Drifting

The alcoholic at certain times has no effective mental defense against the first drink." I have read that statement in the Big Book (Chapter 3, More About Alcoholism, page 43) many times. In the early days of my sobriety the sentence taunted me, hanging around the fringes of my mind like a stalking, stealthy predator. Until I learned how to use the tools this program taught me," no effective mental defense" terrified me. It drove the powerless and unmanageable nails in deeper.