“Hence the two men set to work almost frantically upon alcoholics arriving in the ward of the Akron City Hospital. Their very first case, a desperate one, recovered immediately and became A.A. number three. He never had another drink.” (Forward to the Second Edition, Big Book)
“Maybe you’re right,” he said. ‘God ought to be able to do anything.’ Then he added, ‘He sure didn’t do much for me when I was trying to fight this booze racket alone.’ On the third day the lawyer gave his life to the care and direction of his Creator, and said he was perfectly willing to do anything necessary. … That afternoon he put on his clothes and walked from the hospital a free man. … That was in June, 1935. He never drank again.” (Page 158, Big Book)
“And they said, ‘No, you have a disease, and it doesn’t make any difference how long you do without it, after a drink or two you’ll end up just like you are now.’ That certainly was real disheartening news, at the time. The next question they asked was, ‘You can quit twenty-four hours, can’t you?’ I said, ‘Sure, yes, anybody can do that, for twenty-four hours.’ They said, ‘That’s what we’re talking about. Just twenty-four hours at a time.’ That sure did take a load off of my mind. Every time I’d start thinking about drinking, I would think of the long, dry years ahead without having a drink; but this idea of twenty-four hours, that it was up to me from then on, was a lot of help.” (Pages 177 to 178, Big Book)
“Is relapse necessary?”
No. See the underlined passages above.
“But aren’t I powerless?”
Yes, but not hopeless.
When I started taking programme-directed action all day every day instead of drinking, I stayed sober. The commitment was this: always take the programme-directed action, no exceptions, no excuses, regardless of what I think or feel.
That was the end of the relapsing.
True for me with other addictions.
When I was willing to (a) suffer (b) make an effort (c) sacrifice what needed to be sacrificed, the problem was solved immediately.
“Can I work the programme in the meantime and carry on acting out?”
No.
“More often than not, it is imperative that a man’s brain be cleared before he is approached, as he has then a better chance of understanding and accepting what we have to offer.” (The Doctor’s Opinion, Big Book)
Sobriety first (whatever the addiction).
I need to be not out-of-my-gourd for the programme to work.