Clean4Once

I have to get a grip on these substance abuse issues once and for all! Over the past year alone I have lost 3 friends bc I got caught up in lies regarding my drug/alcohol use. I fear if my husband finds out, he is next and Im just so done with it all! My question is... I have been in AA but stopped going 1.5 yrs ago after using throughout outpatient rehab. Has anyone tried SMART recovery or LifeRing? How are they? I have local meetings I could attend at each. Thanks!

Soberwolf

SMART Recovery® - Meetings

New LifeRing Meeting In Wadsworth, OH! - LifeRing

Heres 2 links for meetings in your area lifering & smart

Coldfusion

By all means try every type of meeting you can! If you have a choice, you are very fortunate!

PJane

I have read up on HAMS and AVRT. Both are very different from AA...I am still researching.

Good luck

Clean4Once

Thank you guys! Has anyone been to these meetings before in person? I hear crosstalk is the major difference and a lack of spiritual component.

greens

Yes, those are 2 major differences, I'm really not fond of the cross talk In smart but I love their work sheets and meetings! smart is more cognitive behavioral approach to recovery. It focuses on why we drank and used ( NOT Character defects but things like was there trauma In my back ground, am I too shy to go out without drinking?etc.) They do not count days like they do in aa. If you get a monTh and then drink it is not a relapse, it is a lapse and yiu do not "start over" you just keep going. A lot of their work sheets have to do with new activities to stay sober, and addiction and the brain, psychology type stuff!it's pretty cool I've actually been meaning to get more involved there too!
I've never attended life ring but Im sure some people on here have.
Anyways that's cool that you have all those options in your area , I wish I could tell you more about smart but my experience is little.

kzaug2014

Hi Clean4,
There's a very good thread here at SR in the "Secular Connections for Friends and Family" forum called "Beyond Addiction." It's an in-depth book review posted by Allforcnm & it's focus is on Smart Recovery. Idk how to post links from my phone ( or if I even can lol, otherwise I would. )
I'm not familiar with LifeRing, sorry.

Clean4Once

Thanks to all of you. How does the crosstalking work?

greens

I just remember the group leader would ask questions to the group and we would just go around and talk on the subjects ( I beleive the format was a little different bc I was a newbie ) , but there was this one woman who had to speak in between everyone else's turn! She felt like Commenting on everyone's share, nothing negative, just got really annoying. you could tell this was a problem that came up a lot and the group leader confronted it in a very non judgemental way but it was still very akward.

fini

C4O,
i used Lifering exclusively for the first few years of my sobriety.
no dogma, no set program, no steps, no prayers.

what you'll find is a peer support philosophy encouraging you to find what works for YOU. a belief that no one size fits all.
a bunch of people sitting in a circle sharing what works for them. having conversations. encouragement. suggestions. feedback.

i used their online resources daily and went to one weekly meeting.

LifeRing - LifeRing

great place to go if you think a self-directed way is for you.
and a terrific book "Recovery by Choice" by Martin Nicolaus, founder of LifeRing, totally worth the money, comes by mail in just a couple of days.

i highly recommend it.

and no, i don't work for them

fini

crosstalk is just normal conversation. you know, like when you sit around a table and toss some ideas back and forth and give feedback. usually, people don't actually interrupt you but address what you've said when you're done.

after LifeRing for a couple of years, it
s weird to NOT say anything in an AA meeting at first.
after being used to AA sharing, it's even weirder to go to a LR meeting (i did last week, to help someone start a new meeting) and to actually be able to ask for a clarification and offer a suggestion...

if you were to check out two or three meetings, you'd get a good idea if it's a helpful fit for you.

freshstart57

What is crosstalk in some meetings is nothing more than conversation in others. It is a different format, and a different take on peer support.

Clean4Once

Great, informative posts! My husband has been asking me to return to meetings for over a year now... But I had to want it for me, not him!

Razorback

I love SMART. It's based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, and there are online meetings and tools too.

Soberpotamus

SMART was the first program I used when I got sober briefly in 2003-2004. It's heavily tool/worksheet/workbook based. The "crosstalk" is simply feedback Years later, when I attended an AA meeting, I found the no crosstalk tradition odd because I come from a background of therapy, group therapy and feedback in the other programs. Personally, I like feedback

Women For Sobriety is another really good one.