Lightning Bug

I thought it was a fluke, but I keep seeing it happen (mostly at Fri Sat and Sun mtgs)
Anyone else experience this?

miamifella

I got major drug cravings at meetings. Most of my relapses happened immediately after meetings.

It is kind of like saying don't think about a pink elephant. Since you are not supposed to talk about the desire to drink/use, you cannot think about anything else.

This is a problem that I could not resolve until I opened up to non-alcoholic/non-addict friends.

AugustWest11

Years ago when I did go to AA I always hit the bars afterwards .. Went on some of my worse Benders honestly. Hence I stopped. But there were other things involved as well. But yea big triggers for me.

LadyinBC

When I first went too AA and tried to quit drinking I actually went to the liquor store after one meeting and picked up 2 bottles. Went on a 5 day binge.

Would I call it a trigger? Not sure, I know I probably wasn't ready to give up the booze yet and probably used it as an excuse to just continue to drink. But I'm just speaking for me.

Squizz

Not at AA meetings around here, but at NA for sure. Every time I go to NA it just seems like a constant one-upmanship contest as to who used the most, sold the most, slept with the most girls, etc. Needless to say, I wasn't getting what I needed out of those meetings, so I stopped going.

Personally though, I don't really believe in triggers. I think triggers are excuses. Once you've truly come to the conclusion that you're not going to drink or do drugs anymore, you accept what comes with that. Including the loss of family members, relationships, loss of jobs, etc.

Squizz

This. And thank you. You summed it up 100% correctly.

Grungehead

For me it depended on the meeting. If the entire meeting was just people sharing their problems sometimes it would act as a trigger. If the meeting was more focused on the solution it didn't seem to trigger me. I think it is important to find meetings where people share what has worked to help them stay sober. I went to a lot of different meetings early in sobriety and I now have 4-5 meetings where I can count on the discussion focusing on the steps and AA literature. I go to meetings to learn what works for other people...I already know what doesn't work.

jimv

no u are not heppens to me all the time especilly when someone shows up under the influeance and everyone can tell .. but sometimes talking about drinking makes me want to have a beer you just have to fight it off using your stop methods AVRT or sponsers you are not alone in this issue

AugustWest11

Harsh; but often reality is.. Thanx for this reminder.

MTD

That is the mind set we have. Talk about it makes it tangible. Just like keep talking about being sober. Talk and educate yourself what the triggers are for you. Its the thinking that gets us in trouble.

miamifella

Thinking about it, I never went to a meeting where people talked about drinking or getting high. Instead everyone just talked about how wonderful their lives are and how they were loving being clean and sober.

I was not at that point--I was still struggling, so the meetings were not reflecting my experience. I felt like I could never get to the point of "successful recovery" the people in meetings had.

I really needed to talk about the problems I had, so I do not think 12-step recovery had much to offer me at that time. But therapy and good friends helped me. I could say ANYTHING to them. That was what I needed for my recovery---and thank goodness I found it!

AugustWest11

Therapy is what I am hoping to work with myself.

miamifella

Good luck with therapy. Without it I felt so completely alone and without hope. With it, I knew that I had support and that things could get better.

sicknote

yep, They make me want to drink sometimes. :0(

Nattythreads

Oh yeah definitely. Sometimes people going on and on about their recovery was too much. There are days when you just need a break.

They actually shut down one of my home groups a while back for a number of reasons, one of which was a number of people dealing weed out the back

Carlotta

I am very picky with the meetings I attend. I go to steps and big book meetings and solution oriented meetings. I avoid going to clubhouses and to meeting where members get into drunkologues.

Coldfusion

I have wondered if I sometimes say things at meetings that make others want to drink. When I say how bad it was for me before I quit, does that make someone who is not that bad off feel it's okay to drink? Some folks at meetings identify themselves as " I have a desire to quit drinking" (not "I am an alcoholic.") Am I helping to convince these people they are not really ready to quit drinking?

wiscsober

I wanted to just say NO and move on...
I have heard this question asked many times,
even wondered it myself.



Sometimes I just have to grin when I hear the same
dislikes about AA meetings being voiced today
that I voiced decades ago.


Believe you me I've been to some doozies,.
but out of 5-10 thousand AA/NA meetings
I've been to, nothing said or done was a trigger.

No person can make me use, nor responsible for my recovery.
Nobody has caused, nor can cure, nor prevent me from recovery.

Anybody who thinks they can persuade me
or convince me to drink is really being silly and egotistical.
Also nobody can say or do anything to get me clean/sober.

I have at times showed up at AA/NA meetings already using,
or a day or two clean and wanting to use.
And have used many times after the meetings.
But really I decided that I was going to use/drink
if I went to a meeting or not.



sorry for the grammar i'm tired

endlesspatience

I am not sure if meetings trigger me or not. I have a problem with booze and therefore the desire to drink can pop up at all kinds of inapppropriate moments. If it pops up during an AA meeting, I try to share it with the group and that helps.

resolute50

I went once with my brother about 18 years ago.
It was shortly after quiting smoking.
Not sure if things are changed,but,the smoke smell was unbearable.