Struggling with the Idea I wasn't a heavy drinker
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Struggling with the Idea I wasn't a heavy drinker
This thought pops up in me from time to time.
I read about or hear from alcoholics who share how bad it go for them: going from dui's to hospitals to jails.
They talk about how they had to drink morning to night. How they had to stash their bottles all over the place. How they carried a fifth in their purse at all times, etc., etc.
There's an excerpt from "Dr. Bob and the Good OldTimers" about an alkie man lying in a hospital bed, and was visited by a priest. The alkie says to the priest: "Have you ever been drunk for a week?" The priest replied, no, in fact, he didn't drink at all. The alkie said, "Well, come back and talk to me after you've been drunk for a week."
I think I have nothing to offer anyone in AA. I think this because I haven't experienced the week-long drunk, or the stashing of bottles, or the carrying a fifth of vodka around.
In the Doctor's Opinion in the BB, Dr. Silkworth writes about different types of alcoholics. He writes that for some, like the weeklong drunks or the fifth of vodka stashers, only a drastic psychic change can help them recover from their addiction.
And so I think, maybe I'm one of "the other types" Dr. Silkworth mentioned.
I've binged, yes. But haven't most people from time to time?
And then I think, maybe I'm not the type of alcoholic that needs AA's program. Maybe I just needed to get honest about the amount I was drinking, admit my powerlessness over alcohol, which wasn't anywhere near as much as the true, drunk for a week, alcoholics I've heard speak at meetings and have read so much about.
Maybe I'm the type of alcoholic Dr. Silkworth was writing about who is the one who can recover by other means.
The upshot is: I don't like thinking I'm wasting my time trying to assimilate a program of recovery that isn't suited to the type of drinker I was and I'm not really helping anybody and quite frankly I feel ****** much of the time going through the paces set in AA.
Any thoughts?
I read about or hear from alcoholics who share how bad it go for them: going from dui's to hospitals to jails.
They talk about how they had to drink morning to night. How they had to stash their bottles all over the place. How they carried a fifth in their purse at all times, etc., etc.
There's an excerpt from "Dr. Bob and the Good OldTimers" about an alkie man lying in a hospital bed, and was visited by a priest. The alkie says to the priest: "Have you ever been drunk for a week?" The priest replied, no, in fact, he didn't drink at all. The alkie said, "Well, come back and talk to me after you've been drunk for a week."
I think I have nothing to offer anyone in AA. I think this because I haven't experienced the week-long drunk, or the stashing of bottles, or the carrying a fifth of vodka around.
In the Doctor's Opinion in the BB, Dr. Silkworth writes about different types of alcoholics. He writes that for some, like the weeklong drunks or the fifth of vodka stashers, only a drastic psychic change can help them recover from their addiction.
And so I think, maybe I'm one of "the other types" Dr. Silkworth mentioned.
I've binged, yes. But haven't most people from time to time?
And then I think, maybe I'm not the type of alcoholic that needs AA's program. Maybe I just needed to get honest about the amount I was drinking, admit my powerlessness over alcohol, which wasn't anywhere near as much as the true, drunk for a week, alcoholics I've heard speak at meetings and have read so much about.
Maybe I'm the type of alcoholic Dr. Silkworth was writing about who is the one who can recover by other means.
The upshot is: I don't like thinking I'm wasting my time trying to assimilate a program of recovery that isn't suited to the type of drinker I was and I'm not really helping anybody and quite frankly I feel ****** much of the time going through the paces set in AA.
Any thoughts?
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Join Date: Jun 2016
Location: Adelaide, Australia
Posts: 28,637
What ever we call ourselves- recognising the damaging effects alcohol has on me- and those around me is the beginning. Changing behaviour through sobriety and a mind shift- with a more moral, 'spiritual' life is what matters to me. I am at least a 4th gen. alcie. Same with depression. Both sides of the family. At the end of today- now is all I have- so a growing awareness and trying to be a better, good sober person every day than the day before is most important to me. Good thread C (cool name, Dracoolya would be pleased).
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Yes. Sometimes I've thought that. Then I remember the others who've struggled to escape the binge / abstain cycle and the shame, anxiety, self-hatred and remorse that we live with while stuck in it. I remind myself that all kinds of people benefit from the 12-step program. I remind myself that most the of the steps don't even mention booze, but focus on how to Live Sober without feeling the need to escape reality through booze or other ways of acting out. I remember that there are plenty of meetings where people want to focus on the solution and not rehashing extended and protracted drunkalogues. I remember that often, when I've been at my most restless, irritable and discontent my AA clan have given me strength and hope by sharing their recovery experiences with me. I reread my step 1. I look at the AA Promises and mentally tick off the ones that have materialised for me through staying sober and working the program. And I remember that the only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking. And then I tell my AV to 'go and do one' and get myself to a meeting.
But that's just me.
BB
But that's just me.
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Originally Posted by Carpathia 
Any thoughts?
Here my question. Do you want to stay sober without AA?
Or drink?
What are you really thinking about?
Member
Join Date: May 2012
Posts: 1,981
This is common alcoholic thoughts of "well, I wasn't that bad, maybe I don't have problem" In every case, there will always be people worse off than you, and those that have it easier.
Not every alcoholic is in and out of the ER on a weekly basis with regular trips to jail, in fact, most aren't this way.
Not every alcoholic is in and out of the ER on a weekly basis with regular trips to jail, in fact, most aren't this way.
2/2016
Join Date: Oct 2016
Location: Texas
Posts: 582
I think it boils down to "was alcohol causing problems in your life" yes or no
The label does not matter so much as the effects.
you worry you are wasting your time in meetings, you are not that kind of drinker. wasting your time drinking was a better use of your time?
i don't do meetings, i never hit bottom, no dwi, but alcohol was causing problems in my life. simple as that. I cannot have one drink, I do not want one drink. easier not to drink at all then try and manage my drinking.
binge drinking is still harmful to your body. at the end of the day, alcohol increases your risk of cancer, and other health problems. better to leave it alone a d move forward.
The label does not matter so much as the effects.
you worry you are wasting your time in meetings, you are not that kind of drinker. wasting your time drinking was a better use of your time?
i don't do meetings, i never hit bottom, no dwi, but alcohol was causing problems in my life. simple as that. I cannot have one drink, I do not want one drink. easier not to drink at all then try and manage my drinking.
binge drinking is still harmful to your body. at the end of the day, alcohol increases your risk of cancer, and other health problems. better to leave it alone a d move forward.
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Join Date: Mar 2014
Posts: 25,373
There is likely a somewhere-between for a lot of people.
Like going to a Step meeting or a Big Book study meeting or a women's meeting every now and then. I mean, AA isn't going anywhere.
No reason to stress out over comparisons.
I know when I went to meetings I was uncomfortable every single time and I went for several months. In the end I realized it wasn't for me. That was three years ago and I haven't had a drink. For that matter I was sober 18 years and never went to one meeting. For some people it's an every day thing, for some it helps in the beginning, for some they go two or three times and never again, and for some, never.
You know yourself. Do what you know is in your best interest.
Like going to a Step meeting or a Big Book study meeting or a women's meeting every now and then. I mean, AA isn't going anywhere.
No reason to stress out over comparisons.
I know when I went to meetings I was uncomfortable every single time and I went for several months. In the end I realized it wasn't for me. That was three years ago and I haven't had a drink. For that matter I was sober 18 years and never went to one meeting. For some people it's an every day thing, for some it helps in the beginning, for some they go two or three times and never again, and for some, never.
You know yourself. Do what you know is in your best interest.
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: canada
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I think I have nothing to offer anyone in AA. I think this because I haven't experienced the week-long drunk, or the stashing of bottles, or the carrying a fifth of vodka around.
....admit my powerlessness over alcohol, which wasn't anywhere near as much as the true, drunk for a week, alcoholics I've heard speak at meetings and have read so much about.
some thoughts:
you are confusing mention of amounts drunk and length of drinking with the choice thing.
powerlessness in the way it is used in the BB applies to power of choice, not to volume drunk or what you carry in your purse or whether you drink all day/week long or not.
it is very specific: about the times you decided not to drink and yet somehow did, despite commitment and decision not to.
AA does not define a true or real alcoholic as someone who drinks all week, but as someone who has "lost power of choice", and AA is full of people who have various drinking histories regarding volume, times, consequences, .
as far as identifying, and what "we" have in common and the stories people tell: an AA group is supposed to carry the message of a solution, a common solution which we agree on, and not focus endlessly on stories about just how bad it got.
maybe explore some different meetings with a more hopeful message?
and explore your own story about the powerlessness you say you admit to.
....admit my powerlessness over alcohol, which wasn't anywhere near as much as the true, drunk for a week, alcoholics I've heard speak at meetings and have read so much about.
some thoughts:
you are confusing mention of amounts drunk and length of drinking with the choice thing.
powerlessness in the way it is used in the BB applies to power of choice, not to volume drunk or what you carry in your purse or whether you drink all day/week long or not.
it is very specific: about the times you decided not to drink and yet somehow did, despite commitment and decision not to.
AA does not define a true or real alcoholic as someone who drinks all week, but as someone who has "lost power of choice", and AA is full of people who have various drinking histories regarding volume, times, consequences, .
as far as identifying, and what "we" have in common and the stories people tell: an AA group is supposed to carry the message of a solution, a common solution which we agree on, and not focus endlessly on stories about just how bad it got.
maybe explore some different meetings with a more hopeful message?
and explore your own story about the powerlessness you say you admit to.
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Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
thoughts?
yer lookin at the wrong part of alcoholism. look at the thinking.
heres the opening to the 2nd set of stories in the bb. might wanna start reading and listening to people that stopped at the same stage of alcoholism as you did
they stopped in time
We think that about one-half of today's incoming A.A. members were never advanced cases of alcoholism; though, given time, all might have been.
Most of these fortunate ones have had little or no acquaintance with delirium, with hospitals, asylums, and jails. Some were drinking heavily and there had been occasional serious episodes. But with many, drinking had been little more than a sometimes uncontrollable nuisance. Seldom had any of these lost either health, business, family, or friends.
Why do men and women like these join A.A.?
The twelve who now tell their experiences answer that question. They saw that they had become actual or potential alcoholics, even though no serious harm had yet been done.
They realized that repeated lack of drinking control, when they really wanted control, was the fatal symptom that spelled problem drinking. This, plus mounting emotional disturbances, convinced them that compulsive alcoholism already had them; that complete ruin would be only a question of time.
Seeing this danger, they came to A.A. They realized that in the end alcoholism could be as mortal as cancer; certainly no sane man would wait for a malignant growth to become fatal before seeking help.
Therefore, these twelve A.A.'s, and thousands like them, have been saved years of infinite suffering. They sum it up like this: "We didn't wait to hit bottom because, thank God, we could see the bottom. Actually, the bottom came up and hit us. That sold us on Alcoholics Anonymous."
yer lookin at the wrong part of alcoholism. look at the thinking.
heres the opening to the 2nd set of stories in the bb. might wanna start reading and listening to people that stopped at the same stage of alcoholism as you did
they stopped in time
We think that about one-half of today's incoming A.A. members were never advanced cases of alcoholism; though, given time, all might have been.
Most of these fortunate ones have had little or no acquaintance with delirium, with hospitals, asylums, and jails. Some were drinking heavily and there had been occasional serious episodes. But with many, drinking had been little more than a sometimes uncontrollable nuisance. Seldom had any of these lost either health, business, family, or friends.
Why do men and women like these join A.A.?
The twelve who now tell their experiences answer that question. They saw that they had become actual or potential alcoholics, even though no serious harm had yet been done.
They realized that repeated lack of drinking control, when they really wanted control, was the fatal symptom that spelled problem drinking. This, plus mounting emotional disturbances, convinced them that compulsive alcoholism already had them; that complete ruin would be only a question of time.
Seeing this danger, they came to A.A. They realized that in the end alcoholism could be as mortal as cancer; certainly no sane man would wait for a malignant growth to become fatal before seeking help.
Therefore, these twelve A.A.'s, and thousands like them, have been saved years of infinite suffering. They sum it up like this: "We didn't wait to hit bottom because, thank God, we could see the bottom. Actually, the bottom came up and hit us. That sold us on Alcoholics Anonymous."
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Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 216
Originally Posted by Carpathia
This thought pops up in me from time to time.
...
...
Thoughts don't HAVE to be acted on.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 1,742
Thanks for everyone's posts.
I like reading stories of alcoholics who weren't in a deep bottom at the time they sought help. They could see the bottom coming. That was me. Such stories remind me that alcoholics come in all different sizes.
As far as AA, the group has helped me tremendously.
I'm not going to be helpful to everybody all the time. Noone can be all things to all people, or in this case, the voice of recovery to all alcoholics.
My original post speaks to that frustration.
I still have work to do.
I tend toward competitive thoughts inside my own head and if I'm not perfect in the ways I think I should be perfect, I can really do a number on myself. If I think I'm not the perfectly destroyed alcoholic, i.e., the week-long drunk, then I am of no use to the program. Is there envy towards those in AA who have a lower bottom than me? Perhaps.
Black and white thinking.
At the heart of it is the disappointing reality that I am where I am in sobriety and not further along. I'm still crazy.
I like reading stories of alcoholics who weren't in a deep bottom at the time they sought help. They could see the bottom coming. That was me. Such stories remind me that alcoholics come in all different sizes.
As far as AA, the group has helped me tremendously.
I'm not going to be helpful to everybody all the time. Noone can be all things to all people, or in this case, the voice of recovery to all alcoholics.
My original post speaks to that frustration.
I still have work to do.
I tend toward competitive thoughts inside my own head and if I'm not perfect in the ways I think I should be perfect, I can really do a number on myself. If I think I'm not the perfectly destroyed alcoholic, i.e., the week-long drunk, then I am of no use to the program. Is there envy towards those in AA who have a lower bottom than me? Perhaps.
Black and white thinking.
At the heart of it is the disappointing reality that I am where I am in sobriety and not further along. I'm still crazy.
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Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 1,742
And I think it's true: when I begin thinking this way, I am looking for a loophole.
I want out so I can go and try to drink like normal people do. And one excuse is just as good as any other.
But I am curious....how do alcoholics stay dry, feel happy, and not attend recovery meetings? I don't think I'd stay sober very long if I weren't constantly being reminded by other alcoholics why I can't pick up a drink. It's all very individual.
I want out so I can go and try to drink like normal people do. And one excuse is just as good as any other.
But I am curious....how do alcoholics stay dry, feel happy, and not attend recovery meetings? I don't think I'd stay sober very long if I weren't constantly being reminded by other alcoholics why I can't pick up a drink. It's all very individual.
Forum Leader
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Wisconsin, USA
Posts: 16,945
Originally Posted by Carpathia
But I am curious....how do alcoholics stay dry, feel happy, and not attend recovery meetings? I don't think I'd stay sober very long if I weren't constantly being reminded by other alcoholics why I can't pick up a drink. It's all very individual.
Member
Join Date: Jul 2016
Location: Wareham, Mass
Posts: 7,067
Hi, Carpathia. Thanks for your post. I found it thought provoking.
My feeling is that alcohol dependency is complex and singular to the individual. When I read around the forums, I see that everyone walks their path, during the drinking and after.
There are commonalities: bad choices, stupid behavior, risked health, fraught relationships.
But we are all different. How we got to where we were is different. How we came to embrace sobriety is different.
It's why AA isn't for everyone. Fortunately, there are many ways to stay in recovery.
I don't think you are looking for a loophole so you can drink. I mean, maybe you are, but that is not my takeaway from your post.
I think you are trying to understand this cunning, baffling, powerful thing called alcohol dependency and your place within it.
I could absolutely, positively not conceive of going the rest of my life without drinking when I first became sober.
But I knew that this was not working for me, and that dire times lay ahead unless I made some changes.
I did what so many of us do. Took it a day at a time. Said I won't drink today.
Over time the thought of no alcohol ever became, well, doable.
Peace.
My feeling is that alcohol dependency is complex and singular to the individual. When I read around the forums, I see that everyone walks their path, during the drinking and after.
There are commonalities: bad choices, stupid behavior, risked health, fraught relationships.
But we are all different. How we got to where we were is different. How we came to embrace sobriety is different.
It's why AA isn't for everyone. Fortunately, there are many ways to stay in recovery.
I don't think you are looking for a loophole so you can drink. I mean, maybe you are, but that is not my takeaway from your post.
I think you are trying to understand this cunning, baffling, powerful thing called alcohol dependency and your place within it.
I could absolutely, positively not conceive of going the rest of my life without drinking when I first became sober.
But I knew that this was not working for me, and that dire times lay ahead unless I made some changes.
I did what so many of us do. Took it a day at a time. Said I won't drink today.
Over time the thought of no alcohol ever became, well, doable.
Peace.
Administrator
Join Date: Apr 2007
Location: Australia
Posts: 211,355
I managed to rationaise I wasn't that bad for many years - only took me 3 days to feel better - how bad could I be?
that's genuine insanity right there.
I was an alcoholic when I'd drink a six pack on a Friday and Saturday night... and I was an alcoholic when that six pack grew to a nightly event and when weekends became awash with beer.
I was an alcoholic when I started having a few beers at lunchtime before going back to the office.
Fast forward and I was an alcoholic when I was wild eyed and climbing the walls because it had been 3 days since my last drink.
I was an alcoholic when I ended up drinking all day everyday alone in my room.
If the A word offends - don't use it.
But don't rationalise away a real genuine problem.
D
that's genuine insanity right there.
I was an alcoholic when I'd drink a six pack on a Friday and Saturday night... and I was an alcoholic when that six pack grew to a nightly event and when weekends became awash with beer.
I was an alcoholic when I started having a few beers at lunchtime before going back to the office.
Fast forward and I was an alcoholic when I was wild eyed and climbing the walls because it had been 3 days since my last drink.
I was an alcoholic when I ended up drinking all day everyday alone in my room.
If the A word offends - don't use it.
But don't rationalise away a real genuine problem.
D
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Join Date: May 2012
Location: canada
Posts: 7,242
Carpathia, i don't need other people and their stories to remind me of why i don't drink.
I need to know MY story, my knowledge of being an alcoholic and what that means to and for me, and i have that knowledge deep down.
I need to know MY story, my knowledge of being an alcoholic and what that means to and for me, and i have that knowledge deep down.
Member
Join Date: Mar 2017
Posts: 425
Originally Posted by Carpathia
And I think it's true: when I begin thinking this way, I am looking for a loophole.
I want out so I can go and try to drink like normal people do. And one excuse is just as good as any other.
But I am curious....how do alcoholics stay dry, feel happy, and not attend recovery meetings? I don't think I'd stay sober very long if I weren't constantly being reminded by other alcoholics why I can't pick up a drink. It's all very individual.
I want out so I can go and try to drink like normal people do. And one excuse is just as good as any other.
But I am curious....how do alcoholics stay dry, feel happy, and not attend recovery meetings? I don't think I'd stay sober very long if I weren't constantly being reminded by other alcoholics why I can't pick up a drink. It's all very individual.
Having said that, I think it's dangerous and counterproductive to compare our drinking patterns, bottoms, etc. to others. If alcohol is a problem in your life on any level, then it's a problem. Period.
Personally, I'm grateful that I haven't experienced the worst - I've DUIs but didn't kill anyone - does that mean I should drive drunk until I do, and then, and only then, will I be ready to quit drinking ? Of course not - that's ridiculous. You sell yourself short when you compare yourself to others on any level, and you risk your life and well-being when you compare your need for recovery to others.
Stay connected - kudos for being able to talk about this issue - I think it gets overlooked sometimes
Grateful
Join Date: May 2013
Location: NC
Posts: 1,763
Originally Posted by Carpathia
This thought pops up in me from time to time.
I read about or hear from alcoholics who share how bad it go for them: going from dui's to hospitals to jails.
They talk about how they had to drink morning to night. How they had to stash their bottles all over the place. How they carried a fifth in their purse at all times, etc., etc.
There's an excerpt from "Dr. Bob and the Good OldTimers" about an alkie man lying in a hospital bed, and was visited by a priest. The alkie says to the priest: "Have you ever been drunk for a week?" The priest replied, no, in fact, he didn't drink at all. The alkie said, "Well, come back and talk to me after you've been drunk for a week."
I think I have nothing to offer anyone in AA. I think this because I haven't experienced the week-long drunk, or the stashing of bottles, or the carrying a fifth of vodka around.
In the Doctor's Opinion in the BB, Dr. Silkworth writes about different types of alcoholics. He writes that for some, like the weeklong drunks or the fifth of vodka stashers, only a drastic psychic change can help them recover from their addiction.
And so I think, maybe I'm one of "the other types" Dr. Silkworth mentioned.
I've binged, yes. But haven't most people from time to time?
And then I think, maybe I'm not the type of alcoholic that needs AA's program. Maybe I just needed to get honest about the amount I was drinking, admit my powerlessness over alcohol, which wasn't anywhere near as much as the true, drunk for a week, alcoholics I've heard speak at meetings and have read so much about.
Maybe I'm the type of alcoholic Dr. Silkworth was writing about who is the one who can recover by other means.
The upshot is: I don't like thinking I'm wasting my time trying to assimilate a program of recovery that isn't suited to the type of drinker I was and I'm not really helping anybody and quite frankly I feel ****** much of the time going through the paces set in AA.
Any thoughts?
I read about or hear from alcoholics who share how bad it go for them: going from dui's to hospitals to jails.
They talk about how they had to drink morning to night. How they had to stash their bottles all over the place. How they carried a fifth in their purse at all times, etc., etc.
There's an excerpt from "Dr. Bob and the Good OldTimers" about an alkie man lying in a hospital bed, and was visited by a priest. The alkie says to the priest: "Have you ever been drunk for a week?" The priest replied, no, in fact, he didn't drink at all. The alkie said, "Well, come back and talk to me after you've been drunk for a week."
I think I have nothing to offer anyone in AA. I think this because I haven't experienced the week-long drunk, or the stashing of bottles, or the carrying a fifth of vodka around.
In the Doctor's Opinion in the BB, Dr. Silkworth writes about different types of alcoholics. He writes that for some, like the weeklong drunks or the fifth of vodka stashers, only a drastic psychic change can help them recover from their addiction.
And so I think, maybe I'm one of "the other types" Dr. Silkworth mentioned.
I've binged, yes. But haven't most people from time to time?
And then I think, maybe I'm not the type of alcoholic that needs AA's program. Maybe I just needed to get honest about the amount I was drinking, admit my powerlessness over alcohol, which wasn't anywhere near as much as the true, drunk for a week, alcoholics I've heard speak at meetings and have read so much about.
Maybe I'm the type of alcoholic Dr. Silkworth was writing about who is the one who can recover by other means.
The upshot is: I don't like thinking I'm wasting my time trying to assimilate a program of recovery that isn't suited to the type of drinker I was and I'm not really helping anybody and quite frankly I feel ****** much of the time going through the paces set in AA.
Any thoughts?
This is my 3rd go at long-term sobriety. The first time I quit for 6.5 years, and when I first got sober I had never been arrested, was still in good physical shape, still had a job and didn't need a drink in the morning to get rid of the shakes.
The second time I quit for 7 years, and when I did I had a brush with the law, was having panic attacks and was on the verge of losing my job, but I still didn't need a drink in the morning.
After relapsing for 8 years I got sober 4 years ago. This time I was in terrible shape both physically and mentally, was unemployable, drank every waking hour and was suicidal.
You sound like you're probably where I was the first time I got sober. When I first got sober alcohol was causing me some issues but it hadn't beaten me to a pulp...YET...but eventually it did! The first 2 times around I attended AA meetings for the first few years but didn't work the steps. Things got better for me fairly quickly and I thought maybe I wasn't as bad as other people in AA. Turns out that I just hadn't experienced the "yets" yet.
12 Step Recovered Alcoholic
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: New Zealand
Posts: 6,613
Originally Posted by Carpathia
And I think it's true: when I begin thinking this way, I am looking for a loophole.
I want out so I can go and try to drink like normal people do. And one excuse is just as good as any other.
But I am curious....how do alcoholics stay dry, feel happy, and not attend recovery meetings? I don't think I'd stay sober very long if I weren't constantly being reminded by other alcoholics why I can't pick up a drink. It's all very individual.
I want out so I can go and try to drink like normal people do. And one excuse is just as good as any other.
But I am curious....how do alcoholics stay dry, feel happy, and not attend recovery meetings? I don't think I'd stay sober very long if I weren't constantly being reminded by other alcoholics why I can't pick up a drink. It's all very individual.
and took the principles of the AA program into every area of my life. My last meeting was in January, in New Zealand.
I love the meetings, they are my chance to give back, but my sobriety is not meeting dependent. How could it be? I was beyond human aid. I have seen an army of AAs descend on one of our number who slipped after 10 years. Did they have the power to sober him up. No, he was dead within three months. Meetings did not save him.
Three little things seem to sum it all up quite well. Trust God, clean house, help others. Meetings are a great way to help others, but not the only way. Plenty of people recover and drift away from meetings. They dont necessarily stop helping others,
and they dont necessarily drink.
As a recipe for sobriety, don't drink and go to meetings is about the least effective thing you can do in AA.
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