✨ TELLING THE DISEASE TO GET OFF ME ✨

There was a time when I wanted the disease to leave me alone.

I wanted the cravings to stop.
I wanted the obsession to disappear.
I wanted the chaos, fear, denial, and insanity to get off me.

But recovery taught me something important:

📖 I cannot recover from a disease I am not thoroughly convinced I have.

The Big Book tells us that before there can be an admission of powerlessness, we must be thoroughly convinced that alcoholism has us.

Not kind of convinced.
Not mostly convinced.
Not convinced only on bad days.

Thoroughly convinced.

Because as long as I believe I can control it, manage it, outthink it, negotiate with it, or somehow be different this time, I will continue fighting a battle I cannot win.

The disease thrives in denial.

It whispers:

❌ "You're not that bad."
❌ "You can handle it now."
❌ "Maybe this time will be different."
❌ "You don't need all this recovery stuff."

What I love about Alcoholics Anonymous is that it doesn't try to force anyone to believe they are alcoholic.

In fact, on page 31, the Big Book essentially says that if you're not convinced, go test the theory for yourself. Try controlling your drinking. Try stopping abruptly after a drink or two. See what happens.

Why?

Because no one can convince an alcoholic they are powerless. We have to discover that truth for ourselves.

Many of us spent years running that experiment.

We promised ourselves we'd only have one.
We swore we'd stop early.
We made rules.
We changed brands.
We changed locations.
We changed drinking partners.

But the results were always the same.

Eventually we learned what the book was trying to teach us:

If I could control my drinking, I would. If I could consistently stop after I started, I would.

The problem was that I couldn't.

And once I became thoroughly convinced, something changed.

I stopped arguing.

I stopped negotiating.

I stopped trying to prove I wasn't an alcoholic.

And I finally became willing to do what recovering alcoholics do.

💜 Go to meetings.
💜 Work the Steps.
💜 Get a sponsor.
💜 Help others.
💜 Build a relationship with God.
💜 Practice spiritual principles daily.

The disease may still whisper.

But today I know the truth.

I am powerless over alcohol.

And because I am thoroughly convinced of that fact, I no longer have to fight the disease alone.

God does for me what I cannot do for myself.

That is where freedom begins. ❤️

— Michelle Ann
The Healing Cheff®

Healing Hearts. Restoring Hope. Transforming Lives.

🌐 TheHealingCheff.com
🌐 NanasTamales.com

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