Kathryn D

Well, there you have it. I have a few addictions I'd like to ditch, but haven't managed to do so.

Anyway, hi, and I think I'll just poke around here for awhile. Sorry if I'm in the wrong forum, but smoking, drinking, shopping and food are my issues. Oh, and I guess I have a bipolar issue too.

Spiritual Seeker

Wanting to be free of your addictions is the 1st step. What do you have to do differently? Everything. Good luck and best wishes as you figure out how to do that. Read posts of those who have managed it. Get yourself in a program and attend mtgs. Because it only works if you work it. This is a good place to get motivated.

CarolD

Glad to see you...
Welocme to sR!

Dee74

welcome Kathryn
this is a good place...but I guess you've worked that out already !!

Hope to see you around some more
D

Grateful Heart

Glad to have you with us, Kathryn. You will meet lots of great people here, with lots of experience and information. Keep reading and posting!

Anna

Hi Kathryn,

This is a really good place to come for support and information for overcoming your addictions. I hope you take a look around and keep reading and posting.

GlassPrisoner

Welcome.

If drinking is an issue, I'd attack that first and table the rest. As far as resources, AA is $1.00 a meeting, donation optional.

parentrecovers

nice to meet you, kathryn. keep posting - recovery is possible. blessings, k

tkdan

Welcome this is a good place to poke around. I hope you find what you are looking for here. If you are looking for encouragement and support you've come to the right place. Life can be miserable when controlled by addiction. On the flip side life can be awsome when you are the one in control of your life. Good luck and stick around chances are many here have been through the same things you are going through.

kojac

Welcome,...Keep Coming Back " It Works ". seloth@. tfs

Kathryn D

I'm sorry, but 12 step is NOT an option. Every french fry I stick in my mouth is a choice, as is every cigarette, glass of wine, ebay purchase etc. I'm not powerless over anything, except I haven't learned any tools to deal with my emotions. I need tools.

Attended my first AA meeting 30 years ago. Bet longer than any of you. If I don't "get it" by now, it's not going to happen. I drive to the store (purchase wine and cigarettes), and log onto ebay. No one makes me do these things, other than my compulsion to escape. It's not a disease...it is a state of dis..ease (as a result of not knowing how to deal with my emotions effectively)...but ultimately it's my choice.

Anna

At some point, addiction is no longer a choice. If it was, it would be SO simple.

And, it is a disease.

CarolD

Karen....
I do hope you find answers

I suggest you check out

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

Blessings

Sugah

“There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all arguments and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance—that principle is contempt prior to investigation.”

HERBERT SPENCER

I'm sure they exist, but I don't personally know anyone in the 12 step meetings I attend who do not "believe in science." They are merely open-minded enough to consider other possibilities.

The quote, btw, is from the book, Alcoholics Anonymous.

Peace & Love,
Sugah

Kathryn D

Well, for me it's a choice. I can choose to pick up the phone and call for help or go to the store. I'm sure all of you can, as well.

I've been through FIVE rehabs (all AA based, I might add). I ended up in the ER on New Year's Day. You know what? It was MY choice to drink the week previous and not seek help. That was MY choice. I take FULL responsibility. I knew what options were available to me, including 911 and the psych ward. Many of you probably have family and friends in addition to 911 and the psych ward you could have called on.

I knew the risks, and I did it anyway. It was my choice. The whole disease model came into being as a way to absolve guilt...from making those choices.

Anna

That alcoholism is a disease does not absolve any guilt from me, or from many other members here that I've spoken with. Guilt and shame are a common part of addiction and something each person has to deal with.

If it is such a simple choice, then why don't you simply make the choice to stop and be done with it? Why are you here?

Kathryn D

Are you kidding? I went to my first meeting 30 years ago and have a master's degree. Better yet, I'll provide you with an actual study based on data, and not anecdote.

Look, I'm just looking for help beyond 12 step, but I don't mind sharing my knowledge either.

BTW, the "book (or the "BIBLE", in AA circles) was written by men, for men, to the best of their knowledge in the 1930s, at around the same time ECT was being administered for depression!

Kathryn D

Because I am looking for recommendations on a non-12 step based approach/dual diagnosis treatment center. That's why. I have looked on the Net but was hoping someone might have a recommendation.

Dual diagnosis is tricky, and I'm tired of dealing with it. I want to be done with it.

oops, I mentioned dual diagnosis in my other post. It's a whole different animal, although my psychiatrist suspects many in AA have an underlying psychiatric disorder, and I thoroughly concur.

BTW, I am on a mood stabilizer, and have not done crazy things (albeit when I was very angry and [still] have no tools). However, this cannot compare to what I was like before. Before, I couldn't keep a bottle of wine in my refrigerator for two hours, let alone a month. It was/is like a miracle pill. Still, the behaviors persist, along with my way of thinking. It's an addiction, a learned behavior, which may have a genetic component, just like depression or bipolar.

CarolD

Well Karen...
you seem very unhappy with your choices.
I will pray you find peace.

Anna

I'm not an AA member myself and have been sober for quite awhile.

But, I know that it is not simply a choice. At some point addiction no longer involves making a simple choice.

Here are some recovery programs:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-programs.html