Hi there,
I finally stopped lying and told my psychiatrist about my drinking last week and she discharged me, saying she doesn't deal with addiction. She was nice about it though, and referred me to a non-for profit local addiction counselling which lasts longer than my insurance would have covered with her. So I'm looking forward to that, and she says to come back to her once I deal with all this.
As for books, I have been a fiend for them since getting sober. There's obviously the big book, but the one I'm finding is really helping is:
- Empowering You Sober Self:
By Martin Nicolaus (has a bonus in that it covers sections about women and minorities which has been huge for me and talks a lot about alternatives to AA)
This book has referred me to Women for Sobriety which has given me a good reading list to start on about addiction for women, since so much of AA literature is about men. So I'm planning to supplement the Big Book with these, as well as another book I'm also reading:
- 12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery
By Allen Berger
I've ordered a bunch of others, so I'll let you know how those go. I've also gone on google books and been reading the preview of
Chicken Soup for the Recovering Soul since a lot of the book is in the preview. It's mostly stories of recovery, but they're fantastic. Warning, though- the first one had me sobbing!!
I'd also suggest looking at the USA SMART recovery site- there's a lot of useful reading there, lists for other things to read, and downloadable homework. It's an alternative to AA in that it deals more with preventing relapse/why you relapsed before, rather than just sharing your stories about drinking.