Originally Posted by Berrybean

Hiya.

You say you are going to meetings. For me, just going to meetings wasn't enough. I just thought I'd share my experience regarding this just in case it might be useful (if you are already doing all the below then perhaps it might help someone else reading, and I apologise for it not being applicable to your own circumstances)....

I needed to actually work the program with a sponsor so I could learn how to apply the principles of the program to my life. Once I'd started doing that I started to get some relief as life was easier to negotiate and I was no longer wasting energy on Berry-bashing shame; fear; and decade-old resentments (that I didn't even realise were taking up so my emotional energy and thinking time until they were gone). I also found that getting to meetings early and staying a bit late - helping with the setting up and clearning up helped a lot because it gave me lots of opportunity to chat with those further into their recovery than me.

The AA symbol is triangular. Meetings are only one side of that triangle. If you have not yet started engaging in service of some sort thatcan really help (that is another side of the triangle), and the recovery (the other side of the triangle.)

One guy I heard share talked about AA as 3-legged stool. He said balancing on one leg was better than no stool at all (i.e. just meetings). And 2 legs even better than that (not sure if his 2 legs were meetings and recovery, or meetings and service), but that stool started to get comfortable and give him a chance to rest up once he'd got willing to use all three legs of that stool. I found the same as him.

Wishing you all the best for your sobriety and recovery.

BB