Anonymous Alcoholics Quotes & Sayings

People help themselves by trying to help others, and this is the process that helps alcoholics get sober and stay that way. Love and tolerance of others, as stated on page 84 of the text of Alcoholics Anonymous, is the "code" of living that is suggested to AA members. — Mel B.

I had sent her to four consecutive psychiatrists, and not one of them had gotten me sober. — Alcoholics Anonymous

In the one-treatment-fits-all approach, clients sit in group meetings all day and all evening and listen to each other stories. At the end of the first week, everyone in the room knows everyone's story. That goes on for three more weeks, and then most people go home with the same problems they brought with them when they arrived. — Chris Prentiss

If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask God to help us be willing. — Alcoholics Anonymous

The greatest enemies of us alcoholics are resentment, jealousy, envy, frustration, and fear. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Most alcoholics owe money. We do not dodge our creditors. Telling them what we are trying to do, we make no bones about our drinking; they usually know it anyway, whether we think so or not. Nor are we afraid of disclosing our alcoholism on the theory it may cause financial harm. Approached in this way, the most ruthless creditor will sometimes surprise us. Arranging the best deal we can we let these people know we are sorry. Our drinking has made us slow to pay. We must lose our fear of creditors no matter how far we have to go, for we are liable to drink if we are afraid to face them. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Can you see that meetings and centers that don't address the real causes of dependency are almost certain to be little or no help? They actually can be very damaging. — Chris Prentiss

Almost none of us liked the self-searching, the leveling of our pride, the confession of shortcomings which the process requires for its successful consummation. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I want what I want when I want it. — Eric Cantor

Dan Lynch was chuckling, his hand around his small glass. 'I remember Billy saying that AA was a Protestant thing when you came right down to it. Started by a bunch of Protestants. He said he didn't like the chummy way some of them were always calling Our Lord by his first name. I drove him to the first meeting and waited to take him home, 'cause Maeve didn't want him driving, and when he came out he said you could tell who the Catholics were because they'd all been bowing their heads every ten seconds while the Protestants bantered on about Jesus, Jesus Jesus.'
(And sure enough, up and down our stretch of table, heads bobbed at the name.) — Alice McDermott

I was court-ordered to Alcoholics Anonymous on television. Pretty much blows the hell out of the second A, wouldn't you say? — Paula Poundstone

In all times of emotional disturbance or indecision, we can pause, ask for quiet, and in the stillness simply say: "God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference. Thy will, not mine, be done. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Selfishness, self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles. Driven by a hundred forms of fear, self-delusion, self-seeking, and self-pity, we step on the toes of our fellows and they retaliate. Sometimes they hurt us, seemingly without provocation, but we invariably find that at some time in the past we have made decisions based on self which later placed us in a position to be hurt. So our troubles, we think, are basically of our own making. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I look up the telephone number of Alcoholics Anonymous. Then, my hands shaking, I open the bar and drink the leftover whiskey, gin and vermouth-whatever I can lay my shaking hands on. — John Cheever

As one of my early A.A. sponsors used to say, I didn't hang out with lower companions - I had become one. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Gately can't even imagine what it would be like to be a sober and drug-free biker. It's like what would be the point. He imagines these people polishing the hell out of their leather and like playing a lot of really precise pool. — David Foster Wallace

careful or to keep off the streets altogether. Finally, he can no longer work, his wife gets a divorce and he is held up to ridicule. He tries every known means to get the jay-walking idea out of his head. He shuts himself up in an asylum, hoping to mend his ways. But the day he comes out he races in front of a fire engine, which breaks his back. Such a man would be crazy, wouldn't he? — Alcoholics Anonymous

Tradition Three "The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking." THIS Tradition is packed with meaning. For A.A. is really saying to every serious drinker, "You are an A.A. member if you say so. You can declare yourself in; nobody can keep you out. No matter who you are, no matter how low you've gone, no matter how grave your emotional complications - even your crimes - we still can't deny you A.A. We don't want to keep you out. We aren't a bit afraid you'll harm us, never mind how twisted or violent you may be. We just want to be sure that you get the same great chance for sobriety that we've had. So you're an A.A. member the minute you declare yourself. — Alcoholics Anonymous

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Subliminal messaging works! — Nick Jimbanis

somebody? How much did these feelings, these loves, these worships, have to do with pure reason? Little or nothing, we saw at last. Were not these things the tissue out of which our lives were constructed? Did not these feelings, after all, determine the course of our existence? It was impossible to say we had no capacity for faith, or love, or worship. In one form or another we had been living by faith and little else. — Alcoholics Anonymous

had we not been brought to where we stood by a certain kind of faith? For did we not believe in our own reasoning? Did we not have confidence in our ability to think? What was that but a sort of faith? Yes, we had been faithful, abjectly faithful to the God of Reason. So, in one way or another, we discovered that faith had been involved all the time! We found, too, that we had been worshippers. What a state of mental goose flesh that used to bring on! Had we not variously worshipped people, sentiment, things, money, and ourselves? And then, with a better motive, had we not worshipfully beheld the sunset, the sea, or a flower? Who of us had not loved something — Alcoholics Anonymous

The life of the Addict is always the same. There is no excitement, no glamour, no fun. There are no good times, there is no joy, there is no happiness. There is no future and no escape. There is only an obsession. An all-encompassing, fully enveloping, completely overwhelming obsession. To make light of it, brag about it, or revel in the mock glory of it is not in any way, shape or form related to its truth, and that is all that matters, the truth. — James Frey

No one waits to trap him in a lie. He is told what lies he is getting ready to tell. — Alcoholics Anonymous

The program works, if you work it. — Alcoholics Anonymous

...one of the primary differences between alcoholics and nonalcoholics is that nonalcoholics change their behavior to meet their goals and alcoholics change their goals to meet their behaviors. — Alcoholics Anonymous

When we developed still more, we discovered the best possible source of emotional stability to be God Himself. We found that dependence upon His perfect justice, forgiveness, and love was healthy, and that it would work where nothing else would. If we really depended upon God, we couldn't very well play God to our fellows nor would we feel the urge wholly to rely on human protection and care. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I have found that the process of discovering who I really am begins with knowing who I really don't want to be. — Alcoholics Anonymous

We should be sensible, tactful, considerate and humble without being servile or scraping. As God's people we stand on our feet; we don't crawl before anyone. — Alcoholics Anonymous

In Alcoholics Anonymous they say you need to have faith in a higher power to help you overcome your addictions. You can't do it alone, they say. I like that approach. Perhaps if we have faith - trust and commitment, that is - in the universe we live in as God, we can work together to find the solutions we so desperately need. We aren't living things inhabiting a dead universe. The universe we live in is, just like us, an expression of life itself. Once we understand this, we will start taking better care of our world and of one another. — Brad Warner

Everything I had I gave to alcohol. — Alcoholics Anonymous

When I finally embraced abstinence it was because of the simple urge to work a longer day. Thus, without joining Alcoholics Anonymous, I was at last able to leave Piss-Artists Notorious. — Clive James

I've been benefited from a dictionary definition I found that reads: "Rationalization is giving a socially acceptable reason for socially unacceptable behavior, and socially unacceptable behavior is a form of insanity. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I think resentment is when you take the poison and wait for the other person to die — M.T.

The feeling of having shared in a common peril is one element in the powerful cement which binds us. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Not only had I been off guard, — Alcoholics Anonymous

For in meditation, debate has no place. — Alcoholics Anonymous

The first thing apparent was that this world and its people were often quite wrong. To conclude that others were wrong was as far as most of us ever got. The usual outcome was that people continued to wrong us and we stayed sore. Sometimes it was remorse and then we were sore at ourselves. But the more we fought and tried to have our own way, the worse matters got. As in war, the victor only seemed to win. Our moments of triumph were short-lived. — Alcoholics Anonymous

We have learned that the satisfaction of instincts cannot be the sole aim of our lives. — Alcoholics Anonymous

There is an island of opportunity in the middle of every difficulty. — Alcoholics Anonymous

When I stopped living in the problem and began living in the answer, the problem went away. — Alcoholics Anonymous

What has been America's most nurturing contribution to the culture of this planet so far? Many would say jazz. I, who love jazz, will say this instead: Alcoholics Anonymous. — Kurt Vonnegut

To make amends can be viewed two ways: first, that of repairing damage, for if I have damaged my neighbor's fence, I "make a mend," and that is a direct amend; the second way is by modifying my behavior, for if my actions have harmed someone, I make a daily effort to cause no further harm. I "mend my ways," and that is an indirect amend. Which is the best approach? The only right approach, provided that I am causing no further harm in so doing, is to do both. If harm is done, then I simply "mend my ways." To take action in this manner assures me of making honest amends. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I have come to believe that hard times are not just meaningless suffering and that something good might turn up at any moment. That's a big change for someone who used to come to in the morning feeling sentenced to another day of life. When I wake up today, there are lots of possibilities. I can hardly wait to see what's going to happen next. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Meetings are the Hail Marys of alcoholics. You can do or almost do anything, feel anything, commit any number of non-sober atrocities, as long as you follow with an AA chaser.
"After I cut off his penis, I sauteed it in rosemary butter and ate it."
"But did you go to a meeting afterward?"
"Yes"
"I wouldn't worry about it then. — Augusten Burroughs

First of all, we had to quit playing God. It didn't work. — Alcoholics Anonymous

The process of miraculous change is twofold. One: I see my error or dysfunctional pattern. Two: I ask God to take it from me. The first principle without the second is impotent. As they say in Alcoholics Anonymous, your best thinking got you here. You're the problem but you're not the answer. The second principle isn't enough to change us either. The Holy Spirit can't take from us what we will not release to him. He won't work without our consent. He cannot remove our character defects without our willingness, because that would be violating our free will. We chose those patterns, however mistakenly, and he will not force us to give them up. In asking God to heal us, we're committing to the choice to be healed. — Marianne Williamson

A New Year: 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes - a — Alcoholics Anonymous

The Big Book's chapter We Agnostics draws a line in the sand: God either is or He isn't. What was our choice to be (Alcoholics Anonymous, 53)? Nature abhors a vacuum and a state of nothing can't exist in either the material or spiritual world. This kind of binary thinking made sense in the autocratic world of 1939. But in a democratic, pluralist society, all-or-nothing thinking is a cognitive distortion - a philosophical assumption that everything is right or wrong, good or evil, superior or inferior. In this millennium, people can hold opposing views and be equals in the same community. Our Traditions, lovingly and tolerantly, make room for more than one truth. That's a good thing, because the only problem with the truth is that there are so many versions of it. — Joe C.

Through the years I had quit on everything that ever mattered: college, going for promotions, relationships - at least the relationships that demanded any work. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I was self conscious and ill at ease most of the time, my health was at the breaking point, and I was thoroughly miserable. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I simply had to believe in a Spirit of the Universe, who knew neither time nor limitation. — Alcoholics Anonymous

And acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation "some fact of my life" unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Times change and discoveries are made that render earlier techniques and approaches less effective. Change is inevitable. To remain rigid when the whole world is changing and advancing is to invite misfortune. The AA program in particular is challenged with an opportunity of unprecedented magnitude. — Chris Prentiss

One day at a time. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Not being a man of means, I knew that if I did not stay sober enough to earn money, I would run out of liquor. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Definition of an alcoholic is an egomaniac with an inferiority complex — Alcoholics Anonymous

PRACTICAL EXPERIENCE shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking as intensive work with other alcoholics. It works when other activities fail. This is our twelfth suggestion: Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail. Remember they are very ill. Life will take on new meaning. To watch people recover, to see them help others, to watch loneliness vanish, to see a fellowship grow up about you, to have a host of friends - this is an experience you must not miss. We know you will not want to miss it. Frequent contact with newcomers and with each other is the bright spot of our lives. — Alcoholics Anonymous

RIGOROUS HONESTY Who wishes to be rigorously honest and tolerant? Who wants to confess his faults to another and make restitution for harm done? Who cares anything about a Higher Power, let alone meditation and prayer? Who wants to sacrifice time and energy in trying to carry A.A.'s message to the next sufferer? No, the average alcoholic, self-centered in the extreme, doesn't care for this prospect - unless he has to do these things in order to stay alive himself. TWELVE STEPS AND TWELVE TRADITIONS, p. 24 I am an alcoholic. If I drink I will die. My, what power, energy, and emotion this simple statement generates in me! But it's really all I need to know for today. Am I willing to stay alive today? Am I willing to stay sober today? Am I willing to ask for help and am I willing to be a help to another suffering alcoholic today? Have I discovered the fatal nature of my situation? What must I do, today, to stay sober? — Alcoholics Anonymous

Lord, give me the courage to change the things which can and ought to be changed, the serenity to accept things which cannot be changed, and the wisdom to know the difference - Alcoholics Anonymous — Stephen Covey

I hate alcoholics and AA (alcoholics anonymous). If you can't drink responsibly, don't drink at all. Don't go to meetings, whine about your character flaws and blame the fact that you are a sociopath on booze. — Roseanne Barr

Being a little kinder, a little slower to anger, a little more loving makes my life better - day by day. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I feel that people who haven't read my books and haven't heard me lecture - who don't in fact know what my work is about - have been very hard on me. There is an expression in Alcoholics Anonymous called "contempt prior to investigation." I feel many people practice contempt prior to investigation. — Marianne Williamson

The story is even Bill Wilson, a founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, couldn't overcome the sex monkey on his back, and spent his sober life cheating on his wife and filled with guilt. — Chuck Palahniuk

We cannot subscribe to the belief that this life is a vale of tears, though it once was just that for many of us. But it is clear that we make our own misery. — Alcoholics Anonymous

I know why we're here. We're all here because we're not all there. — Steven Tyler

We sometimes hurt those we love because they need to be "taught a lesson," when we really want to punish. We were depressed and complained we felt bad, when in fact we were mainly asking for sympathy and attention. This odd trait of mind and emotion, this perverse wish to hide a bad motive underneath a good one, permeates human affairs from top to bottom. This subtle and elusive kind of self-righteousness can underlie the smallest act or thought. Learning daily to spot, admit, and correct these flaws is the essence of character-building and good living. An honest regret for harms done, a genuine gratitude for blessings received, and a willingness to try for better things tomorrow will be the permanent assets we shall seek. — Alcoholics Anonymous

The only thing I'm addicted to is winning. This bootleg cult, arrogantly referred to as Alcoholics Anonymous, reports a 5 percent success rate. My success rate is 100 percent. — Charlie Sheen

article by a prominent clergyman in which I caught the word resentment. He said, in effect: "If you have a resentment you want to be free of, if you will pray for the person or the thing that you resent, you will be free. If you will ask in prayer for everything you want for yourself to be given to them, you will be free. Ask for their — Alcoholics Anonymous

I gave alcohol everything I had — Alcoholics Anonymous

To this day, I am amazed at how many of my problems - most of which had nothing to do with drinking, I believed - have become manageable or have simply disappeared since I quit drinking. — Alcoholics Anonymous

It is a spiritual axiom that every time we are disturbed, no matter what the cause, there is something wrong with us. — Alcoholics Anonymous

My name is Kevin James Breaux and I am an author. Why does that always sound like I am introducing myself at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting? — Kevin James Breaux

You know, they say that Bill Wilson asked for whiskey as his dying wish. The man was dying, at the end of the line, and he wanted the one vice he'd been fighting all his life. Even the co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous wanted whiskey on his deathbed. — Kandi Steiner

Avoid then, the deliberate manufacture of misery, but if trouble comes, cheerfully capitalize it as an opportunity to demonstrate His omnipotence. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Is there a club for bitchiness management, like Alcoholics Anonymous? Because, seriously, I think you should visit it. — Alexandra Engellmann

Government doesn't work. You work, I work, Federal Express works, Microsoft works, the Salvation Army works, Alcoholics Anonymous works, but government doesn't. — Harry Browne

Identifying, they said, was trying to see how I was like the people I was with. Comparing, they told me, was looking for differences, usually seeing how I was better than others. — Alcoholics Anonymous

How did people have conversations anyway? How did they meet and then begin to talk as if they had known each other for years? — Alcoholics Anonymous

To be vital, faith must be accompanied by self sacrifice and unselfish, constructive action. — Alcoholics Anonymous

To get over drinking will require a transformation of thought and attitude. — Alcoholics Anonymous

It must never be forgotten that the purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous is to sober up alcoholics. There is no religious or spiritual requirement for membership. No demands are made on anyone. An experience is offered which members may accept or reject. That is up to them. — Bill W.

Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed. — Zig Ziglar

The best gift of meditation, from my perspective, is that I've been introduced to the Spirit of the Universe by experiencing it in the very breath that I breathe. I love that God is available to all equally, that he's all about love, and that some of us experience that source of love by simply practicing the AA principles in all our affairs. Linda I. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Invalidating a woman's life choices by saying things like, "Oh, but you'll regret it if you don't have kids," or, "I didn't think I wanted kids either until I had one," is like me going to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and telling the newly sober that eventually when they grow old, they'll want to take the edge off with a little gin and tonic and that if they could only just be mature enough to control themselves, they could go on a fun wine-tasting tour in the Napa Valley. — Jen Kirkman

It will take time to clear away the wreck. Though old buildings will eventually be replaced by finer ones, the new structures will take years to complete. — Alcoholics Anonymous

My father was on the Alcoholics Anonymous wishlist. My mother was on ... parole. And lithium. — Christopher Titus

If, when you honestly want to, you find you cannot quit entirely, or if when drinking, you have little control over the amount you take, you are probably alcoholic. — Alcoholics Anonymous

Not my will, but my heart's will. — Alcoholics Anonymous

The day I became free of alcohol was the day that I fully understood and embraced the truth that I would not be giving anything up by not drinking — Liz Hemingway

My admiration for the phenomenon of Alcoholics Anonymous is boundless. — Mercedes McCambridge

They sound like the philosophy of a man who, having a headache, beats himself on the head with a hammer so that he cannot feel the ache. — Alcoholics Anonymous

As we go through the day we pause, when agitated or doubtful, and ask for the right thought or action. We constantly remind ourselves we are no longer running the show, humbly saying to ourselves many times each day "Thy will be done." We are then in much less danger of excitement, fear, anger, worry, self-pity, or foolish decisions. We become much more efficient. We do not tire so easily, for we are not burning up energy foolishly as we did when we were trying to arrange life to suit ourselves. — Alcoholics Anonymous

We do not want to believe that we cannot control alcohol and that alcohol is, in truth, controlling and dictating our lives. When you free yourself of a dictator, like alcohol, the freedom that you experience is totally amazing and so empowering. You get your life back. — Liz Hemingway

I wouldn't doubt it if the CIA is behind Alcoholics Anonymous. — Scott Stapp