>Basically I agree with your premise that telling other people how to live their lives is judgmental and arrogant,

I think it's just people trying to help, but not doing a good job at it.


>it might be harmful and is just downright rude.
>Mike Beane, however, advertised his condition incessantly here to people whom he considered his friends and invited discussion about it. Rehab was his idea and people here encouraged him to follow it because he invited their opinions.
>That changed the rules of the game for those people and you might want to consider that before being judgmental yourself.

"The rules of the game" are pretty worn paths in humanity.

One of the things being repeated is "you were doing so good". This gives the impression that getting drunk for a couple weeks is completely unacceptable, and negates all the good that has been done.

If you have to start back at day 0, to get that one month chip or one chip all over again, I just don't see that as the right reward system to take the place of alcohol. Because alcohol's reward system is friggin' awesome.

Not only is there a negative stigma against drinking too much too often, but there's also levels of stigma of getting that one month chip over and over again. In the room full of people with problems, you're floating toward the bottom.

Beane has to know that he's proved to himself there are times he drinks and times he doesn't. And just because he drank yesterday, doesn't mean he has to drink today, and that doesn't mean he can never drink again for the rest of his life.

He should know that if his body is giving him signals to get healthier, he should do it. And in the future, he can reward himself by getting messed up because that's fun and life's short. And that won't be the end of the world. I haven't had a drink since December. The only thing that's really gotten me through is the thought of getting drinking again some day. But for now, gettin' stuff done. Balance, variety, ect, its bull crap of course. Not drinking is boring as crap. Ain't gonna sugar coat it.