BackToSquareOne

With people being so different in so many ways can we even reasonably expect our success with any program to be reproducable in everyone? With things like belief systems, education levels, financial and emotional stability, degree of addiction, insight levels, etc.etc.being so all over the place is there any wonder that there has never been a one size fits all solution?

I think that all programs should be looked at as pointers, ideas, examples of things that have worked for some. We should never look at them as written in stone absolutes and think we are a failure if they don't work for us. You can only try fitting a square peg in a round hole so long until you realize that maybe it's time to try something new. Any thoughts?

jazzfish

I think the many stories of success on this site clearly show that there are many roads to sobriety. However, they all have the common element of "don't drink" which can always be adhered to while exploring the different approaches. I also think it is important to celebrate those parts that work for you and avoid criticizing those parts that did not.

GracieLou

Any program that someone tries, addiction related or not, depends on what that person puts into it. Only after they make an effort will the see any rewards.

Lets take exercise for example. If I go to a gym and find a personal trainer. That trainer goes over the basics and lays out daily exercise and nutrition plan. The plan states that I am supposed to go to the gym and do these exercises three times a week. It is advised that I keep a daily log of what I eat and drink.

If I do what the trainer suggests then the chances are high that I will lose weight and gain body strength. Of course there are medical issues that can come into play, but lets for argument sake, say I am the average Joe/Mary.

Now if after a week or two I get lazy, I only exercise once a week and I really want that chocolate cake so I eat it, then I am not going to see the results I am expecting. My first thought is to blame the trainer, then the gym, then deny I even have a weight problem or I may say I have a weight problem but I am not as fat as I think I am.

At this point I can do two things, nothing or I can try another gym and another trainer. Maybe this time I understand the trainer better, the diet is not so strict and I like the that I only have to exercise once a week. This time I stick to the program, I lose weight and I feel great. Then this program is better, right?

It is not the program, it is the person that has to follow the program. I agree, not one size fits all but in many cases, program one would work, if the person can apply themselves but what we are willing to do, is a huge factor.

The first time I walked into AA I was not there for help. I was there to fix myself. It is like going to the gym with no clue how to use the equipment. Sure I went everyday but I did not lose any weight, what gives?

It was not until I walked in and said I have no clue what I am doing, please help me, that the changes started to occur. I was a square peg, but in time the edges smoothed because I followed my trainers suggestions. I let someone teach me how to use the equipment. I read the plan they gave me and I was willing to follow it.

Would plan two also work for me? I don't know, maybe, but why move to another trainer and gym when I found the one that works for me.

Now I am not so blind to think that plan one will work for everyone even if the person gives it their all. People do vary because of their personality and their background but in some cases I think they give up to quickly. Whether it is AA or any other recovery plan. We want instant results and when we do not get them the first thing that comes to mind is to quit and run to another plan.

I see many times that people say I did this and this and that and I went here and there and nothing works. But did you really try? Did you really make the effort? I think some are just not ready, I know I was not the first time. I was willing to live with my problem. The unfortunate result of that is that I took others with me. My children had to live with that person for another ten years.

HeadLump

Excellent post, GracieLou

Threshold

I agree.

I think that is the value of SR, that people share such a variety of experiences.

While I have good will and hope everyone finds recovery, the only statistic I can be accountable for is my own. It is up to me to build my own recovery using whatever tools and resources make sense for me.

zjw

i mentioned AA to someone and they rambled on about how statisticly AA is aweful etc.. how they know a couple AA guys and they've manged to stay sober but sadly most people dont do well in AA this person said. I have no idea if what this guy said has any truth. But I do know a lot of successful AA folks followed but others who are hanging in there who have had some relapses or such but are still pushing forward.

I guess my point is success rates or not Its really tough to say what will work for one person over the next but if i where to go into AA thinking its a failing program or any program for that matter its possible it will be just that for me.

Boleo

Good point. What exactly determines whether a person is a success or failure?

For example, I see many newcomers set short term goals (getting license back, job back, spouse back, etc). Then they meet their goal. Then they slack off of whatever program they were working. Then they relapse.

Do we count them as a success or failure?

PaperDolls

I just try to focus on what my success rate is. I know what didn't work for me and what is working for me now. I'm going to stick to that.

With that said - I'm also very openminded about other peoples journeys. When I'm able to do that, I learn some darn good stuff that I can then try to apply to my life.

My way is right for me. It may not be right for you.

The good things is, we all have the same goal of sobriety so I can identify with everyone with that goal.

jkb

+1 on this.

Jess

jaynie04

For me success has been coming to terms with the fact that whatever I was doing wasn't working and being open to looking at anything and everything that might help me continue to stay sober now and in the future.

I was throwing a particular method under the bus and stating that I didn't care for it and why should I try it, my therapist stated simply..."because it will make it easier".

dwtbd

I will never drink again.
If followed that statement has a 100% success rate.
Any other program or idea that when followed leads to an individual never drinking again will have the same success rate. The goal is the program.
The analogy of a fitness program doesn't really work on the level that the trainer is there to help you gain something or a quality that you do not already possess and must endeavor to 'get'. Being sober is the natural state for humans , intoxicating one's self is an action taking to gain a result. Sobriety is maintained by 'not' doing something, it is not something that needs to be taught.
Ending an active addiction can require help, but once the intoxicant has worn off and sobriety is regained, living is up to the individual.

GoodbyeJose

For me I need a people connection. I thrive on stories and being able to relate to others. I need to know I'm not unique and not alone in my struggles.

For that AA is awesome. It's group therapy any time I want/need it. It pulls me back into reality and out of my head.

The step work isn't something I've totally signed on to yet. I see the purpose, and the benefit, but it's also not a one-size-fits-all solution.

For me I'll keep going to AA to make friends and to hear the words of people who have been where I am, because those words save my life every day.

EndGameNYC

I've worked in addiction research for many years. Success rates for any treatment or program are abysmal across the board; typically equivalent to spontaneous remission and doing it on one's own. But the outcome variable measured is almost uniformly "abstinence," which tells us nothing about the person's quality of life. How many times do we read here about people who have more or less "quit" on their own for months or years, but who are also still struggling, even describing themselves at times as "miserable?"

I suggest looking at this issue in a different way. It's not the treatment that fails, but the addiction that succeeds, and addiction's success rate has historically been ~95% among those who have tried to stop. Less than 10% of people with active alcoholism or other addictions ever seek treatment of any kind. Over centuries of both home remedies and scientific/medical technology, we have yet to develop a surefire way to effectively treat addictions.

Success rates in addiction treatment speak more to the power of the addictions themselves, rather than to the ability of any individual to stay clean and sober. Each time someone is able to get and stay clean and sober, they are 100% successful at treating their addictions.

Boleo

I find that a more useful measure than how many people succeed. The addiction is more successful simply because it never gives up. Even when a person gets several decade of sobriety, the addiction still has a significant chance of making a comeback.

If everyone who drinks again sometime before they die is considered a failure, what do we call those who get 5, 10 or 20 years of healthy living as a result of their recovery?

When a cancer patient gets an extra 5 to 10 years to live because of their treatment, They are considered a success story, are they not?

awuh1

IMO, in order to answer this question, or have a meaningful discussion of it, you must define success.

PaperDolls

Agreed. I choose to only define my own success.

EndGameNYC

People in research studies are generally tracked for anywhere from three months to about two or three years. Different studies look at different variables, but rarely are they designed to track people after a few years of sobriety, and most are designed for those who are sober for a year or less.

GroundhogDay

I'm having trouble following this: Fewer than 10% of people even try to get sober, and out of that <10%, fewer than 95% stay sober? Or do you mean, roughly half of the <10%--5%--get and stay sober over the 3 months to 3 years they are tracked?

pinkdog

Hi One, everyone has to manage their own recovery. The bottomline is to not drink. Very best wishes to you One.

GroundhogDay

One thing I think makes it difficult to track success is that we are dealing with both alcohol and non-alcohol problems. As EndGameNYC points out, some people find they are miserable even after they stop drinking for a long time. Other people, of course, post here and say their lives have been completely transformed for the better since they quit drinking. I know for me, it's a mixed bag. I am certainly healthier physically and mentally since I quit drinking. However, there are still days when I want to drink. The best way I know to describe it is that some days I just don't want to be a responsible adult. The best I can manage right now is to acknowledge the impulse to drink exists, but not act on it.