speed39144

Had some heart related issues which scared me into sobriety. Went 30 days (including a cruise with an abundance of free alcohol) and was feeling great. The day I got home from the cruise, I drank to excess. Then again the next 5 out of 6 nights. Love the nights I don't. Sleep is amazing. However the siren call of alcohol gets me most nights. I can stop 2 out of 7 nights. Can't realistically see myself attending AA meetings. Tried that years ago, and for me it doesn't hit home. What are my options?

dwtbd

Not to be flippant for flippancy sake, but the same options everyone has plan for future booze consumption or plan to quit.
I’m sure you know that already , the real question is ,what are you going to choose?

BDTL

You have the option to abuse your body until it lets you down or you have the option to heal your body so it helps you up.

Dee74

Hi speed39144
There are more ways to recover than AA.

There's many different approaches and methods of recovery around - here's some links to some of the main players, including but not limited to AA:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html

If it's meetings that are the problem, there;s an approach called Rational Recovery which is not meeting based.

I recommend you visit the Secular Connections forum if you think you may benefit from that or toher non 12 step approaches.

you can also see your Doctor for help or a addictions therapist, or look into inpatient or outpatient rehab.

Of course, you can also post here regularly. The support and advice here is great

The main thing tho - whatever you decide to do - is do something.

In my experience, inaction just leads to more drinking....

D

rjyerkes

Not sure your beliefs but I finally asked God for help and admitted that I'm too weak to do it without Him. Two weeks tomorrow and I'm not struggling like I have before. I feel different but don't know how to explain it. I just keep praying for strength daily. Feelin good.

bigsombrero

I'm pretty sure every active alcoholic said "AA isn't for me". Do you think any one of us wanted to go to those meetings?

"Gee whiz guys, I know you're all drinking down at the pub this weekend and watching the ball game - but I can't make it. I'm just so darn pumped up about these AA meetings! I'm going to take a pass on the bar scene so I can hang with a bunch of recovering alcoholics in a church basement." -- said nobody, ever.

I'm not an AA guy or a meetings guy. They scared me and I didn't like 'em. But it's kind of supposed to scare you a bit. A hard spotlight is shining directly on your problem and you have to take a look at it. Examine it, see what other people are doing about their problems. If you don't like it, that's to be expected. Try one of those other resources Dee mentioned above. But you have to get some kind of support and make getting sober your #1 priority. If you don't go to a meeting/event/club/rehab, then you'll be sitting on your couch at 6pm just like you always do, and you know what'll happen next. It's your job to get off your keester and do something different and challenge yourself. You are comfortable with drinking and you have to shake things up and get out of that awful quicksand.

rjyerkes

I can't make it. I'm just so darn pumped up about these AA meetings! I'm going to take a pass on the bar scene so I can hang with a bunch of recovering alcoholics in a church basement." -- said nobody, ever.

That made me laugh. So true.

NYCDoglvr

Yea, I didn't like it either but was so desperate I stayed. It had become clear that alcohol = death. And 26 years later I don't take my sobriety for granted. I know I have another drink in me but doubt I have another recovery.

speed39144

I laughed at your reply! I see some truth there though...

Dave42001

There are many programs out there, check them all out.. Personally being part of a fellowship of other sober people has been key to my recovery.. and SR is just as important in a different way..

I got into AA and SR about the same time, 5+ years ago and it really messed up my drinking!

I had to want sobriety more than anything in my life.. It's still the most important part of my life.. If I stay clean and sober the opportunity's for me are endless..

Get back in the saddle!

Stayingsassy

This post is perfect. I'm not in love with AA either but boy in those early days, it was a physical reminder of what I needed to do.
Because if I needed to go to AA? It's hard to argue with whether or not I should stay sober.

It's a place that hammers the point home for people who love to make excuses.

Gal220

I laughed so hard at everyone's comments! It is so true!

I think the most important thing for me was that shift in thinking. Instead of, "I can stay away from alcohol a couple nights a week" or "I'm quitting," I said to myself, "I don't drink." Period. End of story. No matter what, I don't entertain the idea that alcohol is the solution to any situation.

Having said that, the fellowship, practical advise, and experience of others who had been through it that I found at AA are what led me to that mindset. But that was just what I needed. You might not need AA to do it, but I haven't yet met a happily sober person who didn't change their mindset in this respect. There are lots of tools available, I'm sure you will find something that resonates with you.

Gottalife

What are your options? Well, you are getting into the extreme end of alcohol used disorder if the warning of a doctor and such a serious medical condition is not enough to get you sober. My friend Murray was similar. He liked to drink, a lot, in fact he was a chronic alcoholic. He had a heart attack. Doctor told him any more drinking would kill him. He drank. He died. It’s that serious.

I will quote a medical expert in this field, professor Doug Selman, head of Psychiatry at Otago Medical School in New Zealand, who has spent most of his professional life researching addiction. He stated there is a small group of people at the extreme end of the alcohol used disorder spectrum for who the only hope is some kind of conversion experience. For professional reasons he could not use the word spiritual. This is the same advice Carl Jung gave to Rowland Hazard in ore AA days. The question is how to have one. Rowland found it in the Oxford Group. Selman says AA are experts at this, and that there is no medical option.

So there is your option, have your own conversion experience. AA would be a reliable path to that, but, if you have the time, you could always look for alternative ways to get there.

Incidentally, aa meetings do not bring about conversion experiences. That is what the program, the twelve steps are for. Nobody likes the look of those in the beginning, but that is the only path I know that will workin the circumstances you describe.

wiscsober

Keep an open mind and do whatever it takes.

iew101

Unless you are physically addicted. Drinking is a choice. There’s always temptation for vices (drinking, smoking, drugs, sugar, fast food, gambling ey etc). I wasn’t able to quit cigarettes and pot until I wanted to. Same with drinking.

Once you are ready to quit you’ll know and make it happen. Only you will know deep down when that times come though. When it does there’s a plethora of support out there (and here).