Sound familiar to anyone else?
 

The definition of Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.
-Albert Einstein


Based on this definition I think I'm officially insane! :c004:

I am right there with you! Why do I continue to drink when nothing ever changes. I end up feeling like crap about myself but tomorrow comes and it all starts over. Ugggggh

The definition of insanity was one thing the program taught me, and I was doing it - over and over and over again.

;)

A few of my favorite sayings now are "If nothing changes, nothing changes...", and, "If you keep doing what you are doing, you usually keep getting what you are getting...".

it's not only that i continue to drink, but that i keep using the same tools to try to get sober and it's just not working.

i always seem to think i can do this alone - that my willpower is great enough, and it's obviously not. i don't have a program

When I look back at how I was during those drinking years, I was definitely insane. My thinking was insane. :skillet

Now, I think I'm sane. :a122:

Yeah, that little thing called willpower. It doesn't work for me either. I'm all about lists and plans - can you put together an action plan that will put you on the path to sobriety? Are you considering AA?

Hi Jen! Good to see you back. :ghug3

Yeah I operated for many years on my willpower and never could find a solution to quit drinking.

I agree with what Matt shared, in recovery we've got a box full of tools to use, how about choosing some that will work for you?

AA works for me, over the years I've added CoDA, service work, this site, and the 12 Steps to my toolkit. So far they've served me well as long as I continue to use them on a daily basis.

There's no need to suffer, I hope you find something that works for you.

My best thinking darned near killed me!

That's why each day I make a conscious choice to be active in my recovery, listen to others who have been where I have been, and reach out to those in need so that I may pass on what has been so freely given to me :)

i've done AA before and didn't really like it. i'm considering it again though because i'm desperate - but what else is out there? i need something more than SR and willpower. i love all you guys and appreciate your support and understanding, but at the end of the day i'm accountable to myself and i need some type of system in place to help me then.

Wow, I have been using that definition of insanity for years! I had no idea that was from Albert Einstein! Cool!

Willpower? Um, yeah no. Time to read the 3rd Step. Start at page 62 in the BB! ;)

Here's some other recovery programs to consider http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...cular-web.html

I didn't really care for AA at first either, but I felt like it was a matter of life or death to be there. That was a healthy fear for me to have. It took almost 6 months of daily meetings before I felt comfortable. Now AA is like a home to me, it's members are my family.

Just a few thoughts on that statement. I don't like paying my monthly bills. I'd really love to have some money just to blow, but well, that's part of my personal accountability in life.

I don't like taking out the trash every Thursday evening. However, if I don't take it out, there's another week of it piling up, it stinks, and it's gross!

I don't like the fact I will have to have some serious self-discipline this month when I start college classes for a double degree. It's all online, and that means no physical schedule to meet for classes, no instructor in front of me. But if I practice self-discipline, I will pass those classes and achieve that goal I have set for myself.

I didn't like sitting in AA at first either. But you know what? It saved my ass, along with a loving God, and the efforts I have made in my recovery.

For me, once I really started to get some emotional maturity in recovery, I realized some important things. Life isn't fair all the time. People will let you down. You will have to do things you don't like to do if you want to achieve good things in your life. :)

Thanks Freedom - that is the best analogy of AA i think i've heard, and you're right. i don't HAVE to like it - but it can still help.

yes....

i sometimes don't like it (AA), but it's the most available and consistent support that I've found.

I'm going to go to my first meeting in a while tonight. I'm going to talk to someone before and after the meeting

Or, not being harsh here, you haven't hit your bottom yet. We do those same things over and over as long as the payoff-in our mind-is greater than the cost. God knows I've did it/do it myself.