stugotz

I feel ya. Only when the rooms of AA started to look like the better alternative did I know I needed to be there. Just sayin...

FlyerFan

Don't feel scared, everyone is there for the same reason as you. And you only have to walk in for the first time once! After that the rest will be a breeze and soon you'll find yourself lookin forward to it.

onlythetruth

Is it AA you're terrified of, or would it be ANY recovery group?

mfsteve1

FWTW: My first meeting (it's day 27 for me) was at a rehab facility. I did not know this until after the meeting when a bunch of us were outside smoking and I asked why my car was the only one in the parking lot. Doh! And here I was nervous about what the people in the room would think of me when I walked through the door.

JennaFields

I sat in the parking lot and cried my first time. I had my best friend on the phone with me and she talked me in the door. You can do it. It'll be ok. You don't have to say anything if you don't want to. Give it a chance
HTH

NYCDoglvr

There's a much bigger stigma to getting drunk than getting sober. It's powerless over alcohol, not over the rest of life. When I pick up a drink I can't stop, have no control over how much I drink or what happens. I predict you'll find a lot of folks who look just fine but are in better shape than you are. Let us know how it goes ...

digderidoo

The best thing about getting sober is you get your emotions back, the worst thing about getting sober is you get your emotions back. AA has taught me how to deal with my emotions.

Pock89

I've been sober for 21 days. I've gone to 2 meetings so far (Saturday night/Sunday night). I have never found a group of people who are as accepting, genuine, and sincere as the people I have met at meetings. I look forward to my next meeting tonight. I have this new found sense of hope. This program, and the support from these people, may save my life. And I'm so grateful to have worked up the courage to walk in the door. You won't regret it.

FlyerFan

Amen. I felt the same way. I was terrified at first but after about 3 weeks I LOVED my meetings.

yor5150

It's like walking thru the door and admitting you are powerless and weak.

Surrender to win popped into my mind the second I read the above. I found this post about it & thought I'd share.


*************
Give up, let go, relinquish control and feel the true essence of powerlessness. Within the the depths of inner surrender comes the greatest power of self-freedom one can ever experience.

I grew up with a lot of preconceived notions about the meanings of many words. It never occurred for me to look any further then the various vowels and consonants words were composed of or the limited meanings I held of them within my conscious mind. I never looked beneath their subtle disguise to embrace the greater truth they held within them....

To grasp the potential power they held within them.

The idea of surrender went against the grain of my being that demanded that I never give up, never relinquish control, never let em' see me sweat and never ever, ever admit to defeat. I spent a lot of time hiding behind the masks of self-control that I wore on a daily basis, lost in the idea that if I could just convince the world at large that I was okay, then I would be okay........but I wasn't.

I was a big emotional cesspool...toxic to myself and toxic to others.

I willingly traveled to the very edge of my own life before I became willing to...

Admit defeat.

Give up.

Relinquish control.

Surrender....and admit my own powerlessness.

This has and continues to be the defining moment of inner defeat that opens the doorways to another way. The inner silence that follows a surrender of any kind, leads me quietly to the path of acceptance that begins the journey of healing.

There is something within me that would rather have me suffer in the distorted comfort of the lies I hold as truth. But within me also, deep within me, is a places that can't ever be harmed by lies or by truths.

Within the core of myself exists the essentials of my being with the capacity to spark the eternal process of allowing my inner self, my inner spirit, me; to be more then I have permitted myself to be.

But only and if, I surrender first.

I FEEL the frustration that bubbles as anxiety in my bones.

I FEEL the anger boil in my blood.

I FEEL the disappointment crawling under my skin.

I FEEL the bitterness at the back of my throat.

I FEEL the defeat and it's battle to exist within....and I surrender to it.

I don't try to change the feelings...... (Control)

I don't ignore the validity of them.....(Denial)

I don't act out to eradicate them.......(Justification)

I don't attempt to validate them either......(Acceptance)

I just let them be what they are....guideposts that lead me to the inner peace I truly desire. The forces that guide me to the path I choose to walk upon......the journey that leads me home and closer to who I choose to be

Surrender to win!

Article Source: Surrender to Win