Next step?

[Aysha]

Ok yall know I am new to this program aspect of things. I really thought it was BS but never really knew anything about it to think that.
Just a cop out to not want to recover on other terms besides my own.

But all this 12 step stuff is confusing. And some of the beliefs I do not agree with. For instance i do not believe my addiction is a disease. Only being because we really do have a choice to be an addict or not. Its not something like cancer or aids where it happens without us choosing it to happen and it cant go away with just choosing it to. I made a choice to get high the first time and everytime after. And not everyone needs treatment to recover.

I find this is a very touchy topic with people.


But anyway..how do you know to move on to the next step?

[yippeeciayay]

Originally Posted by chiynita

Ok yall know I am new to this program aspect of things. I really thought it was BS but never really knew anything about it to think that.
Just a cop out to not want to recover on other terms besides my own.

>>> not want to recover on other terms besides my own .....my way or the highway

>>>For instance i do not believe my addiction is a disease


Hi chiynita

in simplistic terms

the disease is not the drugs, the disease is our self-centeredness.

think of it in terms of diabetes...
the disease is how we process sugar , the symptoms are blindness, fatigue, thirst, weight loss, nausea etc etc.

addiction is how we process our understanding of lifes terms, we want things our way.
the symptom is the drugs, the booze, the sex the food.

until we understand that we are hostile, resentful, self-centered and self-seeking, we really do have no choice not to use because its all we know to dull the pain of not getting things our way.
we also try to make things happen how we want via lies, manipulation, and so on which haunt us.

you should really read the NA basic text, and take in meetings and listen to the shares and then all of a sudden it will hit you like a ton of bricks.

take care and do it one day at a time.

if you need an ebasic text contact me at
it_works_how_and_why @ hotmail.com
and let me know

[SaTiT]

Get the NA Basic text or the It works how and why.

You're doing better then I did.lol
It took me over 90 days to even look at them
and try to figure out what the heck they ment.

You can try attending 12 steps meetings NA or AA
whatever is avaliable in your area. I'm pretty sure
there's plenty of people that'll point you in the right
directions. Shop around.....if you don't like a meeting,
try attending another. If attending enough of them...
shop around for a sponsor too. Think of a sponsor as
your personal tour guide into the world of recovery.
If you don't like a perticular tour guide...find another one.lol

DIS-EASE....I was at dis-ease so i had to get wack out
all the time....so me life became unmanageable.lol

Or if you prefer.
You're not a bad person trying to get good,
you're a sick person trying to get well.
You know..if a person was sick..you don't treat them like
crap.

[Luckyv2]

Here are a few things that I have found in the NA Basic Text that might help you to come to a conclusion of if you really have control...


Pg 18

The only way to keep from returning to active addiction is not to take that first drug. If you are like us you know that one is too many and a thousand never enough. We put great emphasis on this, for we know that when we use drugs in any form, or substitute one for another, we release our addiction all over again.

Pg 18
These are some of the questions we have asked ourselves: Are we sure we want to stop using? Do we understand that we have no real control over drugs? Do we recognize that in the long run, we didn't use drugs-they used us? Did jails and institutions take over the management of our lives at different times? Do we fully accept the fact that our every attempt to stop using or control our using failed? Do we know that our addiction changed us into something we didn't want to be: dishonest, deceitful, self- willed people at odds with ourselves and our fellow man? Do we really believe that, as drug users, we have failed?

Pg 20
Most will see that control is impossible the moment it is suggested. Whatever the outcome, we find that we cannot control our using for any length of time.

This would clearly suggest that an addict has no control over drugs. Powerlessness means using against our will. If we can't stop, how can we tell ourselves we are in control? The inability to stop using, even with the greatest willpower and the most sincere desire, is what we mean when we say, "We have absolutely no choice". However, we do have a choice after we eliminate all the things we have been telling ourselves to justify our using.

Pg 20
Our inability to control our usage of drugs is a symptom of the disease of addiction. We are powerless not only over drugs, but our addiction as well. We need to admit this in order to recover. Addiction is a physical, mental and spiritual disease, affecting every area of our lives.

My name is Vic and I am an addict! Probably dang lucky to be clean today or any other day as far as that is concerned. I know that for me there was a time when I didn't have a choice, the drugs had control over me and no matter what I did I kept on going back to them....It was a living hell to put it simple. I am not sure what exactly happened on May 25, 2006 but I haven't had to use since. Do I have a choice today...as long as I don't pick up I do however my disease comes to me in a sneaky way....it doesn't just rear up its ugly head and say use...it starts way before I use. So what we have is just a daily repreve....Any of us could be high in the next 10 minutes if we haven't treated our disease in some form today....

Glad today that I know I have no control over my disease and grateful for NA to show me a new way to live.

With Love and Respect

Vic

[Aysha]

Thank you Vic. Maybe I will get a better understanding when I finally start meetings Monday and find a sponsor. Also IOP will be great deal of help I'm sure. Like I said I have zero knowledge of the program aspect. But I'm still not sold on the disease thing. I just dont buy it. Thats not what matters. Whta ever I choose to call it I need help to kick it. And am on a mission to win this fight.
Also The steps and The things I read that come from the NA books raise a million questions for me. I can be hard headed alot and need someone to put things in caveman for me to understand sometimes.
Where do I get a book anyway?

[archer1012]

hi everyone how is everybody

[Luckyv2]

Originally Posted by chiynita

Where do I get a book anyway?

Well if you go to the meeting usually they have them there for sale...if you can not afford one you can also get it all right here...Todd a friend of mine did post the entire 103 pages here. If also that you can not afford one they are about 10.00 then let me know and I could get one and mail it to you

With Love And Respect

Vic

[Phinneas]

Originally Posted by yippeeciayay

if you need an ebasic text contact me at
it_works_how_and_why @ hotmail.com

Hey, yippeeciaya - I broke the link on your e-mail addy so it doesn't get picked up by web crawlers or other unsavory characters - for your own safety.

It's a process, chiynita, of coming to believe in recovery. I know that what I knew to be true changed over time and maybe yours will too. Or maybe not. As long as you find what truly works for you in terms of a recovery program, that's what matters, IMO. The goal is to STOP and to STAY stopped.

At least read the Basic text and see if you can relate.

Like I said... it's a process.

Keep coming back and reading and posting, chiynita. We're glad you're here!

[yippeeciayay]

thanks finny
love ya

[REZ]

Addiction is a psychosocial disease, like depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or attention deficit disorder. It may not exhibit the physiological signs and symptoms of cancer, diabetes, or TB, but it is real nonetheless. The disease manifests itself in disorders of thought, mood, and behavior. Compulsive use of drugs is one symptom, but there are others, such as compulsive use of food, sex, anything that feels good. Scientists are just now beginning to understand the neurological and biochemical basis of the disease. Addiction works by engaging the brain's reward system neurotransmitters (dopamine and endorphins) in a feedback loop. Basically, the addict seems to dervie way too much please from things that normal people find pleasing, but not addictively so. In experiments, addicted rats will choose cocaine over food, sex, or anything else. The addict's brain is different from a normal person's brain. Whether this a cause or effect of addiction is still being investigated, but the brain is different. So yes, addiction is definitely a disease. If you don't believe it is, just read the latest medical and psychiatric textbooks, not to mention the NA basic text.

[yippeeciayay]

awesome sumary rez

[Sugah]

A dozen of us decide we're going to try XXX substance for the first time. Curiosity, right? No harm done? Well, eleven of us walk away, and I stay there to chase the buzz. And chase it. And chase it. Before I know it, my life is totally unmanageable and I'm powerless to say no to it.

Choice to pick up in the first place, yes. Choice to become an addict? I didn't choose that.

It is confusing, and it is sometimes controversial, especially among those who don't know what it's like not to be able to walk away.

Keep us updated on those meetings, chiynita!

Peace & Love,
Sugah