stopped drinking I began a
lifetime process of recovery from unruly emotions,
painful relationships, and unmanageable situations.
This process is too much for most of us without help
from a Higher Power and our friends in the Fellowship.
When I began working the Steps of the A.A. program,
many of these tangled threads unraveled but, little
by little, the most broken places of my life
straightened out. One day at a time, almost
imperceptibly, I healed. Like a thermostat being
turned down, my fears diminished. I began to experience
moments of contentment. My emotions became less
volatile. I am now once again a part of the human
family.