G8torGreat

I am a 29 year old business professional. I have been an alcoholic since my Freshman year in college. I am stuck in life. I have a routine: Wake up late, work my shift, go home and get drunk. I do not want to join an AA club, because I do not necessarily believe in their practices, however that leaves me at an abyss. What else is there? I need to fix my life so I can get my MBA and become myself again. I read on another thread about '7 weeks to sobriety'. Can anyone help? Thank you.

LadyinBC

Hi G8tor, welcome to SR. You will find lots of support here. If you don't me asking what is it about AA you don't like?

G8torGreat

From everything I've read and heard, AA is focused around the fact that God is the only way to defeat alcoholism. I've also looked at the success rate of AA and it does not seem to be the best. I know we aren't supposed to debate programs in the Newcomers forum, so I don't want to break the rules. I've known for a while what I am, but only recently admitted to myself that if I don't change than neither will my life/career.

G8torGreat

Thank you for the quick reply, by the way.

sumtimez

hi i just want to say that my boyfriend and i have been attending two aa groups daily.... his addictions, not mine. it's not just a god thing and if you haven't yet, i hope you would go a few times with an open mind. the program has helped me in so many areas of my life, and i'm not supposed to be there for myself.

LadyinBC

No worries I was just curious. At least you know you need to change things. There are other programs out there I'm sure someone will come along with more info.

I had relied on alcohol for so long I didn't know how to cope any other way. I had a few relapses when I first tried quitting.

I went out after my last relapse and got a drug and alcohol counsellor, best thing I did. He signed me up for daytox, which really helped. I also had to change the way I was thinking and realized that I couldn't do it by myself.

You will find lots of support here! Keep posting and reading, there is lots of info here.

MIRecovery

There are many ways to sobriety but I can almost guarantee that your perceptions of AA and the reality of AA are going to be very different.

Read the first 164 pages of the AA big book and attend multiple meetings before you decide to not go the AA route. The big book is free and online at AA.org

In terms of success rates there is no way to measure it because of a million factors. I will say I personally know 20+ people with 30+ years, 30+ people with 10+ years of sobriety so it does work for a lot of people.

Whatever you decide find people that have long term sobriety and do what they do. You will find lots and lots of opinions but I listen to the people who are and have been leading a happy sober life for an extended period of time.

andisa

Nothing changes if nothing changes. We can spend an entire lifetime wishing for change but wishing, or just thinking about it, changes nothing. I've found the longer we prolong the internal debate, the more entrenched the addict-thinking brain becomes. It finds a way to talk you out of ever doing anything. Give it enough time and it becomes a force almost beyond working with. There's no talking to it, reasoning with it, or debating it. It takes over. Reading what you wrote, it's doing its best to control your thinking.

YEM

The success rate of recovering from addiction or alcoholism is very low in general so dont let that stop you from trying to recover. I go to NA and there are people who's main drug of choice was alcohol that have 20+ years sobriety in my area. Don't let the God thing scare you. I believe in many a powers greater than myself (Love, honesty, willingness, positivity, etc.) and if I turn my will over to living by those values, things will be much better. Your higher power does not have to be a guy in the sky from a 2000 year old book.

G8torGreat

Thank you for the advice. My job offers 5 free visits to a Psychologist, and they have substance abuse professionals. That will be my very next step. Have any of you read or know anything about the book '7 weeks to sobriety'?

scottydee1946

You have lots of wisdom

G8torGreat

I guess you shouldn't judge something without first experiencing it. I will make a point to go to an AA meeting as soon as possible.

Eliz181144

I read just about every sobriety book out there when I was drinking. You name it I read it. I was desperate to find the sobriety loophole. Personally (I don't go to AA mind you) I would take an established program with some verifiable success stories over a fairly new book with no verifiable stats. Just my opinion.

I have gone to AA in the past and agree with others. It really does help, at a minimum, to challenge how you think and a good sponsor really can be life changing. I've seen this with a few of my friends.

I'm only on day 11, though, so by no means an expert.

Sapling

I haven't read that. But if it worked...I'm sure I would have heard about it....I tried every easy way I could...With no success. My rehab recommended AA...And I knew nothing about it. A year and a half later without a drink...Now I know it works...If you put in the effort.

sugarbear1

That book helps, as long as you choose a method of recovery for staying stopped.

It's not alcohol that is a problem, it's that I can't live life without drinking. Alcohol was my solution, but without that solution, what do I do? I need a new solution on how to live life without drinking.

Those 12 steps saved my life.

These have websites:

Rational Recovery
AVRT
SMART
Women for Recovery
Life Ring
Power to Quit

Do some research and see what you come up with.

Coldfusion

I am glad your opinion has swayed a bit. I had known it was the only way to stay sober at least since 2009, when I read the article in my signature. Then things got really bad, and I went to detox which included nightly AA or NA meetings. I am an atheist, and AA has kept me sober since leaving detox.

least

to SR! Lots of ways to get sober. I do it with counseling and this site and I've been sober three years now.

FlyerNation

I can only speak from my experience as I am also a business professional. I was a functioning alcoholic going through much of the same routine you are now until I decided I had to get help. I entered detox only so I could "take a break" and would never go to AA as I felt it was supposedly like a cult. Well in detox/rehab I learned so much that I was wrong about. AA helped me when I got out to stay sober for almost a year and a half. I left AA after a time because I felt I didn't need it. Well that was probably a mistake and I know it might be my only way of going back.

If you're desperate enough there should be no perceived prejudices to keep you from getting better. I wouldn't discount it, AA isn't for everybody but not sure why you would eliminate an option that has helped millions of people without keeping an open mind.

Just sayin..

ddrayer

Hey I'm also in Gainesville pm me if you ever want to grab coffee and talk. I was very negative AA at first but the AA groups in Gainesville are really pretty good

G8torGreat

One other issue I've run into is that if I don't drink at night, I can't fall asleep. I will take a few days off, but am miserable at night. I take 50mg of Benedryl but even that doesn't help! Any suggestions?