Bertyboy1000

Over all I feel improved. No hangovers for a week.... Reading some of the posts on here gives me inspiration. I've realised that this is a long journey to get to the point where life feels great again. It doesn't happen in a week.

One thing that is still around is the 'desire' to drink... my 'Demons'.... The things I fought everyday from midday onwards for 10 years. This comes in waves.... each time I manage to repel it with thoughts of how bad life was a week ago.

I'm going to try AA. I'm not religious but I'm open minded to anything that helps to keep my 'Demons' at bay.

awuh1

I commend your open mindedness. Not an easy thing to adopt and maintain. In meetings you will hear talk of "God", "a power greater than ourselves", a "higher power" etc. What people mean by these terms is highly idiosyncratic. People in AA like to refer to the AA program as spiritual not religious. It took me a while to understand this distinction.

Let us know how it goes.

Time2Rise

I certainly urge you to give AA a try; there are usually plenty of meetings in most areas.

As for cravings, search Google or this site for the term "urge surfing." In addition, the cravings will decline as you get more sober time, so stay strong.

Also, reading a book called Stop Drinking Now by Allen Carr really helped reduce my cravings. Maybe it will help you too.

Bertyboy1000

Thanks Folks... all advice helps and is appreciated.

Zanna

Whatever people think of AA, it's still going strong after all the years

MIRecovery

It is a good thing you are not religious because neither is AA. Your path to finding a higher power will be an entirely personal journey. Get a sponsor and work the steps to exorcise the demons

tomsteve

one thing i see common among quite a few who say " i went to a meeting and its not my thing/ not for me/ its religious,etc is those people make that jydgement on 1 or 2 meetings and not reading the big book.

so, id suggest getting the big book to find out exactly what the program is and go to a couple meetings a week for a month.

ill add one thing: the meetings and program dont keep demons at bay. the program has em surface, we face em, and kill em.

Tonymblue

I say give AA a shot. You've need a toolbox with all kinds of options too combat this disease. Glutamine powder under the tongue seemed to help me with cravings. Also, Google urge surfing. Keep going forward.

Maudcat

I cannot say enough good about AA, especialy in the early days of sobriety, which can be an especially fragile time. Ultimately, AA wasn't the program for me, but it sure helped me when I first got sober. Go, listen with an open mind and heart. It cannot hurt.

Soberwolf

Congratulations on a week sober keep it going & good idea about bolstering your sobriety plan with meetings

Pierce1230

The exact work of AA is to come to terms with your 'Demons' so that you can build a life you never knew was possible. The desire to drink will fade to almost nothing and you won't believe it.

I was hung up on the religion thing, too, but ended up learning that is one of the most common hangups that people have. You'll meet people there with the same resistance.

For me, my stubbornness receded and I was able to plug "Reality and Logic" into the space left by the "God" word. That got me started.

Real sobriety takes a great deal of hard work, so it isn't all sunshine and rainbows, but as you undertake this work, you absolutely will be "amazed before you are halfway through" at how your hard work is rebuilding a life for yourself.

Anna

I think you should do whatever you need to in order to get and stay sober.

You're right to be aware that you need to do more than stop drinking. I had to make some significant changes in my life to support my recovery.

MLD51

I had some resistance before I went to AA, because I'm not religious either. The AA literature does use the word "God" but it also makes it clear you can use any higher power you choose. The whole point of the higher power is to help you let go of trying to control things that are beyond your control. Some people use AA itself as their higher power, or nature, or a universal "force" - it's highly personal. I do recommend trying AA.

buk1000

I recommend trying AA. I did not use AA in my recovery and was sober for 12 years before I ever went to an AA meeting. And I was blown away by it. I probably should have gone ahead and worked the steps anyway, but I didn't. I have read the Big Book several times. I'm an atheist, but I was not bothered at all by the "religious" message. One of the first gentleman I met in AA was also an atheist and was such a peaceful and friendly guy with a lot of years of sobriety.

LadyBlue0527

Bertyboy,

I support any and all programs that help people to be sober and be happy about it.

I go to AA and this is the best I can explain it to you.

I get the statement about not being religious and you'll find a lot of people who will tell you that it's not. Well, everyone is different so you'll attend and you'll hear people speak and you'll think to yourself "wait a minute, that sounds a whole lot of religious to me". The key is that it's God of your understanding. To some this might be the God that they were introduced to as a child. To others it may be some other form of higher power. Either way, if you go and hear someone talking in a religious manner understand that they are speaking based on their own experience of who God is to them. Your experience will be what you make it.

What I can offer is that I've spent many sessions in counseling. Although it was helpful to me I found that I was always expecting that the counselor was the expert so they were the ones who had the answers.

AA empowered me to find those answers for myself. I have had many awakenings through doing the steps. I've found far more peace in life than I ever thought to be imaginable. Are the steps easy? Some, no. However, does anything really worthwhile ever come easy?

It's definitely worth a shot, keep an open mind and go. It's a great program.

mfanch

Me: non-theist. I have a higher power I call "not me".

I see people get sober in AA who believe in god. I see people get sober in AA who don't believe in god (me). I don't see many people get sober in AA who think they ARE god. It is all about ego deflation....down to the right size...NOT to less-than...to RIGHT size. I see a lot of people get stumped on this.

See you in the rooms! :-)

Coldfusion

I am glad that you are posting here about AA. We can help with any concerns you have after the meeting.

I just want to add that if you don't like the first meeting you go to, try a different one! There may be other meetings, like SMART, near you--and even NA offers support for any addict.

Berrybean

That's great. When is your first meeting?

If you want to know anything re what to expect, please feel free to ask away.

Let us know how it goes as well.

Bobbieka

The reason I personally didn't want to try AA was because I wanted to think I could do it myself. I tried. Didn't work. I didn't like the first 7 or so I tried. I kept trying though. I walked into my now home group and that is what it feels like. Home. Good luck. You have to work to make it work. You can do it.

january161992

my thinking is the problem

my aa sponsor taught me to think less and do more

less thinking and more doing has been the solution for me