One Day at a Time in Al-Anon:
We hear about the alcoholic having a “slip,” returning suddenly to the bottle after a period of sobriety. We deplore it when it happens in our family, and most of us must confess that at this point we angrily blame the alcoholic for the lapse. If, however, I think of this as a “relapse,” it will help to remind me that alcoholism is a disease that is not cured when sobriety takes over. I can no more blame the alcoholic than I would blame him for a relapse in any other disease.
I, too, have lapses from the Al-Anon pattern I have tried so hard to follow. When I fall into my old habits of self-pity and reproaching, my relapse is just as involuntary and forgivable as that of the alcoholic.
Today’s Reminder:
The bad moments will pass if I do not blow them up into tragedies. An old popular song says: “Pick yourself up, dust yourself off, start all over again.” Al-Anon thinking can help me accept these shocks with equanimity and send me on my way to a better tomorrow.
“I wonder if we non-alcoholics have ever realized that a relapse is a lot more painful to the alcoholic than it is to us. Let’s not make it worse!”