A common question many people in recovery from drugs get asked is “Why can’t you have a drink?” or “If alcohol wasn’t your drug of choice why can’t you drink?”. Everyone has their own path in recovery and some people may be able to have a drink without a problem but for the majority of addicts in recovery, having even one drink can lead to disaster.
Why Addicts In Recovery From Drugs, Shouldn’t Drink Alcohol
We all know alcohol lowers inhibitions. For an addict in recovery from other substances, lowering inhibitions will lead to detrimental choices. Every consecutive drink that gets in our system will make thoughts such as “I can do a little cocaine” seem like a good idea.
Many people in recovery from drugs will convince themselves that it’s ok to have a few drinks because it’s not their D.O.C (drug of choice). Over time they end up substituting their addictions. They never dug down and found out why they were escaping reality in the first place and have just switched getting high with getting drunk. Our minds will justify our drinking “It’s not heroin, or it’s not meth so it’s ok because it’s not as bad”.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=md5lPGcZ0jw
Old Habits and Patterns
Addiction has been described as a disease of excess and isolation. We constantly need more and more and we isolate away from all our friends and family to get our next fix. For a person in recovery from drugs, if they began drinking this will often lead them down the same path their addiction did. They will start drinking more frequently and using greater amounts. Their drinking begins to take precedent over other areas of their life and before long they find themselves in the same spot they were during addiction, the only difference is now it’s with alcohol.