Today on the Noon phone meeting, I suggested reading the following story from Living Sober — Making use of ‘telephone therapy from chapter 10.
“At first, the thought of telephoning a new acquaintance, someone we barely knew, seemed strange, and most of us were reluctant. But the AA’s—those with more non-drinking days behind them than we had—kept suggesting it. They said they understood why we hesitated, because they had felt the same way. Nevertheless, they said, just try it, at least once.
And so, finally, thousands and thousands of us have. To our relief, it turned out to be an easy, pleasant experience. Best of all, it worked.
Maybe the quickest way to understand this, before you try it, is to put yourself mentally in the place of the person being called. It is a rewarding and gratifying thing to be trusted that much. So the person receiving the call is almost invariably nice, even charming, about it— not at all surprised, and even glad to hear from us.
There’s more. Lots of us have found that when we wanted to drink, we could telephone someone…”
“Some questions often asked by new non drinkers—and pages that offer some answers…
- Should I keep liquor (porn) in the house?
- How do I explain to people why I’m not drinking (dating/flirting) now?
- What about sex? (lust)
- What about insomnia? (nightime = devils workshop)
- What about drinking (wet) dreams?
- Should I go into bars? (strip clubs)
- What can I do when I get lonely? (core of our disease = relationships)
- Should I seek professional help? (how do I handle anxiety, anger & tolerance)
While we were drinking, a life without alcohol (lust) seemed like no life at all. One more note: anyone can get sober. We have all done it lots of times. The trick is to stay and to live sober. That is what this ‘Living Sober’ booklet is about…” Read more