On Mon, 04 Feb 2008 00:58:41 -0800, Tim Bruening
<tsbrueni@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote:

>
>
>JoeRaisin wrote:
>
>> Tim Bruening wrote:
>> >
>> > jimbo wrote:
>> >
>> >> On Feb 2, 7:38 pm, Tim Bruening <tsbru...@pop.dcn.davis.ca.us> wrote:
>> >>> What medications, if any, do you take to reduce your cravings for
>> >>> alcohol?
>> >> I've never taken a medication to reduce craving nor have I ever heard
>> >> of one that works. Her best best would be to consult a physician.
>> >> Jimbo
>> >
>> > How then do you resist the urge to drink?
>> >
>>
>> I couldn't - at least not for very long. That was until I began working
>> a program in AA.
>>
>> AA taught me to draw strength from my higher power in order to avoid
>> that first drink. By staying sober for more than a few days to a few
>> weeks at a time I continued working the steps and developed a new
>> perspective on myself - a perspective that meant I could look at myself
>> in the mirror without loathing. Once I became comfortable with who I
>> was, avoiding the first drink became a lot less difficult.
>>
>> I will offer to you a perspective you may not have considered. If your
>> friend's wife is an alcoholic she is not drinking for the same reasons
>> as you or most other social drinkers. Most people drink because they
>> like the way it makes them feel, alcoholics drink because they don't
>> like the way they feel when they are not drinking.
>>
>> Slogans won't change that, nor will medications.
>>
>> If AA isn't her cup of tea, she could try Rational Recovery which
>> utilizes "Addictive Voice Recognition Technique" in order to stave off
>> cravings. The only caveat with RR is to try and avoid the anger that
>> the program is darned near built upon. While reading the small book I
>> get the impression that RR sobriety is more a case of staying sober 'at'
>> AA rather than being sober to better one's life.
>>
>> In the end, however, it boils down to whether or not she 'wants' to quit
>> drinking. If not, nothing you (or even your friend) can do to get her
>> to stop.
>
>After nearly losing her husband last week, I believe that she now wants to
>quit. The problem is that she gets a strong craving for alcohol after a few
>days. Often, her stepdad shows up and takes her to a bar to drink double
>vodkas. I was hoping to find drugs to reduce that craving so that her will
>power would be enough to resist the reduced craving.

Sounds like she doesn't want to lose her husband which ain't
necessarily the same as wanting to quit.