"I'll drink tomorrow"

[Jebtion12345]

At meetings I have heard the strategy of putting off the drink a day at a time in close calls.
This never seemed to work for me. I realize in my decade of drinking and slipping I never once was able to white knuckle a drink.
I have heard "you dont have to take the first drink even if you want to" .. this makes sense to me in the way of I can use the steps and tools and HP. But I heard it again the other night ... "I'll drink tomorrow if I still want to" and was puzzled. This is an old timer who was talking about her first year. I am starting to think maybe there are some alcoholics who stopped in time before they lost all power in choice of taking the first drink. I might be off base about this and I am glad they did if that is the case but maybe I need to make sure I listen more to the ones who talk of no will power against the first drink. There is kind of a question embedded in there somewhere.

Also, when it says we are without defense against the first drink. Am I clear in my understanding that i will never regain the defense? It always has to come from HP? Stepwork?

I am not trying to intellectualize the BB , just make sure I understand the proper use of will power.

Thanks all!

[Dallas]

The "I'll drink tomorrow" routine never worked for me, either.

I made a decision that I quit for good -- even if it killed me, and I was sure that it would kill me within a few days of not drinking.

But, I was more serious about it the last time than I had ever been. The reason was: I knew drinking was going to kill me. And, I knew, (in the condition I was in) that not drinking was going to kill me. So, I figured, either way -- I'm going to die. And, at least my kids would have been able to say "One thing about it -- he died sober."

Much to my surprise... a few years later, while studying the Big Book, I came across two different places in the recovery section of the book, that the question was to be asked of the new prospect: "Do you want to quit for good?" And, "Do you want to quit forever?"

Other than myself -- I can only think of two others that brought those two questions up in the Book, and they were my Big Book sponsors.

After reading the BB & Dr. Bob's story, and especially Chapter 7, "Working with others" ... I can only imagine the reaction of Bill & Dr. Bob, if they asked a new prospect: "Do you want to quit?" and the new prospect said... "Yes. But, only for 24 hours." They wouldn't have wasted their time with him. They would have let him go and went looking for the one that wanted to quit for good -- and forever.

I can understand the psychology, when trying to help someone get their first 24 hrs, of trying to help them get 24 hrs. Or, the next hour, or the next minute, or the next heartbeat. But, that isn't going to work for the long-haul -- for an alcoholic of my type.

Looking at the 10th Step in the 12 & 12, Bill indicates that the First Nine Steps -- PREPARES us for living the One Day At A Time Program, so that we can maintain our sobriety through fair weather and foul.

If we're trying to stay sober one day at a time, or even live one day at a time -- WITHOUT taking those first nine Steps -- we're going to be pretty miserable and unhappy campers -- during most of those "One Days".

I think we also need to be aware that not everyone in AA is an alcoholic. There are some, who were "problem drinkers." They drank like an alcoholic but they weren't alcoholic. Given a sufficient enough reason they could just quit and never go back to it.

For those of us that are alcoholic -- no matter how great the reason and no matter how great the desire -- we ALWAYS went back to it.

By taking the 12 Steps, we recover. We get restored to sanity. The alcoholic insanity and the emotional compulsion to drink gets removed. And, then, we are given the power to help others. That same power that we are given to help others -- keeps us sober -- while we continue to help others to recover.

[Brien]

before I started in AA and knew the sayings like one day at a time I had made a commitement to never drinking again no matter what.
I was in a out patient program for 2 years and I was forced to participate in my recovery I could not hide out in the back, for me I am gratefull for that program.
I know people struggle with staying sober I see it all the time so for those the saying just don't drink for 24 hours is good whatever works
I have not heard the saying I'll drink tomorrow in 21 years of AA but for all the potential trouble and pain that a relapse can cause whatever works just do it
my mantra is I will never drink again!

[Dallas]

Thanks for sharing Brien, Keith and Joseph.
Great to hear from you and to read your sharing.

[Camel]

I don't recall ever hearing that saying, either. I do recall saying to myself, "I'll quit tomorrow", for years. If the thought of a drink is ever more than fleeting, which is almost never, I get busy. If I'm thinking about drinking, I'm not thinking right. I don't think I could tell myself, "I'll drink tomorrow." Tomorrow may come. But, that's just me. What works for some people, may not work for others.


Hub

[MKL]

The book says do we want to quit drinking forever, not just for today, Just quitting for today isn't in the BB nor is one day at a time. If i could not drink one day at a time, i wouldn't need God, but i couldn't stay sober 1 minute at a time let alone 1 day at a time, i need God to stay sober and it's worked for over 24 years, God has kept me sober, not me, all i've done is work steps and i believe God gave and gives me the power to work steps. I hate to say it but the '"i'll drink tommorrow or one day at a time" sayings are pure bs, delusions that those who try to live by, die from i've seen.

One more thing i'll say, it's been my experience that more drunks die from misinformation than from booze.

[Dallas]

If I could drink just one day at a time -- I'd be cured. LOL.

I was trying to help a lady once, who's husband, to prove that he was not an alcoholic -- only drank on every third day. He smoked a lot of pot on the two days in between drinking, trying to help him get over the hangover he had from his once every third day of drinking. This guy was a real piece of work. He slept on the couch, pee'd on the couch, except when he'd get up and pee in one of her potted plants -- and wake up the next day blaming the dog for peeing on the couch. LOL. Then, one day, on one of his drunks -- he got rid of her dogs.

They lived out in the country. He was a volunteer fire fighter and an ambulance driver. (Can you imagine a drunk trying to put out the fire if your house was on fire -- or, driving you to the hospital if you were having a heart attack?). He also used to blame her for hiding his teeth -- because he'd loose his false teeth every third day when he'd get drunk. I told her I'd wait until the day he had to go to work and then throw his teeth out in a field where he'd never find them -- for messing w/ her dogs.