Movin' Up to Step Four
Before we move on to step four, let’s discuss something that usually comes up early in an alcoholic’s journey to sobriety. Remember you can plug in any problem or addiction you may have instead of alcohol.
With most alcoholics, you will find co-existing conditions. Most common are social anxiety disorders, which includes panic disorder, depression, bipolar disorder, and attention deficit disorder. Research has also shown that alcoholics may not be able to process alcohol in the way other people can.
It is not uncommon for someone new to the program to talk on and on at their first meetings about all the “reasons” they have a problem with alcohol. It’s akin to the penitent in the confessional telling the priest why he just had to commit some sin or another. Well, guess what? The priest doesn’t want to hear that nonsense anymore than we do. You are an alcoholic, first and foremost, because you drink too much and you are out of control. Period!
Because we don’t engage in “cross talk” at meetings, the more seasoned members just listen and pray silently that this person might try doing a bit of listening himself. If the new folks would quit talking and listen to our stories, eventually a light bulb might go off.
We are not being cold and unfeeling. We know that he/she must stop drinking in order for other conditions to be treated. A.A. is non-professional, but we recognize when someone is in need of medical help and we urge the person to avail himself or herself of other treatment. At one time or another, I suffered from almost each one of the above-mentioned co-existing conditions. We often drink, drug, eat, work, or even have a disordered attachment to our religion in an attempt to relieve the pain or discomfort associated with such disorders.
This is a program that requires “rigorous honesty” and as we move forward with step four, you will come to see how brutal this can be. It is usually at this step that a fallen-away Catholic will first feel the stirrings of a possible return to the Church of their childhood.
Step Four - "Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves."
"Let us examine our ways and test them, and let us return to the Lord." (Lamentations 3:40)
