Uncovering Recovery: The Coiled Spring
“This is because the problem of the alcoholic is not alcohol; it’s alcoholism. Alcohol (or ice cream or dice or sex or banging on the steering wheel) is not the problem… in fact, it’s a solution, a way of medicating the problem. The problem is what Bob D. calls “the coiled spring.” Bob, a national-level speaker within the recovery community, says that inside every alcoholic/addict there is a spring in the gut that gets wound tighter and tighter. Each resentment, each emotional wound, each baffling situation, increases the tension on the spring. Our fear and anxiety continue to grow, and we suffer. At some point, our suffering is great enough that we need relief. The alcoholic or addict finds (temporary) relief/escape through their addictive behaviors.”
