George Carlin’s quote:
Just because you got the monkey off your back, it doesn’t mean the circus left town.
When I stop gambling, I continue to exhibit the same terrible behavior because I still have the same problems. It is call dry drunk in AA.
It means that an addict is never recovered. They’re always recovering. You hear an addict say things like “I have been in recovery for 25 years.” They’re not recovered. They’re still recovering. They always will be. It is not finished, always work in progress.
The monkey on your back refers to withdrawal. Once the person gets past the painful withdrawal, the monkey is off their back, but being in the presence of the drug will cause them to relapse.
Just because the monkey is off their back, doesn’t mean the circus left town. Addict is still an addict even if they haven’t used for years.
Even if the monkey is not on one’s back at the moment, they are still an addict. The circus is still in town.