noether445

I'm living with my parents, whom are very supportive and strongly opposed to me drinking. I had to move away from my alcoholic wife.

I have a psychologist, an addiction specialist, and a whole lot of books. Group therapy is not for me, and I haven't found any evidence that AA is effective for the general population. Any AA meeting I've attended seemed so focused on past behavior that it made me want to drink. Perhaps I went to the wrong meetings, but it seemed bizarre and unproductive. Moreover, there is no scientific evidence that AA works. Some studies have shown that it might correlate to relapse.

So, my plan is to keep up with the psychologist, the addiction doctor, stay away from my toxic-alcoholic wife (who sent me my clothes with a bottle of gin buried in my clothing and a note that said "I love you."). I'm trying to surround myself with people who don't drink, and nonetheless have "wild times" by staying up late, playing games, and drinking too much coffee.

So I do have a plan. But... AA is not for me, group therapy is not for me, and every professional I've encountered agrees that it's not for me (even if it works for others). I'm introverted, I hardly speak except for online, I don't really relate to the stories I've heard in group meetings, and I really need some sort of scientific evidence. Everyone is different.

I've spent most of my adult life at a desk doing math. I'm opposed to cults invented in the 1930s that explicitly reject professional expertise, and I don't feel like talking with a bunch of strangers even if a professional is involved.

I have a select group of friends who know what I've gone through and I socialize with only them. My very best friend quit drinking to help me along. Now we have coffee instead of gin or whiskey.

I've also setup a lot of obstructions to obtaining alcohol. I don't have an ID, for example (I look very young despite being 31). I have people drive me to work so that I don't head off to a bar in a moment of weakness. There are some other things.... but they're all temporary stop-gaps (and they're very weak; as an alcoholic, I know exactly how to go get some booze right now, after last call).

At any rate, I'll work out long term solutions with my psychologist and myself.