[rainonme]

Hi there,

Thanks to everyone for your support and sharing of your own stories. I have gained a lot of insight from listening to you all. AH has been working on his addiction and I am proud of him. He is 12 days sober right now. I am not jumping any guns, as I know this can change, but am trying to appreciate the effort right now and support/ encourage him for each day. I am also taking a strong focus on myself and things that I can do to build myself up (thinking about getting into art again-- something I used to do in highschool but LOVE!).

AH went to his now weekly individual therapy session last night and then to AA tonight. He did not want to go tonight, as he had therapy last night and felt it was too much all in a row (needed a break after working all day too). But he went. He said that the meeting was fine, but he was not really comfortable there. The people were very nice, but the style is not his flavor. Most of the attendees were older (in their 40's and 50's-- AH is 31). Also, you see, we are not really religious people and AH felt that the AA meeting he went to had a very strong focus on God and religion. My understanding is that AA does focus a lot on a "higher power" or a god, which is understandable and perfectly fine, but this may not mesh with our beliefs or where we are with our own spirituality/religion at this time. I encouraged him to try another AA to see if it was a better match, and he is willing to try it out. But was wondering if all AA's have such a strong focus on religion. Also, are there other groups besides AA that he could participate in if AA is not a good match? Thanks for any info!!!!