tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post8143419231797221633..comments2024-03-23T12:05:23.537-05:00Comments on The Wild Reed: Thoughts on the Disease of AddictionMichael J. Baylyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03087458490602152648noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-27612445.post-47023481630232619322018-12-18T02:01:54.680-06:002018-12-18T02:01:54.680-06:00Michael... so happy to see you exploring this topi...Michael... so happy to see you exploring this topic, so sorry for your friend's struggle.<br /><br />I spent a lot of time in related reading & study for a few years starting in 2000.<br /><br />A key piece of my experience came in 2002 when I lost my best friend and former partner to his alcohol addiction. At 46, he had a nearly 2-decade pattern of 4-to-10-week sober periods full of peer support meetings punctuated by intense 3-7-day alcohol binges. There were many inpatient and outpatient treatment episodes and rich long-term connections to both layperson and professional treatment folks; he'd been trained and often served as a lay facilitator himself.<br /><br />In early 2001, I started gently questioning/pressing him on taking a simple fairly small step: Since he'd crashed several vehicles over the years, and one of the consistent features of his binges was not just starting with buying a couple of big Scotch bottles, but getting back behind the wheel 24-36 hours later to replenish his supply, wouldn't it make sense to take responsibility for locking the car keys up somewhere beyond his control? It could be a lockbox with a drop slot, with only his sponsor able to re-open it.<br /><br />After all, he had a many-year pattern of doing what he'd always done, and his professionals doing what they'd always done, with no change in results, including him driving impaired, putting pedestrians and other drivers at risk.<br /><br />B shot back at me... yeah, I hear you and feel you, but I would lose all of my status as a decent, thoughtful guy in recovery if I admitted that I might need some relapse-mitigation or harm reduction care.Bosehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07622236620504753122noreply@blogger.com