Doubter

I wasted $4000 on a 10 day detox because my friend kept putting pressure on me. I have no insurance but have savings. He knew this which is why he kept putting pressure on. He wouldn't leave me alone.

I paid and failed I hated it in there. I was pressurizad in there aswell. Having to write and read out my life story etc, if i didn't do all this paperwork i would have been discharged.

I recently joined an online gambling site to get back what i lost but something in my mind told me im an addict and this wouldn't go to well so i didn't do it.

fini

that's too bad, Doubter.
so being pressured isn't working for you.

what else have you tried that didn't "work" and what might you be willing to try now?

Hawkeye13

Are you still drinking?
If so, there's the source of the problem--not your friend, not the detox place.

Good job on not gambling Doubter

ScottFromWI

Good job on staying off the gambling site Doubter, very wise choice.

I think I remember you saying that there was a new treatment center you were considering that was of your own choice - are you still thinking about that?

Whodathunk

Good job on not gambling. That probably would not have ended well.

Have you every tried AA? You don't have to talk to anyone. No one cares who you are. You can sit in the back and come and go as you please, you can get there when you want and leave when you want. (I bet you can tell what kind of an AA goer I am). I was even worried going to the one in my neighborhood would be risky in seeing someone I knew. Guess what, I did, and they nor I ever said a thing about it.

That being said, you can share for 5 minutes if you want, you can get there early and stay late, since there are ALWAYS people who want to talk, there is an endless supply of social interactions if that's your cup of tea. There are weekend events, dinners people go to, conferences, of when I have done none of those.

And you DON'T HAVE TO GET A SPONSOR although it is recommended. I tried twice, and just don't do well being told to do things.

Just a thought.

Oh, and I was in forced treatment after slitting my wrists and neck. 3 days in the shrink ward, no problem getting out of there knowing what to say and how to act. Probably needed to stay, but in hindsight what I needed was to finally realize I would die from drinking in one way or another. And this happened one morning, and I had a choice at 11:00 am, drunk, to either drink more and die, or go to a noon meeting in my neighborhood for the first time drunk, and give quitting a try. That was my bottom. Trying to kill myself was not a bottom, driving drunk and getting a dui was not a bottom, my wife threatening to leave was not a bottom.

I am not a religious person and I did not realize I was a spiritual person, but I am convinced now that I do have a HP that nudged me that day into that meeting.

So the meetings are free, I am living proof it works (yep another one saying 'if I can do it anyone can'), and they are literally everywhere. Just google AA meetings and punch in your city or zip code.

Good luck to you. One day the money you spent or 'wasted' on treatment will no longer be anything you worry about, dead or alive.

SoberCAH

Chances are that you weren't in detox to have a pleasant stay.

I don't know anyone who did like detox.

I didn't, nor did I particularly like the 28 day treatment which followed.

But I was rather light on options at that point in my life.

And I haven't had a drink or a drug since that time.

Gottalife

What would a good rehab/detox look like? I had just walked into the rooms of AA and many people were telling me of a popular detox. Almost everyone in the local fellowship had been and many thought it was the only way to get sober.

I wasn't so sure, having been through something similar and finding that I could "cheat" the system quite easily. So they told me more.

Apparently, I would have my own room in an old building in a beautiful mountain setting. The treatment was very friendly involving little group therapy sessions in the morning and afternoon, and a lot of free time. The food was excellent. There were plenty of things to do. Horse trecking, golf, archery, bush walks to name a few.

It sounded like a holiday camp, which is exactly why I didn't go. The folks that told me all this, it turned out, were being somewhat flexible with the truth, in their enthusiasm for me to follow their path and it back fired.

I instintcively knew that some kind of soft option through which I could con my way, where supposedly someone else would fix me, would be the worst possible thing for me. I elected to be responsible for myself this time, to stay in the community and pay my own way, and to work the AA program.

This was a path that I understood would be painful and unpleasant at times, that I would be looking at myself honestly for the first time a really taking in the whole truth about me and the way I had been living. I knew this was never going to be a comfortable process, but in the end it was the only way to survive.

The rehab I described was a government one and closed quite a few years ago. It was nothing like a holiday camp and seems to have been quite effective. In fact, parts of their program were very painful I am told. So I am not knocking rehab, but suggesting that there is no comfortable painless way to recover, if you are an alcoholic of my type.

For me the pain of drinking had to be greater than the pain of recovery in order for me to be willing to go through with it.

Doubter

Yes Scott im on a waiting list seeing as its state funding, ive no income other than $2500 and im not claiming any welfare. Lost my job through drinking. My money is going down and i could end up homeless. I think I have another 4 weeks before detox.

ScottFromWI

I wish you the best of luck until until then, have you considered meetings at all in the meantime?

Doubter

I'm on day 2, I quit cold turkey had no other choice. It's costing too much. I had to do it.

ScottFromWI

Hope you are doing OK, don't be afraid to reach out here for support or try a meeting locally.

advbike

Way to go Doubter. You can do this. Just stay close here and reach out if you need to.