noneever

I attended my first AA meeting last night and going to another one tonight. There's one on a Saturday night too which I'll go to. So I'm thinking 3 meetings a week, possibly 4, especially this early on.
How many AA meetings or SMART etc do you find most beneficial?

getright15

When entering my first phases of recovery my sponsor recommended 90 meetings in 90 days while working the steps. You don't have to and it's only a suggestion, but it seems to work as it gives your head time to clear and start to gain an understanding of how AA works.

noneever

I'm not making excuses but with work and young kids, there is no way I can make it to a meeting daily.

PhoenixJ

Whatever it takes. 1 meeting or 1000-I commit, go when I can and especially when I do not want to.

SnazzyDresser

Never been to any meeting, doubt I ever will. A few hours of SR every day seems to be exactly what I need. Thanks, SR!

OddOneIn

Go to as many or as few as you feel you need.

I find them calming so I go when I am feeling anxious or overwhelmed. In the beginning I went to more but now it's maybe once a week or so depending on how things are going.

I use this forum and other online resources as well. But every so often it helps to be around other humans in person.

Forward12

Everyone really has their own path which they find the most helpful. Some go every day, sometimes to multiple meetings, others every once in a while or not at all. 3-4 times a week sounds like a great plan though!

entropy1964

3-4 AA meetings, 1 volunteer H&I meeting. 1 sponsor meeting.

biminiblue

I went to a meeting a day in the first three months - but I decided AA was not for me and I haven't been back. I wasn't working and was able to do that. By no means is there a "set" number that works or doesn't.

I think that we each listen to our own inner voice on this. Whatever you feel you need. There are many resources including books, recovery podcasts, recovery speakers online, posting on this site.

Gottalife

Sounds like you have a reasonable plan to me. I sponsored a chap who was in a similar position. He did and does really well, has a great recovery. He worked the steps, had a spiritual experience as the result and now leads a pretty cool life.

It is important to realize the aa program is not the meetings. Most of the program work is done away from the meetings. There is no reason your plan will stop you having an excellent recovery, provided the program is part of the plan.

I go to meetings whenever I can. It is my chance to give back, and I find it very rewarding. But the meetings are not essential to my sobriety. One a month or one a day, it's all the same. A thousand meetings wont bring about the required psychic change, the 12 steps will.

August252015

I will have nine months sober on Friday and my attendance has evolved. I did about 82 in 90. Since, I have found that - now- my sweet spot is 4-6 a week. I have noticed that my weeks are rougher when I get fewer and when I look back on a tough one, like last week, and see that I only got to two, I self-correct. I also try to go to different kinds of meetings, and at different clubhouses; my home group is a MWF lunch group and it is small and intimate and with a lot of "people like me," and I go to two other clubhouses that are a way broader cross section of life, sometimes a womens' meeting, and once or twice a week an "early bird" meeting that has lots of old timers.

I'll tell you that my first sponsor- who was very strict and rigid in her approach- was hard on me about not going every day, as well as only going to a meeting with people like me. The latter turned out to be more of a "her" issue than a me issue, but I got her point- the routine of going and the intent behind going or not (ie, are you wiggling out of a commitment and becoming half hearted about your recovery?) is important. I have found the maxim "go when you least want to" to be true for me a lot of times. I have learned to trust myself that I am really doing the work and that my schedule simply requires working in meetings in a way that works for me. We all have lives, kids, work, whatever, and it can be hard to go to a meetings- then again, I find time to do a whole lot of things so it is possible to get to a meeting.

I also spend about an hour or two every morning on recovery work. My five prong AM routine is: daily email meditations from Richard Rohr (CAC), the daily devotional from Keep It Simple: Daily Meditations for 12 Step Beginnings and Renewals (a Hazelden publication); SR visit; read pp 85-88 and 417 of the BB; and asking myself HALT. I write them down every day and cross each one off. In the past several months, my boyfriend and I (he is also in recovery) have done a shared reading plan on a Bible app - they have varied from 5 days to 21 days in length.

I'd say that adjuncts and additional work besides and beyond meetings is really important for me. Being in touch with my sponsor, obviously with my boyfriend (we are one of those couples who has pretty much ongoing communication in some form throughout the day), and prayer and reading are big deals for me.

I spend a lot of time on my recovery work, meetings and other.

FreedomCA

I am on Day 22 today and have been to zero meetings. I have a workbook to work the 12 steps, an AA accountability friend, AA speakers on phone, AA apps on phone, daily SR reading, and purchased 3 books on recovery from Amazon, as well as most of the AA literature to read. I also exercise one hour each day.

AnvilheadII

i went to as many meetings as i could get to.....that meant sometimes 3 a DAY. considering i drank every opportunity i could, i was told i needed to attack sobriety the same way. if i understand correctly - your kids and your job never prevented you from drinking...........right?

CAPTAINZING2000

How many hours did you spend time drinking a week?
Take the same time to work on your recovery instead.

sugarbear1

In early recovery, I went to as many meetings as possible (no kids at home, single, unemployed). This lasted my first 13 months of recovery.

Working with a sponsor from day 14, I learned I needed to know my motives for attending meetings. I also made a committment to attend a specific number of meetings each week and to meet that committment.

My experience proves I can stay sober with only attending meetings (3 years once!).

Today, I know meetings don't keep me sober. I go to show others the steps work, to fellowship/socialize, or to possibly seek a sponsee....

Working the steps led me to a spiritual experience which led me to a power greater than I. This is the relationship I work on.......

I keep moving forward with my sober life

noneever

I binge drank 1-3 times a week. So I figure 3-4 meetings is a good exchange.
I do not have anyone I can leave the kids with on the days I have them, hence not being able to attend meetings on those days. Most of my heavy drinking was done alone, away from them, so I'll tackle recovery the same way.

sugarbear1

Get a sponsor and work the steps; meetings are so we can find a sponsor and create a network of people we can be accountable to....

From someone who tried sobriety like you are describing, I wouldn't suggest doing it that way (alone, the way you drank).....my 25 years of experience attempting sobriety like this proved to me to take too long and to have too many relapses....

Sobriety is best done with a lot of support

freshstart57

Many people don't use a formal recovery system at all. In fact, 70 % of us get sober without one.

I went to three or four meetings over five years ago and that was that.