Hi Bluedog
sorry you had a bad experience at AA and IOP.
There's been some good ideas here - you could try other meetings, or other methods - the bottom line tho is don't give up and stop trying.
You're worth the effort.
You are too Kitty - and anyone else being plagued with doubts about whether this is worth it
There's no answers behind us,. Drinking does not work. Full stop.
We have to move forward.
There's a period where we have to run on faith - faith that none of the rest of us, the old hands, us are lying and it really will get better.
That period can seem quite long, but I think most of us see some kind of real change within in 3 months.
12 weeks - that's not much to commit to when you consider how long we drank for
I am looking forward to a productive and fun weekend with no alcohol but tonight I'll be just hanging here on the couch...
if you want to do more than that Kitty do more than that - just don't put yourself and your recovery in danger.
Rent a DVD, read a book, buy a nice meal (or cook one)...think about hobbies and interests you have that you may have lapsed on...
Start defining that new version of fun.
The only limit is your imagination really
D