GOT THE "ISMS"?

GOT THE "ISMS"?
For years I have sat around various meetings and heard people talk about their "isms". I have seen those letters used with alcohol, and I clearly understood this.
I'm active in life recovery, and am involved in a few sites that focus on this topic. In being active, I get to meet some great people on line, people that I grow to respect and learn from. One of these wise folks is Dennis S., a friend in recovery from California. This past week, I asked Dennis to give me his version of what "isms" are all about. With his permission, I share Dennis's writing and hope it clears things up for you like it did me:

"Back again, like the proverbial bad dollar bill (yep, inflation strikes again). Keith tossed me gently under the bus ( Gracias, my friend) with a question on a previous blog regarding my definition of the AA acronym "ISM"- that suffix , when mixed liberally with alcohol defines the dis-ease that we end up with. "AlcoholISM"
There is obviously a dictionary definition for "ISM". Here is one dictionary set with a few recovery ones tossed in:-ISM suff
1. Action, process; practice: vegetarianism.
2. Characteristic behavior or quality: puerilism.
3. State; condition; quality: senilism.
4. State or condition resulting from an excess of something specified: strychninism.
5. I Sponsor Myself
6. Incredibly Short Memory
7. Internal Spiritual Malady
8. I Sabotage Myself
9. I Skip Meetings

We'll look to the obvious first and take the 4th in the list. A state or condition resulting for an excess of something - namely booze. When we are actively drinking, this definition applies to many of my less fondly remembered attributes. You know, blackouts, DUIs, intimate communication with our porcelain higher power, etc. All those wonderful actions and attributes that endeared me to my loved ones, friends and strangers alike. The only people that I got along with were drunks like me. We could sit there, get boozed up and solve all our problems while feeding our isms.

Then I take away the alcohol. Poof! Guess what - I ain't much better than I was with alcohol. Now definitions 1 through 3 can apply (believe me, they fit well). We still have the drama, terror, fear, bewilderment, resentments, anger and hiccups - only it's magnified because I'm not numbing it with copious quantities of my favorite brand of bottled in bond bliss. While I am PHYSICALLY sober, people often found that they preferred me drunk - at least then they would get some peace when I passed out. Physical sobriety is a wonderful thing - but it is NOT part of the promises from the big book - just a necessary prerequisite. So we find that if you do this simple equation: alcoholic - alcohol = ic or ICK - which I was. Pretty icky. All the attributes and habits of my ism were still there. For others to feed on - whether we want it or not. Not pretty.

There's a difference between a drunk and an alcoholic. Alcoholics have alcoholism and go to meetings. Drunks have booze and go to bars. I can call someone a drunk - but only they can call themselves an alcoholic. I digress...

Applying the principles of the fellowship (along with other actions I've taken in betterment of my spiritual life) to my ism gives me a chance to correct the states, conditions and actions that reflect this condition, thereby reducing the maladjustment my ism has on my life. Does it eliminate it? Not a chance - I still have all the capacity to be a total self-centered, egotistical jerk. That’s where definitions 5 through 9 come in. The ones we in the fellowship use when we speak of thoughts and actions not conducive to maintaining emotional sobriety. When my "ism" tries to prevent me from following a course of action that provides me with the strong spiritual basis I need to be a productive member of the crazy planet we live on.

As my old buddy Porky Pig would say: "That’s all folks!!!!"..."
Got to love that number 4 Dennis! Thanks for bring it up so clearly.
I have come to learn that I coach people who fall into #4. They get into a negative state or condition as a result of an "excess" of something. The some things certainly vary the solutions they find are very common! Want to talk about "isms"? Respond here or contact through hopeserenity.ca where you will find this article and others similar, posted.
AND THANKS DENNIS!!!!