The Cure for Alcoholism

shutterstock_222520084

 

For jollies, I Googled “cure for alcoholism”.   It seemed like one of those aphorisms you might see pop up on the side of your Facebook feed like “lose five pounds of belly fat today!” or “how to become a millionaire!” and I’m a sucker for those…

 

There are actually a number of books that claim to cure alcoholism.  The covers are candy  colored and italicized.  They mostly have doctors or therapists as authors and spout promises like a barstool lothario, when the last-call lights come up…  The methods are all painless, dignified and medically proven with exclamation points for emphasis.  One book touts diet as key, another claims vitamins are the answer, another that alcohol can be banished in “7 Weeks!”, yet another promises quick relief from alcoholism without AA.

 

Is anybody out there with a drinking problem really buying this “quick fix” hucksterism?

 

As I go through the (long, onerous) process of becoming and staying sober, I am learning a lot about myself.  I have had to explore the deeper, darker reasons for my drinking and unearth some memories I would have preferred to bury in the back yard like the bones of a particularly unpleasant dog.

 

A few weeks ago I wrote a post about Treating Alcoholism With Drugs.   It seems that pharmaceuticals, vitamins, diet, time and trickery can all work to stop the alcoholic from drinking.  The question is, can one truly overcome the disease, without all the surrender and soul baring?  Is it just a patch?

 

And does the fix somehow lose steam down the road, without the hard work to back it up?

 

Today I’m not drinking because I’m taking the cure.

How come you’re not drinking?