I choose not to drink, so it’s a moot point.
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My understanding of Freudian principles is that the ego is a psychic structure that balances the competing forces of the id - creative energy as well as infantile demands to fulfill instinctual needs for food, procreation and shelter, with the super-ego - learned mores and values that both uplift the “beast” of humanity and cause us to suppress and hate those same instinctual drives.
The common usage of the word “ego” to connote prideful, need driven behavior and thinking is actually more aligned with the concept of the id, rather than the balanced and observant ego.
Maybe my MA in clinical psych hasn’t been wasted, after all these years! It does allow me to recognize the foregoing response as an attempt to put my pride first!
I agree with you wholeheartedly that we alcoholics need to be on guard against cockiness, vanity, complacency and convenient thinking. The concept of humility is actualized by regarding the self in its proper relation to other selves, to the greater self, to the higher self. And that proper perspective brings me a serenity I have rarely known under other circumstances. The lure of the drink for me is that it does bring about a temporary sense of serenity that comes with ease. It is, of course, so short-lived and has such a high price as to be unsustainable for me. If I want that serenity, I have to work the humility to the forefront of my thoughts and reactions. That’s an ideal, of course. But even the recognition that we fall short and react to circumstances and people out of fear, even that recognition is a stride toward that humility.
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Thank you for posting this. I am in the same boat. But because of this post I was able to find an atheist meeting in my area.
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@Desibaba here’s a thread relating to your question
There are many others. Use the search feature (magnifying glass in right corner)
@Pman here’s another. You can use the magnifying glass in right corner to find other threads like this. 
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Awesome man, thanks! 
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