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Old 03-17-2010, 01:57 PM
  # 7 (permalink)  
Dee74
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Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,043
Hi SEC

There are successful members here who did not use AA, including me.

From my own experience, I wouldn't rule anything out as not useful tho - 75 days is still just the start of the journey...I know I've come to find a lot of value in things I initially didn't like at all.

I posted this recently about my journey:

I think most folks know my story.

The turning point for me was acceptance - acceptance that I was an alcoholic - and the acceptance that I could not drink 'like everyone else'.

So I stopped drinking. I did everything I could to maintain that commitment. I still do, nearly 3 years on - every day.

I nearly died, so fear played a large part in that - I also spent a lot of time here@ SR reaching out, and a lot of time tossing and turning, kicking the walls and deliberately not going out when all I wanted was to run down the road and get a bottle.

It's not easy but I believe it is possible to do that and not give in to the inner voice. The folks here helped me immensely by giving me faith in myself when I had none.

But yeah, not drinking only got me so far. I see not drinking as only the first step in a long journey. I had to change the person I was too.

My alcoholism *became* all pervasive but I believe I *started* to drink for definite reasons - mostly to fill a void within myself.

To heal my 'void', the first step is to stop poisoning myself with drink. I then had to get into what the void was, and how best I could start healing it.

It was a paradox for me to discover that the way towards that was not by thinking more about it, but actually thinking less, and doing more.

I did a lot of service work here, and still do because it helps me to be of service and to give back after many years of taking. It also helps keep me grounded and in perspective.

I also rediscovered my spiritual side - my initial recovery was secular - just don't drink...but it's hard to ignore the wonder in this world when you really start to recover.

It's hard for me to drink when I'm connected to the world in a more than a material way, and when I'm humble and grateful for the blessings I get everyday.

You know I could go on, but that's enough really LOL.

I'm not looking to start a school - I hope my experience helps others but I'm just a guy who found what he needed because he really wanted to quit and he looked hard enough for the way that worked for him.

I encourage everyone to do that. Start the process right away tho - don't wait for 'your way' to fall into your lap - you'll only find 'your way' by going out looking for it, trying a bunch of stuff - and not drinking.

I learned from every single step on my journey - successes and mistakes, friends and foe alike.

But I always kept walking forwards, not backwards
D
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