Yep I used AA for the first three months I was sober. I recommend them to everybody as they have something for everybody. Maybe everything for another. Between AA and SR one can't go far wrong to get sober. Some continue one or both or more, others something totally different. None of knows until we get a bit more solid in our recovery. I started with everything and now pretty much just use SR. So it was not an issue of being shy or afraid of others finding out, for me. My recovery was not conditional on it being so comfortable that no change occurred. I was smart enough to know that I could not go from out of control alcoholic who couldn't quit the easy way daily, by doing the comfortable things that never worked before.
Funny thing is once I got over that feeling of wanting to stay hidden and afraid of others judging me, I found that none of it was hard or difficult either. Like everybody already said the hardest part was walking in for the first time. And no I don't shout it from the rooftops or make a point of it unless I am asked specifically. Other than that I am just a non drinker and a non smoker. Everybody understands those two. Getting help doesn't mean losing your self respect. Alcohol already took that long before and everybody knows that, who have been through it. Getting help means getting our self respect back. The respect of others never comes until we have our own respect anyway.
See we each judged ourselves as we judged those others as bums at one time in our lives before we thought we were one of them too. For those it is surprising when they find that many other people don't judge. And that the real judgment they were running from was their own self assessment once sober. That is where the real help comes in.
AA and SR don't care if you judge us harshly as a group. We do care deeply that you stop judging yourself.
I have my dignity and self respect back. You can all now have my respect. But I can't give it if I don't have some to give of my own can I?