Originally Posted by
stilllearning 
I totally relate to this thread - and I'm a double winner. Adult child - late bloomer when it came to my own drinking problem - and I've been sober more than five years.
My al-anon sponsor has a husband who has never worked. Not ever. For 13 years of their relationship he drank - and since then AA has been his full-time job. I really love her but I just cannot be around him. He's like a manic street preacher - and starts lecturing program as soon as there's any kind of gap in conversation. It makes me so angry that I almost need to peel myself off the ceiling. I want to scream "there are other people in the room, too."
There are many levels of recovery in the average meeting of both programs. I'm glad that I'm sober - and I'm glad that I found alanon. Having a resentment against alcoholics when you are one is really rough, believe me. And I feel it from both sides. When does this ^&** end. Who ever "wins"? The answer is nobody. For me, AA was useful in getting sober so I could "meet" myself again. Alanon is absolutely essential so that I can learn some of the life and self-care skills I should have picked up while I was too busy mopping up after an alcoholic parent and pretending that was just fine with me.
Hugs,
SL.
Another double winner here, I've never heard anyone else explain the resentment I have against alcoholics. Thanks.
The non-working BB thumper would make me crazy as well.
For me, HP seems to have taken care of my drinking problem, even though I was "sentenced" to AA and attended for a couple of years, it was never comfortable for me. Drinking again is a non-issue for me, and for that I'm grateful, but that had nothing to do with AA. I quit over a year before a judge insisted I attend.
I was also "sentenced" to Alanon and still attend 4+ years later, neither judge cares at this point. But my emotional "sobriety", which gets addressed in Alanon, is by far more necessary to my well being at this time.
Maybe I wasn't comfortable in AA because of my resentment/annoyance towards other alcoholics. IDK, interesting.
Good thread.
Thanks and God bless us all,
Coyote