More AA Lingo: Relapses and Slips
In a recent post, I discussed the subtle difference in connotation between "recovering" and "recovered" alcoholics. It seems that "recovering" is the preferred term, despite our revered basic text often using the past tense "recovered". This got me thinking about other recovery lingo and concepts. Some words and phrases we hear at meetings come straight from the Big Book, while others seem to have crept in via treatment centers and other institutions.
This can create confusion as to what is official AA "doctrine" (or as close as AA cares to come to official), and what is not.
One point of confusion, of which I hear evidence at tables from time to time, is the concept of relapses and slips. It seems that some members of our fellowship feel that these terms are not "orthodox" AA, or not part of what the program was originally intended to be.
I can't even count how many times I've heard something to the effect of, "I never had any 'relapses' or 'slips'. I chose to drink again, and I drank. As simple as that . . . I knew what I was doing." The implication seems to be that the words "relapse" and "slip" imply that the individual was not responsible for his or her actions. However, both terms appear in the Big Book as descriptions of a return to drinking, as does the word "stumble", and probably others as well.
Here are some relapses and a slip, straight out of our basic text, Alcoholics Anonymous:
1. p. xx: " . . . 25% sobered up after some relapses . . . "
2. p. 31: "In some instances there has been brief recovery, followed always by a still worse relapse."
3. p. 35: "So we shall describe some of the mental states that precede a relapse into drinking . . . "
4. p. 120: "Though it is infinitely better that he have no relapse at all . . . "
5. p. 125: "In most cases, the alcoholic survived this ordeal without relapse, but not always."
6. p. 139: "Presently the man did slip and was fired."
The word relapse seems to be used in keeping with AAs use of the medical model of alcoholism. If what we have is a disease, then a return of the symptoms is a relapse. It doesn't mean that it is someone else's fault, or we were lacking in the ability to choose. Just as a diabetic is responsible for taking her insulin, we are responsible for our recovery.