Many years ago, when I was just an infant in the AA recovery program, the old-timers would joke about an easy way to treat Alcoholism. Maybe some of you remember that. “If I could only take a pill,” was the cry. It was what we once called a pipe dream. Well, it’s here, and it’s been here for a while. If you haven’t seen the TV advertisement, it’s a pill that cures the desire to drink, without any program of recovery. Just take the pill, and you don’t want to drink anymore.

One thing I neglected to say is that most of those attending meetings said they would not take the pill. I prefer the hard way, as the founders of the AA program did. I can honestly say I was one of those. The saying, “easier, softer way,” didn’t apply to first getting sober. There are, I am sure, those today lining up for the pills. So what is really wrong with that?

After thinking about the answer, it came to me. You are probably way ahead of me. There is more wrong with me than just drinking. In hindsight, the alcohol was only a symptom of what was wrong, as the book says. There is nothing in those pills to fix my low self-esteem, self-hatred, or all of the people I’ve harmed as I plowed through life worrying only about me and my possessions. This is where the work comes in, and there are 12 steps to guide me in becoming whole once again. No pill can fix that.

Unfortunately, most will try the pills and say, “Look at me, I am sober.” Unfortunately, that will not repair the image of our family members, our employer, or the law. They will still see the sick SOB we were while in our addiction.

If you are considering taking the easy way with the pill, consider adding a recovery program like AA, NA, CA, or any other program based on the Twelve Steps. That is where the answer really is.

There is a saying I love that came my way decades ago. “The monkey may be off my back, but the circus hasn’t left town,” and for this alcoholic, it never will.