True confession time

[ishmael]

I'm a drunk. The other accusations made againt me are simply not true, though I can understand, in hindsight, how some of my musings could have been misconstrued. Philosopher drunks are often misconstrued for lack of clarity in their ideas and words. Let me assure you, the darkness attributed to me is not part of either my thought processes, or my actions. But enough of that.

I've finally made a decision to get help for the alcoholism. Any support people here can offer would be appreciated. To those who have been making innuendos, and accusations, and threats, if you can't be supportive at least lay off the crap. If you can't wish me luck, just be quiet. This is going to be hard enough.

I appologize for the ways my behavior has at times been disruptive, and to anyone who's feelings I've hurt.

That's it. Happy New Year everyone.

[jack grebe]

GOOD FOR YOU......I hope you make it happen

[Rick Clark]

I can live with what I've done.

[elf]

Addictions are really rough. I know people conquer them, but I know an awful lot of people who can't do it - including me.

Maybe if you can conquer the alcohol, you can give me some help with conquering the sugar problem I have.

[Ken Hutchins]

Mighty glad you are going to tackle it, best wishes.

[Phillip Allen]

may the road rise to meet your feet

[JimD]

I've only been sober for about 2 1/2 years but for me what I needed was a good reason to quit. I had tried a few times before but it never lasted more than a few months. Then something important happened and I was presented with something I wanted more than alcohol. From that point on staying sober has been easy. I just walked away from it and that was that. Got a good reason to quit, Jack? I don't mean the usual tired reasons we've all heard such as it's bad for your liver. I mean is there something you seriously want more than alcohol whereby you can't have both and have to choose one or the other?

[Larry P.]

Good Luck. God Bless.

http://www.aamaine.org/district3.htm

[S.V. Airlie]

Ish.. I'm proud of you..... Ya took the first step.... Good on ya....and may 2007 be a new beginning...

[Bob Adams]

Ish, you have just made the first step, congradulations. May you be sucessful. (edited to say, Jamie, we must have been typing at the same time!)

[Memphis Mike]

Good luck Jack! :)

[Hughman]

If you want it bad enough, you'll suceed. Good luck.

[Paul Girouard]

God be with you to guide and grant you strength and peace:)
One day at a time Jack , good luck .

Paul

[huisjen]

Somebody else here, with more experience with the issue than I have, made the observation that if you deal with the drink, the other issues will start to resolve themselves, whatever they may be. I wish you all luck in maintaining your sobriety, and strongly hope that you do proceed into this recovery.

When's your first meeting? How often will you be going at first?

Dan

[Bob Cleek]

Ish, the good news is that there are just-developed medications that reportedly are working for alcoholics like nothing else ever did before. See a good therapist and find out about them. I know a couple of guys on the new program and it's really working.. not that it isn't a tough row to hoe under any circumstances.

Check it out: http://www.campral.com/about.aspx

[botebum]

Best wishes Jack. We're all rooting for you.

Doug

[Concordia...41]

Jack - You are in my thoughts and prayers. It's not easy, but it can be done. And you're a good enough man to do it.

Love -
Em

[brad9798]

Love ya, bro!

Glad things are looking up!!!

You know how to reach me ...

[glenallen]

It takes some guts to admit that here and to look for help.
Good luck, Jack.

[S.V. Airlie]

Allan.. now that he has admitted this.. and that is the most important step, I think he will get a lot of support here. At least from me...

It is gonna be real tough....but, where there is a will, there is a way... It's been done before and Jack can do it.

[Bill R]

Good luck Jack. We're pulling for you.

[LeeG]

Ish, the good news is that there are just-developed medications that reportedly are working for alcoholics like nothing else ever did before. See a good therapist and find out about them. I know a couple of guys on the new program and it's really working.. not that it isn't a tough row to hoe under any circumstances.

Check it out: http://www.campral.com/about.aspx

Jack, all the help in the world is there ONCE you seek it. Likewise you can turn away from all the best resources in the world in a heartbeat if you ACT in that direction. It's not complicated. It's just hard. I'm going to do my best to not engage on your topic as it's too important to me to make conversation over.

Ditto Bobs suggestion, I don't know about Campral but if it works I'd recommend trying anything the doctor suggests, anything, but mostly being in the company of others doing a similar thing is a prefered way to learn something new.

[Paul Pless]

Good Luck Jack.:)

[ishmael]

Thanks, folks. I'm too tired to write more just now, but I appreciate it.

[Leon m]

Good luck Jack, I wish you the best.

[Tom Montgomery]

Good luck to you, Jack.

[Nanoose]

Well done, Jack. The first step, which you just took, is I think the hardest. We're cheering for you, Jack.

[bamamick]

I will keep you in my prayers. Be tough.

Mickey Lake

[Uncle Duke]

It's a hard road, Jack, but everybody here including me are rooting for you on this. My guess is that you're plenty tough enough to make it happen, even if/when it gets hard.
Remember - it's not the 'quitting' which is hard, it is the 'not starting again'.
Focus your efforts on 'not starting again' and do whatever it takes to make that happen. If you relapse just scowl, shake your head, and start again with new focus.
Let people here know if you need a boost, of course - but also let us know when it's going well, so that we can help celebrate.

[bamamick]

possibilites out there. Boats. Books. Travel. Wimmins :).

You live 60 miles from one of the most beautiful places on earth, Jack. I can smell it from here. Walk in the woods and just breath in the smell of the firs. You've got some good years ahead of you. Stop thinking so damn much and just DO!

Mickey Lake

[Hwyl]

Good luck Jack, call if you want to talk, last name Hughes, I'm in the book.


I'm proud to be a small part of the supportive chorus.

[Stiletto]

Happy New Year,and good on you.

Best Wishes.

[S.V. Airlie]

I think my point has been made..... I'll leave it at that.. Jack, I'm the only Johnston in the Berlin MD tel. Book.. If not, as I have not looked, it's James.. or James A. M.
Call if ya need someone to talk to.. I am usually up.. and I am not grumpy when woken up... unlike some...

[jack grebe]

Jack.....I truely hope you are for real on this and have not just sucked us in..........this is for real......right......RIGHT

[ishmael]

Jack,

All I can tell ya is that's been two days, and I'm intent on this whether through AA or medicine, or both. JimD said that for him a reason turned him around. My reason is because I want my life back.

[S.V. Airlie]

Damn good reason Jack... again, I'm proud of you...

[Tar Devil]

http://www.woodenboatvb.com/vbulletin/upload/images/icons/icon14.gifhttp://www.woodenboatvb.com/vbulletin/upload/images/icons/icon14.gif

[jack grebe]

Jack,

All I can tell ya is that's been two days, good job jack. go for three. No offense intented. I'm very glad to hear that it was you talking and not the drink. Good Luck.....I mean that:)

[Katherine]

Good Luck Jack.

[Joe ( Cold Spring on Hudson )]

You have my full support Jack. I wish you luck and it's wonderful that you took the first step towards recovery. Your life will start getting better from this day forward. If there is anything I can do I'm available, even if it's just a phone call.

Oh and Happy New Year to all my friends on the WBF

[jack grebe]

happy ney year joe

[Lew Barrett]

Good luck with this Jack. Many here pulling for you.

[Vince Brennan]

good job jack. go for three. <snip> I'm very glad to hear that it was you talking and not the drink. Good Luck.....I mean that:)

Second all the above.... The Grebester has it almost exactly right, except it's hours, not days at first. Go for the next hour and then the next.... soon it can be days, but always know there are people here who will be glad to answer a PM if you need a talk-thru.

Know this, though... if therapy works for you, go for it; If medication does the trick, dynamite, but you have already made the most important moves possible: you have realized that there is a problem, that it needs fixing and have asked for help.

You got it.

All best.

[Chris Coose]

Welcome to the club.

Quitting is fairly easy. It's staying quit that is interesting.

I and other long term sober guys know it as a spiritual disipline administered each day as the insulin dependent diabetic would tend to their solution.

Camparal is interesting but hardly compares to a resolve to spirited and good living.

Love to you Jack.

[erster]

I wish you well, Ish. Keep us informed of your progress.

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

The first step is the hardest no doubt.
But If enough "bad things" have happened to you, it's really quite easy.
Hang in there Jack.
Here's to a better life for you.

[Peter Malcolm Jardine]

One day at a time Jack.

You deserve to be sober.

[pipefitter]

Best of luck to you Jack.All these folks can't be wrong and in all that noise,you must have done something really right. So apparently you must deserve to be happy. Happy New Years to you.

Paul in Tampa

[Harry Miller]

You live 60 miles from one of the most beautiful places on earth, Jack.

Mickey Lake

Is he that close to Canada?:D

Jack I'm pullin' for you - good luck.

[Tylerdurden]

Walk with your guides dude. You will be alright if your will is strong enough to carry you on this path. Godspeed

[Dryer lint]

I propose a toast to ish........

[Paul Pless]

asshole

[S.V. Airlie]

If he is proposing a toast at 0920, perhaps he is the next one we need to be concerned about...

[Dryer lint]

How Many Dogs You Keep In Your Little Science Lab These Days Pauly?

[jack grebe]

assholeLMAO:D

[Katherine]

How Many Dogs You Keep In Your Little Science Lab These Days Pauly?What, are you hoping he'll make a spot for you too? Might be a little hard on the wheelchair though.

[LeeG]

Dutch, have you read John Callahans book?

http://www.amazon.com/Dont-Worry-Wont-Get-Foot/dp/0679728244/sr=1-2/qid=1167667013/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2/105-8026006-8982806?ie=UTF8&s=books

[Dryer lint]

What, are you hoping he'll make a spot for you too? Might be a little hard......

only if you promise to get down on all fours in the pen with me :)

[Henning 4148]

Don't know that much about alcoholism, but - Ish, you got a lot to do: you want a woman, so you will have to find a way to make her comfortable (and ideally provide). I would suggest, apart from other good advice here, to build a small house on your land (assuming you can get a building permit). You are a craftsman as far as I understand, so this should be well within your possibilities. To do this, you will need money for material, so you will need a job as well. An ideal job would be a job where you meet local people, but even if it isn't that and isn't ideal, a job that earns you enough to live on and buy building material should do. Also, you had the idea of farming on your land, once the house is finished, you can look into that (but keep the job going). So much to do! Alcohol has no place in your life if you want to acchieve these targets.

[Ian McColgin]

Jack, really exploring the spirituality of it all helps if you don't fall for traps of pride. Alan Watts was an alcoholic towards the end and I've known a couple of pretty hard drinking zen masters. But without spirituality, sobriety is kind of empty.

Day at a time & G'luck

[TomF]

Jack, I just signed on now, the first time in 2 days or so.

Well done - and my very best wishes. You want to talk, send me a PM and I'll send my phone number.

t.

[Robbie]

God bless you in you path to follow all the best

[Keith Wilson]

Good for you! It is, as they say, the first step. Getting sober's not easy, but it beats the alternatives - sort of like living. Best of luck.

[High C]

You can do it. You've a good soul. :)

[Domesticated_Mr. Know It All]

I propose a toast to ish........



A "Happy Tail Ale" for everyone!!!




http://www.petco.com/Assets/product_images/7/748360002011B.jpg


I've toasted with Milk before and it works as well.
To Jack.....~burp~

[BrianW]

Best o'luck Jack!

[KNOCKABOUT]

Best of luck

[J. Dillon]

Ish,

All the best in your new goal. Ya have a lot of people pulling for you. With that kind of back up you'll do OK.

You still have an open invitation to sail aboard the "Carrianne".

JD

[Bob Cleek]

Note the company's description of Campral:

"Campral is a medication that helps people stay alcohol-free in combination with counseling or support groups once they have stopped drinking. Campral is thought to restore the normal brain balance, which has been disturbed in someone who is alcohol dependent."

The operative words are "in combination with counseling or support groups once they have stopped drinking." There's no substitute for a support group. It is too easy to lie to yourself about addictions.

Ish, you might consider "checking in" on this post each day at the same time and report to everyone how you are doing. If you slip, so what? Just show us that you are trying. We'll cheer your successes and understand your failures, one day at a time. At least you will prove to everyone that this post wasn't just a self-serving moment of clarity that passed without changing your life!

[Rick Starr]

Good luck. There is some fine stuff in you. I always suspected the bits of you that confound me were corrupted by something like addiction.

Get well, both for your own health and growth, and to annoy your detractors.

My battle with addiction was the hardest, longest and most rewarding battle I ever fought.

again, good luck.

[George Jung]

Good to hear, Ishmael, and I also wish you well. I expect you have available support resources, and hope you can take advantage of them. As others have noted, the quitting is not as difficult as the 'slipping'. Identifying the 'why' is sometimes the most difficult, and important detail.
I'm curious what you're writing will be like, recovered, as well. Good luck.

[Meerkat]

My very best wishes to you, Jack!

That Insight/Vipasana meditation you mentioned a few weeks back might be of assistance to you.

It will be as hard or as easy as you make it. Just never give up and never give in. IF you fall off, just get back on and don't beat yourself up, just get back on!

[cs]

Jack all the best to you and I hope you pull it off.

Chad

[Beowolf]

I wish you well and I hope that you have the strength to carry through with this.

Jeff

[ishmael]

Thanks, everyone. I'm too beat tonight to write anymore, but thank you. It means a great deal.

[Wild Dingo]

I've only been sober for about 2 1/2 years but for me what I needed was a good reason to quit. I had tried a few times before but it never lasted more than a few months. Then something important happened and I was presented with something I wanted more than alcohol. From that point on staying sober has been easy. I just walked away from it and that was that. Got a good reason to quit, Jack? I don't mean the usual tired reasons we've all heard such as it's bad for your liver. I mean is there something you seriously want more than alcohol whereby you can't have both and have to choose one or the other?

Never a truer word being said Jim :cool:

I was sober for 15 years appoximately till I knew I had control of it... sorta devil by the tail I guess... but since Ive started again about a year ago I can now drink when I choose I can leave it as I choose and I can stop as I choose and no problems at all... I now enjoy a quiet ale after work or not I can have one and have enough to not even consider another I can leave of for weeks at a time then choose to have just one and then no more without a worry... I can no longer drink spirits which is great in my view nor wine which no matter how expensive or "good" its meant to be tastes like vinigar as do many beers... so I choose what I drink when I drink and how much I drink and then walk away... simply put NOW I have control over the booze it no longer controls me.

BUT! It did take 15 odd years to get to this point.... the hardest part is not admitting it its saying "no thanks I dont drink" the first dozen or so times especially with family or friends workmates can be the worst to turn up the heat to get you to drink if you say you dont but being strong in yourself in your choice and not giving a purple rats ass what other people want you to do with regard your choice to stop helps.

You can do this Jack... IF YOU WANT TO!!! IF YOU have a big enough reason desire need to do so you can but you also have to make some changes

[Stiletto]

Hey Dingo, is that tropical cyclone heading your way?