Dear Alice,

I wanted to respond to the Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms post. I am a recovering alcoholic, and I have been sober for 2 years now. I want to say that the physical symptoms do go away in time, but the mental symptoms will always be there. I haven't had a drink in 2 years and there are times that I want to go to the bar and have a few. I have just put in my head that I cant do it, I almost treat it like its a poison that if i take a drink it could do something terrible to me. The last 2 years haven't been the easiest, actually it is the hardest thing I have had to overcome. In time it does get alittle easier to deal with. I stopped on my own, but I would suggest to other people to go to AA meetings or treatment to overcome this challenge. I just want to say, never give up and you need your family and friends to be there to support you on this whether you want them there or not. Some day you will realize just how much you actually need them.

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(2)
I cannot stay sober alone. I need the help of others and I don't care for doctors either. You may not be ready to hear this, but AA is the only thing that keeps me sober. I drank for years and I too go through the withdrawal symptoms when it is all over and in a few days (if I make it that long) I am drinking again b/c I cannot handle it. I always set out to "control" my drinking and find that it ALWAYS controls me. I don't have a middle of the road switch, full tilt is my only speed. AA is a bizarre experience initially, but the people there understand and they love to help. It helps them by helping others. I wish you well and pray you won't be stubborn for as long as I was. Take care.

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(3)

To the reader:

I tried AA for years, and kept relapsing... I too have learned that I cannot do it alone, and once I realized that, and accepted that I need help to quit successfully, it became easier. I personally have found that Narcotics Anonymous (NA)was my answer. ALCOHOL is a drug, and the NA fellowship focuses on the disease of addiction, as the problem... where as AA seems to focus on alcohol as being the problem. For me, alcohol is only a symptom of my problem. My problem is that I have the disease of addiction. It manifests in my life in many ways... Try an NA meeting, and see if it works for you. It saved my life.