Sobriety

[kzorro]

I'm in the beginning stages of rehab and I attend AA meetings regularly (though I'm not an alcoholic, I'm an addict and just chose AA), and it's hard to find one person who doesn't smoke at least a cigarette an hour. Now nicotine is a drug, and these people that are addicted to them consider themselves sober. I don't completely understand why. The only case where I would think it's fair to claim being sober while under some sort of influence is if you are on meds for legitimate reasons. These people obviously are not. I think sobriety should be deemed as being cleansed of all drugs. If I smoked a cigarette I would not feel sober, and I don't buy the excuse "After so many cigarettes you don't even feel the buzz, therefore you're still considered sober" I am/was a coke head and right before I stopped I could do a line of really good shit, and still not feel the slightest thing, yet I nor my parents or friends would consider myself sober, because I'm on cocaine!

What does sobriety mean to you?

 

[up all night]

I'm not really sure if this is made for Words, but I guess to me, sobriety is about being able to resist escapism. Drugs and alcohol are a way of avoiding reality, which is why I think you can smoke cigarettes and be totally sober. I think 'addiction' is pretty close to the least important facet of being an addict.

 

[kzorro]

I didn't know where to post it, but I wanted to discuss the the word sobriety so I chose here

 

[silentscience]

yeah not to mention coffee

 

[bone$aW]

at risk of sounding like a jack ass...Sober is as sober does. How do you think, behave, react, respond to life? I know junkies who are sober in all those aspects but still have an endless craving for the warmth of heroin everyday. I know people in The Program who claim months, years of sobriety but who act like gossipy 13 year olds and have zero attention span or any kind of social grace or courtesy for others....

 

[bone$aW]

...and since this is a Words forum, I would like to dissect the words sober and sobriety

From Dictionary (I emboldened certain words and phrases that make my point):

sobriety |səˈbrīətē; sō-|
noun
the state of being sober
• the quality of being staid or solemn.

sober |ˈsōbər|
adjective ( -berer , -berest )
not affected by alcohol; not drunk.
• serious, sensible, and solemn : a sober view of life | his expression became sober.
• free from alcoholism; not habitually drinking alcohol : I've been clean and sober for five years.
• muted in color : a sober gray suit.

verb
make or become sober after drinking alcohol : [ trans. ] that coffee sobered him up | [ intrans. ] I ought to sober up a bit.
• make or become more serious, sensible, and solemn : [ intrans. ] his expression sobered her | [as adj. ] ( sobering) a sobering thought.

DERIVATIVES
soberingly adverb
soberly adverb
ORIGIN Middle English : from Old French sobre, from Latin sobrius.

Thesaurus
sober
adjective
1 the driver was clearly sober not drunk, clearheaded; teetotal, abstinent, abstemious, dry; informal on the wagon. antonym drunk.
2 a sober view of life serious, solemn, sensible, thoughtful, grave, somber, staid, levelheaded, businesslike, down-to-earth, commonsensical, pragmatic, conservative; unemotional, dispassionate, objective, matter-of-fact, no-nonsense, rational, logical, straightforward. antonym frivolous.
3 a sober suit somber, subdued, severe; conventional, traditional, quiet, drab, plain. antonym flamboyant.
verb
1 I ought to sober up quit drinking, dry out, become sober.
2 his expression sobered her make serious, subdue, calm down, quiet, steady; bring down to earth, make someone stop and think, give someone pause for thought.

...............

So, it seems there are at least two types of sobriety, with the second being that to be or act sober is detailed and explained much thoroughly than sobriety referring to simply abstaining from alcohol (and drugs). I put in bold the words and phrases that I think best describe the sobriety one should seek in AA. If that's not what your looking for, then try sometime else. AA didn't work for me, but today I'm happy living by own standards of sobriety, happiness and health.

 

[kzorro]

...sobriety is about being able to resist escapism. Drugs and alcohol are a way of avoiding reality, which is why I think you can smoke cigarettes and be totally sober.

This thought just came to mind when re-reading that- I've brought this up with my sponsor and a few others that say a few hours after not having a cigarrette they feel anxious physically uncomfortable. So wouldn't smoking a cigarrette be escaping that feeling?

SS- are you reinforcing my opinion, or disagreeing? can't really tell

 

[kzorro]

rational, logical, straightforward[/B]
So, it seems there are at least two types of sobriety, with the second being that to be or act sober is detailed and explained much thoroughly than sobriety referring to simply abstaining from alcohol (and drugs). I put in bold the words and phrases that I think best describe the sobriety one should seek in AA. If that's not what your looking for, then try sometime else. AA didn't work for me, but today I'm happy living by own standards of sobriety, happiness and health.

I agree with what I left in bold in the quote, in that those types of thinking/mindsets are things to be sought after in AA, however I don't see people acting out on those types of behaviors when deciding to smoke a cig. For example, a family member who is coming up on his 22nd year of sobriety has for the longest time adhered to my request that he not smoke in the car while I am present in the car. On a recent road trip, we were stuck in traffic and he decided to light up. His reason for lighting up was that we were at a dead stop on the highway. I don't think that is either rational or logical thinking... and all because of the need to use nicotine to alter a physical sensation/craving, which is a lot of what I've gotten from AA so far. Would you consider that staying sober?

 

[ControlDenied]

sobriety, the words itself. here we go
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=sober&searchmode=none
http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=sobriety&sourceid=Mozilla-search

So if we combine the word sober and the word sobriety...we find that it is not only a state of NOT being intoxicated, but also 'grave and serious.' a lot of addicts are quite fucking grave and serious, but they're fucked all the time. A lot of 'sober' people do act like retarded 13 year-olds, so they're not strictly 'sober.' I guess the middle ground would be you not taking drugs everyday, not hunting them just wait for them to come, and tackling the darker aspects of yourself while not taking yourself too seriously. in other words.... i have no idea what im talking about i think ive reached a point where i feel fine sober. after a while oyu just realise drugs suck, period. the best they can do is open your condition mind up.

P.S. In response to the OP, I would say it's better to feed that "addiction whore" side of your personality with CIGS than fucking heroin, or alcohol or coke. pot, though, is probably better to be hooked on than tobacco - although it's a fuckload zanier

 

[IAmTheWalrus]

Sobriety to me has many different facets.

One aspect of sobriety I believe is clearheadedness. I think that you can consume drugs and still have a clear head, just as you can when you are sober. For example, when I am high on certain drugs, I realize things about myself or others and am very capable of experiencing sober (serious, sensible, solemn) moments.

I hope that makes some kind of sense to someone else, lol.