Alcohol has been called the Devil’s drink, and it is easy to see why. The beverage is intoxicating, both literally and metaphorically. Alcohol has so many adverse effects: It can cause people to become angry and act out, sometimes violently; it can also make people do and say stupid things they wouldn’t normally do or say, embarrassing themselves after the buzz wears off. And did I mention that alcoholism shortens lifespan? The average smoker has a greater life expectancy than the average alcoholic. Many reputable studies have shown that smokers can expect to live to 67. By comparison, studies demonstrate that the average lifespan for a male alcoholic is between 47 and 53 and between 50 and 58 for female alcoholics.
Mind you, I’m not avidly anti-alcohol. Prohibition was tried a century ago, and it turned out poorly. It created a massive black market for alcohol production where criminals (especially mafia types) brewed alcohol in their bathtubs, often unsafely. People still wanted to drink even when it was illegal, and they found a way to get buzzed despite the fact that the alcohol market was driven underground. I realize that Prohibition didn’t work, and really, people should be allowed to drink in moderation if they want. Consuming one occasional glass of wine after 6:00 pm isn’t a sin.
Another thing I realize is that I have a problem with alcohol. As stated, it isn’t a sin for normal people to drink in moderation and on occasion. Unfortunately I’m not one of those people: I can’t drink in moderation; I can't even drink occasionally either because it’s something I like to do every day. For me and my unique circumstances, having just one drink is a sin because I never seem to want to stop as soon as I start my first beverage.
I want to get professional help to treat my alcoholism. Staying at a rehab facility for one or possibly two months seems like the best route to take. Unfortunately my hands are tied behind my back right now due to problems beyond my control…
I’m currently on SSI and Medicaid because of my schizophrenia. It sucks because I am smart; I’m also a talented prose writer and have the skills to work as an editor, contract writer, or some other job related to English. Also, I don’t have access to a car right now. And I still live with my parents; there isn’t anything to do all day.
In the past I tried going to a rehab facility that takes Medicaid, having stayed there for a month. But I gained very little—if any—sobriety skills while there, since the crowd was rough: There were a lot of rednecks and trailer park people. One of the patients picked on me frequently because I was the only normal person there (he was eventually kicked out of the program for threatening me). Sad fact: I was the only patient who had not been to prison. It was hard to learn anything with so many bad people around, many of them court-ordered to be there and counting their days until they could leave and get high again (though admittedly some of them were nice to me). And did I mention the counselors? They treated all of us like delinquent intermediate school students instead of equals, probably due to the nature of the crowd.
God has promised me a financial miracle sometime this month. I don’t want to get into all the details of what this means, but basically he is going to turn my life around. And again: It’s happening later in month. When that happens, I’ll be able to go to a normal or even classy rehab house where the crowd is made up of professionals and normal people, not criminals and rednecks.
It's a short time to wait. In the meantime, though, I want to try my best to be sober until I can get the help I desperately need. Please pray for me and ask God that I stay clean from alcohol until the financial miracle happens (whereupon I can check-in to a nice rehab house).
As stated previously, I’m on SSI and don’t have access to a car, and I still live with my parents, having nothing to do all day. (In fact, it’s so bad that I can’t play online games, since my internet barely works.) Please pray to God and ask him to help me cope with being bored until the financial miracle happens, since for me boredom is an easy trigger for drinking.
Mind you, I’m not avidly anti-alcohol. Prohibition was tried a century ago, and it turned out poorly. It created a massive black market for alcohol production where criminals (especially mafia types) brewed alcohol in their bathtubs, often unsafely. People still wanted to drink even when it was illegal, and they found a way to get buzzed despite the fact that the alcohol market was driven underground. I realize that Prohibition didn’t work, and really, people should be allowed to drink in moderation if they want. Consuming one occasional glass of wine after 6:00 pm isn’t a sin.
Another thing I realize is that I have a problem with alcohol. As stated, it isn’t a sin for normal people to drink in moderation and on occasion. Unfortunately I’m not one of those people: I can’t drink in moderation; I can't even drink occasionally either because it’s something I like to do every day. For me and my unique circumstances, having just one drink is a sin because I never seem to want to stop as soon as I start my first beverage.
I want to get professional help to treat my alcoholism. Staying at a rehab facility for one or possibly two months seems like the best route to take. Unfortunately my hands are tied behind my back right now due to problems beyond my control…
I’m currently on SSI and Medicaid because of my schizophrenia. It sucks because I am smart; I’m also a talented prose writer and have the skills to work as an editor, contract writer, or some other job related to English. Also, I don’t have access to a car right now. And I still live with my parents; there isn’t anything to do all day.
In the past I tried going to a rehab facility that takes Medicaid, having stayed there for a month. But I gained very little—if any—sobriety skills while there, since the crowd was rough: There were a lot of rednecks and trailer park people. One of the patients picked on me frequently because I was the only normal person there (he was eventually kicked out of the program for threatening me). Sad fact: I was the only patient who had not been to prison. It was hard to learn anything with so many bad people around, many of them court-ordered to be there and counting their days until they could leave and get high again (though admittedly some of them were nice to me). And did I mention the counselors? They treated all of us like delinquent intermediate school students instead of equals, probably due to the nature of the crowd.
God has promised me a financial miracle sometime this month. I don’t want to get into all the details of what this means, but basically he is going to turn my life around. And again: It’s happening later in month. When that happens, I’ll be able to go to a normal or even classy rehab house where the crowd is made up of professionals and normal people, not criminals and rednecks.
It's a short time to wait. In the meantime, though, I want to try my best to be sober until I can get the help I desperately need. Please pray for me and ask God that I stay clean from alcohol until the financial miracle happens (whereupon I can check-in to a nice rehab house).
As stated previously, I’m on SSI and don’t have access to a car, and I still live with my parents, having nothing to do all day. (In fact, it’s so bad that I can’t play online games, since my internet barely works.) Please pray to God and ask him to help me cope with being bored until the financial miracle happens, since for me boredom is an easy trigger for drinking.
