Tim Bruening wrote:
>
> JoeRaisin wrote:
>
>> Tim Bruening wrote:
>>> Tex wrote:
>>>
>>>> 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.
>>> I believe that the threat of losing her husband got her attention and caused her
>>> to make up her mind to quit.
>>>
>> Then all she has to do when her step dad shows up is say no.
>>
>> I can't speak to how an atheist works with the program since I am not
>> one, but I can tell you that I know of many atheists who have stayed
>> sober using AA.
>>
>> If she can avoid drinking for one day all she has to do is just string
>> together a whole bunch of those days.
>
> I've suggested to her that she say every day "I will not drink TODAY!".
>

But have you offered her anything in place of what she is getting from
the drinking?

Its tough to say, I know you are getting some sort of benefit from this
and you feel as though you need it - but just stop.

That is what AA offered me. When I was drunk I didn't feel inadequate
to the challenge of day-to-day life. AA showed me a way of diminishing
the negative self perception and helped me re-build my confidence.

Check the promises...