lommey

Glad u enjoyed the meeting UI
Kaneda thank you for your help re AA

Renarde

Off topic, but does anyone else have the phone app for SR? It's pretty great!

lommey

iS IT ANDROID OR iphone app

workoholic

I use it on iPhone, think it works on android too.

kellbell123

Hi everyone! Back from my retreat. It was fun and I finished our summer vacation pages so I was productive as well! I have a lot of catching up to do here on SR but I hope everyone is well. I did notice a big convo around AA meetings and I'm glad to see folks giving the meetings a try. I think it's a great way to meet other people that are sober and it a great support system I haven't been to a meeting lately but have gone in sobriety attempts in the past. I should go again soon.

Hope everyone enjoys there Sunday. Back to the 9-5 grind tomorrow!

Black

Sad to report it is back to day one for me. Had a very hard time this weekend ( away for weekend break) and hubby was saying if i continue to drink in the fashion I was at he will have to consider leaving and taking the kids with him. seemingly my son is always giving out about alcohol and phoning councilors behind my back for months etc and he also was telling my husband that he is my enabler and he should get rid of me out of the house.

Now I know it is only because he love me but it is heart breaking to find out all this stuff at the same time. going to bed now feeling down and annoyed with myself, u guys know the drill... Tomorrow I will feel a little better I hope and try and find the 24 hr club seems to be locked or something. night all.

Uninvited

Yes I bought this but haven't played with it much yet.

Uninvited

Aw Black I'm so sorry to hear that. (((hugs)))

Uninvited

Hi Kellbell! Glad you enjoyed your retreat.

1stepup

Hi, God its nice to be in the land of the living again, had a lovely day and feel blessed to be still able to give things another shot, the pubs were far less interesting and far less nice than the aa meetings and the threads here, ive learned the hard way where I went wrong and know I have to put sobriety first this time around, accepting the things I cannot change and living in the now, not dwelling on the past or worrying about the future. Sorry youre going through the mill Black, loved ones do mean well even when it seems harsh. x

EternalQ

BLACK: That must be very hard for you to hear. Glad you told us. The sooner and longer you stay in the present the sooner your family will stay there too.

I found others lagged behind my change. They needed time to see if it was real... in my case this was especially true for the drinkers. They kept asking me: Are you still not drinking? And "How long are you planning to do this?" Lol

Kaneda8888

Rochele

There is only one requirement for AA membership (it's the third tradition) and that is: a desire to stop drinking. I have seen mentally ill people who have disturbed meetings but have not been turned away (though encouraged not to cause a ruckus).

Everything else are suggestions only. The 'program' is entirely up to your definition. The 12 Steps are suggestions (clearly emphasized in the reading), attending meetings are voluntary, getting a sponsor is a recommendation, spirituality is as you define it (and you might not get it anyway). If an AA member is insistent upon you having to follow their program, Steps, etc, you are fully justified in telling them to s*d off and point them towards the third tradition.

Renarde

Thanks Kaneda for that. Rochele, when I go this week I intend to go for the support - just being around people who are also trying not to drink.

Husband is gone all week. He has been traveling so much lately. This was always an excuse for me to get bombed every night to self-medicate my anxiety. I did that for probably 9 years. Fortunately I now live in a safe location and I have a big dog and I'm trying to be a grown up.

Uninvited

I guess I decided today was AA day. Just got back from my second meeting of the day. Not that I had any particular urges or anything. More a realization that I'm the same person I was before, but now I'm sober. And I doubt I can stay sober with all this anger and isolation.

I can't say that I'm filled with any rainbows or unicorns after the AA meetings today either. I actually think the second meeting set off my cravings. I was thinking, "Hey, I'm not nearly as bad as this idiot!!" (This is what I'm talking about being the same person). It's a little overwhelming to me too when a ton of the people you meet have over 20 years of sobriety and they still come every day. I guess there are probably a ton with over 20 years sobriety that don't come every day but I never seem to meet any of them.

If I'm honest, I've never really worked a good AA program. I haven't ever had a sponsor, and I haven't worked any steps. So if you are worried about that, yes you can get away with it because I have been for a decade now. Not sure I'm ready for that next step but think I'll keep going to a few meetings a week and reconsider again in a few weeks.

Hope you all had a great weekend.

Kaneda8888

Oh marvellous, I've just been made redundant.

LillianGish

What do you mean Kaneda? I can't imagine you redundant ~ you have the strongest plan I've ever seen and a really strong commitment. You're smart and experienced at this. I have learned a lot from you. So, if that's what redundant looks like...keep doing it please!

Kaneda8888

Lillian

Sorry I should have been more precise. I have just lost my job. The third in a row due to falling out with my bosses. Feel wonderful right now...not !

Br00ksie

Kaneda, so sorry to hear that. But remember how douchey your bosses were? You don't have to deal with those a*holes ever again!

I'm not sure if you believe in a higher power, but this could be his/her/its work and you just don't know it yet.

Sending love and prayers across the pacific!! xo

Renarde

Oh no Kaneda! what happened?

Br00ksie

I just got home from an AA meeting in my neighborhood, where rock bottom for some meant homeless and on crack, where as I have a masters degree and two professional Ivy League educated parents.

I have never been to rehab. I have never been arrested. I simply got lonely and desperately needed a change and decided to start going to meetings.

I go to meetings daily, mostly in affluent neighborhoods because I can relate to people's stories and have more in common with people who go to meetings in those areas, but I go to a meeting in my (predominantly black) neighborhood once a week to be reminded that even though our circumstances may differ, our FEELINGS about drugs and alcohol are exactly the same.

I hear my story, not in the differences, but in the similarities- that alcohol made me insecure, perpetuated my low self esteem, exacerbated my need to "people-please" and my ability to lie and manipulate, and no matter how hard I tried, I could not control it.

These may be the ONLY things I have in common with some people in those meetings, but IMHO, they are the most important in terms of understanding and coming to terms with myself and my alcoholism.