November 29, 2006

Tortured by Loneliness

"Almost without exception, alcoholics are tortured by loneliness. Even before our drinking got bad and people began to cut us off, nearly all of us suffered the feeling we didn't quite belong. Either we were shy, and dared not draw near others, or we were apt to be noisy good fellows craving attention and companionship, but never getting it -- at least to our way of thinking.

There was always that mysterious barrier we could neither surmount nor understand. . .That's one reason we loved alcohol too well. It did let us act extemporaneously. But even Bacchus boomeranged on us; we were finally struck down and left in terrified loneliness."

c.1952AAWS, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, p. 57

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