Realistic Addict?

Are you comparing her to genuine addicts you've known, or all the addicts you've seen on TV?

We'll both keep watching.

May you receive all that Karma has to offer.

Depends on the stage of recovery. She may be nearer to the sober stage, where she was 'gainfully' employed and saw a counselor regularly. And sometimes, the belief that one strong drink will give one strength will provide the placebo effect for her at the stage of recovery she is in.









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Est modus in rebus sunt certi denique fines quos ultra citraque nequit consistere rectum Goldilocks

Lettie has what we term conditional sobriety. It is always short term, and best described as "just being between drinks." It is also called revolving door sobriety, and I've seen people do it for year after year, but always with a decline in between stints. I have met hundreds or even thousands of Letties. It rarely ends well. We call it the 2-step program. Step 1, it gets worse. Step 2, it gets worse than you can possibly imagine. Sadly there is a higher success rate with the 2-step than with the 12-step.

I am on the fence about the show mostly because I deal with these people a lot, and it is frustrating because every word out of their mouth is a con of some sort. Along these lines, I much prefer "Mom" which has the insanity heading in a positive direction. But for those like Lettie, it is like they are so invested in their scams that they honestly believe everything said to them by others is a scam as well. There is a fundamental lack of trust which I believe for them was ingrained at such a young age that it literally is hard wired into their world view, as ingrained as needing to eat and breathe. In relationships they always pick someone equally damaged because the most difficult part of life for them is the crushing anxiety of waiting for the hammer to drop, hence sobriety in short stints because the idea of forever is just too much to take in. That is why sobriety is best done a day at a time, which is always a manageable amount, and the key is to just keep stringing days together, as I have the last 11,887 days.

We also call it alcohological thinking, wherein the most stupid way of doing something gets picked as the way most likely to work. It is commonly associated with some sort of impulse control disorder. I take the approach that these individuals have developed maladaptive strategies to get their needs met, and the best course of action is to get those needs met in a more healthy way with better tools. Taking something away and replacing it with nothing always fails. Her CBT positive affirmation tapes are one such tool, but in reality it would be like trying to build a house with just a screwdriver. The drama in this show comes from her belief that if she gets her child back, then she will stay clean, which I can assure you works about, well, never. The correct approach is for her to get clean, and then maybe, she might get her child back. But to be unconditional sobriety, she has to accept at some point that it might not happen. I knew a guy who spent 5 miserable years trying to get reinstated to medical school without success, but if he had accepted it not happening on day one and moved on, he most likely would have had 5 good years and a better chance of being reinstated. Show me a guy who is getting sober in order for his wife to come back and I'll show you a guy who will likely never get sober as long as that condition remains.

It will be interesting to see if she ever has a moment of clarity. I don't know how long that "I" personally can stick with the show because I have a limited amount of tolerance for that type of thinking and behaving and it is hard to squander that precious resource on a TV show.

My Chimp DNA seems to have lost its password temporarily. Sluggr-2

I like the way they show her as being hyperaware of alcohol in her surroundings, even when she's sober. Watching others drink, fixated on the bottles in the bar or the locked minibar in her room. That rings true of an addict.