leasha24

I'm 9 months plus sober without AA. I made the decision to quit drinking December 27th 2015. I'm lucky that I come from such a supportive family.
I replaced my drinking addiction with running. I signed up for a ton of races this summer and have a lot more this winter. That way I always had something to look forward to at the weekend to keep my mind off drinking .
I also quit hanging out with my drinking "friends." In reality these weren't really friends, just people whom I drank with.
I made a decision to make new friends. And I've made a ton of new friends through running.

Replaced the alcohol addiction with a healthy addiction.

leasha24

Omg yes... I drank so much tea! Still do... Like to unwind with an herbal tea instead of that beer I used to.

Fly N Buy

I read where over two years ago you made a decision to go to meetings with a friend. Recently you mention this time you'll work the program. I'm in no way calling you out, but will simply say most here will agree that whatever method one chooses it takes focus and commitment.

Alcoholism is typically fatal at worst and shortens our life span at its best - can be a gruesome way to die. Hope you'll find your path regardless of what that is friend.

Sobriety for me started with being honest with myself. Had I finally made sobriety my first priority above all others - only then could I make progress. That's my program the rest is fluff

uncorked

Hey there, I've been sober for almost a year without AA. I did go to inpatient rehab but it was not an AA or 12 Steps program. The rehab I went to employed the Three Principles philosophy, which is more about a way of looking at things than it is a treatment per se for addiction. But anxiety was always part of the alcohol equation for me, and this program enabled me to reduce that so my need to drink lessened. You can pick and choose from any number of support groups/methods. Whatever works!

youbetcha

For the first 12 years or so of my sobriety I was Gung Ho A.A., then I started realizing that alot of the Truths I was finding in A.A. were Universal, and I started pulling away a bit, and noticed God was still there and I didn't fall off the earth or anything and I didn't drink. This process for me still continues and I'm still grateful to A.A., especially the Priniples which I try to live and practice, but I kind "wear it like a loose garment" these days, going to a meeting when I feel the need or to see friends that still welcome me even if they haven't seen me for 3 or 4 weeks.. I'm doing what I beleve God's will is for me, and it's worked now for over 25 years.

Snarly

Hi Joey ,

Thank you for posting this topic.

I too am greatly interested in complementing my AA tools and fellowship with other programs.

I just got book Rational Recovery and plan on reading it this week.
Next on my list is SMART.. only recently learned of AVRT.

So, if you don't mind I'll be reading over your shoulder.

Thanks again,

Snarly

Loekken

I'm 9 months sober, I never attended AA. I have had personal sessions with a professional alcohol treatment person and have been on antabuse too. That's all in terms of 'treatment'.

I believe staying sober comes down to how much individual willpower you have, at the end of the day.

Yankee73

I've got over 3 years, no AA, just me... I was dragged to an AA meeting (actually a month of them) back in the day and all that did was make me want to drink... I rarely post here, but I have a great full time job, another part-time home business and 2 beautiful fur-boys... they keep me sober... once I realized what my addiction actually WAS, I was able to deal with it...

MIRecovery

Although I'm a hardcore AA, AVART was and is extremely useful. I see other methods as just one more tool in my bag of tricks

Loekken

You would be one of the fewer testaments, perhaps, to the fact that sobriety is possible without 'following a program' as such. I'm delighted to come across such individuals here too. Thanks for posting.

Soberpotamus

It is estimated that a majority do manage to get sober and stay sober without using a program, according to some books and stats I have read.

However, if you consider that roughly about 10 percent of addicts ever seek help, what does this indicate about the rest? What are the implications? If more people reached out and used the help available in programs the stats might be more positive? Something to consider.

freshstart57

This is a fact I state regularly, Loekken, about how over 70% of alcoholics recover without following a formal recovery program. I also add my own experience. Our numbers are legion. Perhaps your perception is such because we don't have 'bringing the message to others' and proselytizing as part of our recovery model. In fact, most of us leave SR once sober and happily just get on with living good, full and happy lives.

If you would like to hear more about this, there is great discussion and support on the Secular Connections forum. Hope to see you there!

Calicofish

I echo what Freshstart says. I am 19 months sober without any formal program other than reading here on SR and using AVRT.

Fusion

Hello Loekken, I'm also a self-recovered soberite, via AVRT. I have a thread on this sites Secular Connections forum, which documents my experience. To say that I'm thrilled that I'm finally recovered (after two decades of addiction, reading, researching, viewing addiction related material, and taking the AAsteps - all without success) would be a massive understatement.

I feel reborn, recovered, not recovering. I don't wish to go back to my previous state, for that would imply that I'd reverted to a state that saw me decline into alcoholism. I am rebuilding my life and the first brick in my new building, is the sobriety brick, the foundation.

Once I'd thoroughly researched the actual cause of alcohol addiction, the correct path to becoming recovered, became clear. There are other secular methods, but for me, AVRT was akin to a laser beam, honing in on the root cause of my addiction.

As a recovered person, I'm now able to devote all my time and energy to building my new life and clearing the addiction wreckage.

Loekken

Yes, these are relevant hypotheses of course.

Thanks.

Thanks for sharing this.

Loekken

I wasn't aware of these numbers. I have had this idea previously - I think mostly from what other addicts have been telling me - that you have to 'follow some program' to be successful in sobriety. Treatment personnel and the like have been telling me similar, or always tried to convince me. That you cannot do it on your own, when you in fact can. Especially I have experienced this with AA style treatment people and their practitioners, that they tend to become very persuasive in their rhetoric. I think in some cases, because they'd really like you to pay for their program too.

ScottFromWI

That can mean a lot of different things really. My thoughts would be that you do have to have a "plan". What the plan is could be a myriad of things. It might involve a formal "program" like AA/AVRT/Smart, etc. It could involve self-help through reading, sites like SR, etc. It could involve structured rehab/detox. It could involve therapy - either addiction specific or standard psychological counseling.

I think the bottom line is you can't simply "not drink" and expect your addiction to go away. Yes, alcohol is our drug of choice...but simply removing it from our lives doesn't fix everything.

I think it's also important to remember that what works for you may not work for others. Debating why one method is "better" than another is not helpful to anyone. These types of discussions many times devolve into argument too.

Bottom line, do what works for you and keep an open mind.

dwtbd

My AV loved the fact that I saw and believed that there were 'solutions' external to me but I didn't necessarily want to 'do' the solutions, and that was the part the AV really loved . I had identified a/the solution but pretty dead set against it ergo drinking can't/won't stop, AV dream come true.
For me it turned out I had misidentified a solution , not looked hard enough elsewhere. Turned out real bad for my AV, once I realized my solution was internal, It no longer had a chit to use or a place to hide(er maybe grow).
I Quit fullstop, exactly when I took the needed leap of faith to believe that I could, the leap to believe that I possessed the requisite(we all do) "stuff' to do it , and then I did it!
RR and AVRT played a very significant role for me, wish you well and you Got This!

Outonthetiles

A lot of reading/posting here at SR, and daily texting/tel calls with some great people I met here.

freshstart57

AVRT, for many of us, consists of reading a few pages on the internet, adopting a new mindset regarding personal ability and potential, and quitting alcohol permanently and unconditionally. I would suggest, respectfully, that it is not a program in any sense of the word, formal or otherwise.

My experience is indeed that the mistaken belief I needed alcohol was kept in place by its consumption, and the answer to my addiction was to end it by never again consuming it. While I agree that this is different than 'simply not drinking', from the outside it may appear that is exactly what I did. In fact, it is a planned, permanent, unconditional abstinence.

My experience is that I learned about AVRT after I used it, not knowing it had a name. This is not surprising since that is really what AVRT is, the collected lore of the self-recovered. There is much more discussion about AVRT in the Secular Connections forum for anyone who would like to learn more about it. Lots of support there too!