I am new to recovery and I am not interested in AA or a faith based program. Like gneiss I am not into sharing face to face with strangers. (Best Yoda impersonation) "Anti social he is ..."
I need a lot of inner strength to even go a day without a drink, and hearing other peoples horror stories at a personal level can sometimes tap that strength, it is not always re-enforcing (for me at least). The internet I can shut off, I can't do that with a room full of people. It would probably make me go home and drink even more!
When I quite my pack a day smoking habit, I used meditation and it worked. I plan to do the same thing with my drinking. I may see a psycho-analyst. I believe alcohol addiction is a mental disorder and needs to be treated as such. Thanks to everyone for sharing alternatives!