Ha! I knew I had a funny feeling in my ears! I was away over labor day and am just checking back in here.
I'm not terribly into counting time but the anniversary of my last drink just went by, 14 years now, so I would have to call myself a success.
I'm a SMART member, although I didn't get involved in SMART until I had been abstinent for about 9 years. I was in a different program for those 9 years, really struggling, not so much with abstinence but with trying to reconcile my own worldview with the philosophy of that program. It was particularly the notion of Powerlessness and the need for an outside power that was most problematic for me. So when I found SMART Recovery, which has the opposite focus--Empowerment--I was thrilled. I was also thrilled when I joined up and they told me (get this) that after 9 years I probably didn't need them! "After 9 years you know perfectly well how to live a sober life," they said. My answer was: "Where the heck WERE you folks 9 years ago????"
So I got involved not because I felt I needed a program at that point in my life, but because I wanted people like me to have a choice. I know now that I am not the only person in the world who finds social support helpful, but who would prefer that social support be packaged in a philosophy of empowerment...and that the tools for sobriety be tools for sobriety, not tools for harnessing an outside force.
Anyway, I can answer most questions about SMART and for those I can't answer I'd suggest the best way to find out about the program is to go to the website and click around...and be sure to sign up for the online message board.
Self Help Substance Abuse & Addiction Recovery | SMART RecoveryŽ