tommyk

Oddbirdman,

Start thinking about TODAY and moving on. The U.S. is in trouble right now, many people simply don't have the time to help others as much as we should.

I have no excuses for those who declined to help you in jail, and on the other hand I'm not sure if anyone was/is responsible for helping you while in jail. I can't figure out who is the person to blame. Blaming the world, the sysem, NA, and other groups, won't create any productivity toward our recovery though.

In fact, my own ESH shows that resentments can really hold you back.

Welcome to SR, let's move on, keep coming back.

Wolfchild

Welcome to the Sober Recovery community.

The jails & institutions (and various other places) i was put in were nothing compared to what i was(had) already doing(done) to myself with my attitudes and actions. Where i've been, where i am now, and where i am going has, is, & will always be the result of the decisions i have made. Personaly, the amount of time i have clean & sober does not mean as much to me as the quality of my life & my recovery. The progress i have made so far has been a result of letting go of the rationalizations & justifications that were once useful when i needed(wanted) only to survive. For me, staying clean & living clean involves much more than not using drugs or alcohol. The 12 Steps & 12 Traditions help me to do that and enjoy a life of sanity & serenity far beyond anything i ever thought possible.

i hope you will let go of what keeps you sick & suffering and find a new way to live.

musicman

What is your day like? Do you have a lot of time to think, maybe too much?

smacked

Ok, so it sucks, you didn't get help.. that's a fact, and that's the past.

You can obsess about it, get angry about it.. get angry at THIS very responsive and caring recovery community, and then what? I could sit here and be pissed off about a lot of things too, that would do nothing besides **** me off. At some point I had to take some responsibility and try something new, different, if what I was doing wasn't working.

Find a meeting, they are out there.. call the helplines. Join online meetings, call non-NA/AA helplines. Start your own meetings. Read recovery books, they're free at the library. Find a counselor.. if money is an issue, find a free counselor.

We're only as stuck as we allow ourselves to be.

I hope your approach to all these other people that 'didn't help' was a bit less rude and angry than you are with this community who has yet to do any wrong by you.

Or you can get more and more angry about it, and you can move along your merry way.

None of us here were folks who wronged you. Why mistreat people here that are only trying to help? Doesn't make me feel very helpful towards someone when they are disrespectful, argumentative, rude, and angry in response to my attempt at assistance.

I hope you find what you're looking for out there. You can ignore all the help here, and think you again didn't get any. Course that makes no sense at all.

coffeenut

Well, you came here and asked for help. People gave you their opinions and you totally unleashed on a group of people trying to help.

If you do that in your daily life, that could be why no one helped.

I do welcome you to SR. I hope you find what you are looking for.

Texasblind

Ro is right on the money. Dude, you have 13 months sober! Here's an idea, you can't find a meeting? START ONE.

There's no way you're the only one in NE Ohio in need of an NA meeting. So take your experiences and work Step 12. Take the message to other addicts.

I've been to jail too, so have many others here. We've all seen some crazy stuff. If we make it out alive and committed, we MUST share it with others.

windysan

For the most part I had to help myself.

Inquisitive7

Hi Oddbirdman,

I don't know you so I can't make any judgments on things that you did that might have played a part in your getting no response from "the system."

I think you mentioned your mom is a social worker. She should have been able to shed light on why the system was not working for you. From my own experience, I have a BS degree in social work and did a 1 year internship and that was enough for me. I constantly saw the ineffectiveness of the system - people being ignored (or it takes forever to get a response), wrong approach/action taken, etc. It set back my relationship with my clients at times.

So, yes the system is messed up to a certain extent. That is something you need to accept - it is what it is, unfair as that is.

So, what will you do about that? Just keep trying and just by mathematical odds you should get a response or two and at some point some help. Either that, or work around the system to find what you need, e.g. this forum. Just don't give up as hard as it is. I don't claim to know anything about drug addiction - I can only imagine how hard that would be as I only had a mild cigarette addiction and that was hard enough to give up. But I've had all sorts of other heartaches and setbacks in my life and have had many dark nights of the soul.

The thing is, you might just have to rely on yourself and pull strength that you thought you never had.

I wish you the best. I hope you are doing well.

marty888

Mate sorry for your rough time, but as many have said resentments are luxuries we as alcoholics cannot afford.
On another point talking to people like sh@t who are trying to help you, doesn't really endear them to want to help you more

shaun00

well......i have a different take to most other posters.

i think you sound like a typical whinning and moaning alcoholic that expects everyone to reach out to you when "you" want it..
maybe na or aa were busy with others that were in a more desperate state than you.....and what makes you think it your "right"

you p..ss all over dees post which offered his experience and advice..which he has done for years here with many newcomers..
it doesnt matter whether your highly educated or just a truck driver ..from my experience alcoholism doesnt give a hoot.....we all end up shafted.

here is what i did...i hope it helps.

i got my sorry arrogant whinning moaning backside to AA.....because i was finished.....years of chronic alcoholism...jails and hospital..living in the gutter.
rigorous work with a sponsor and step work relieved me of that awful feeling i got when i wasnt drinking.....and the obsession to drink again.

i also discovered that life didnt revolve around me....i saw what i had become and wanted to change.

good luck and god be with you.

least

I agree with what trucker said. It's good advice from someone who knows.

nickFREE

"Most of us realized that in our addiction we were slowly committing suicide, but addiction is such a cunning enemy of life that we had lost the power to do anything about it. Many of us ended up in jail, or sought help through medicine, religion, and psychiatry. None of these methods was sufficient for us. Our disease always resurfaced or continued to progress until, in desperation, we sought help from each other in Narcotics Anonymous.

After coming to NA we realized we were sick people. We suffered from a disease from which there is no known cure. It can, however, be arrested at some point, and recovery is then possible."

Right from the, "Why are we here?" reading. All you can do is keep coming back, ask for help, and surrender. Just have hope.

LosingmyMisery

There are major issues with the system. I work in a maximum security prison. We are in a financial crisis. We haven't had an alcohol and drug counselor in the prison for years, lack of funding. It is of my opinion that a high percentage of crimes were committed while under he influence of drugs or alcohol, or they are incarcerated due to dealing. The first programs cut where the programs designed for reentry. These programs were to help the offender enter into society with skills that they did not have when they entered. Such as Anger Management, Job Hunter, Moral Reconation Therapy ...cut.

Community Correctional Officer positions were cut drastically. Yes, there is no doubt that we have a systemic problem. It just isn't right and I'm very sorry for that. The best thing you can do about it is try to work around it. Look for another solution. I wish you well, but as others have said, lashing out at members of a recovery board is not going to help your situation. I hope I added some insight. The system doesn't look promising, but that doesn't mean your future can't be. Good luck...

least

I found this link to NA mtgs in Akron. Hope it helps.

Akron, OH Drug Addiction / Narcotics Anonymous Meetings

Bamboozle

Wow. There's not much that surprises me these days but this got my attention. Sad thing is the general public probably doesn't care. They should.


Hello, OBM. Welcome to SR and congratulations on your sober time.

Stick around for awhile. You've been through a lot...there are others who do understand where you are coming from. Folks are willing to help you. The people here were the first to ever offer help for my alcohol addiction. I owe much of my life to the support found here. Be well.

Pinkcuda

I usually try not to post in the newcomers forum for any number of reasons. In this case I'll make an exception just to tell you to quit puting your faith in other people and quit playing the victim.

Then focus on "Now" and not the past. Yes it is water under the bridge unless you can figure out a way to change it somehow.

Sikkisirus

Dude, im quite a newcomer here but in my short time here Ive come to know that Dee has great advice through experience. You would do well to quit wagging the tongue, pin back your ears and listen.

Reese321

You can blame others for your problems all day long. You want to base your mental health on you, or your mother, sending out a few letters? That's fairly laughable man. You need to take responsibility for your own recovery. No one is going to come and wipe your ass and make everything better. It starts with you, and only then does peripheral assistance really help. You have to want to quit, or better yourself, and find it within yourself to do this.

I hope only the best for you, but it seems you're blaming the world for your lack of helping yourself. Start thinking about why you use. That's a good place to begin.

Good luck.

Done_With_It

I'm sorry you had such a hard time finding help and it appeared no one cared.
I have a dance teacher who always makes us introduce ourselves because he strongly believe wherever we are at the time is because we are supposed to be there at that time for that reason, but it is up to us to find it. Personally I believe you found Sober Recovery for a reason there are some amazing people on here who Do care and can help you if you let them.
It's up to you to figure out why you are here.

Here are some meetings in Akron,

Location Address Day Time Closed to
Public Wheel
Chair Format Notes
369 South Arlington Street
Akron, OH 44306

Saturday 11:00 No Estimated Miles:
Community Church of Christ 834 Grant Street
Akron, OH 44305

Monday 12:00 No Format Varies Estimated Miles:
Community Church of Christ 834 Grant Street
Akron, OH 44305

Monday 19:00 No Beginner/Newcomer Estimated Miles:
Community Church of Christ 834 Grant Street
Akron, OH 44305

Monday 20:00 No Discussion/Participation, Speaker Estimated Miles:
Community Health Center 725 East Market Street
Akron, OH 44305

Wednesday 18:00 No Step, Speaker, Discussion/Participation Estimated Miles:
Emmanuel Church of Christ 1480 Eastwood Avenue
Akron, OH 44305

Friday 20:00 No Format Varies Estimated Miles:
Shiloh Baptist Church 1241 Grant Street
Akron, OH 44301

Thursday 19:30 No Format Varies Estimated Miles:
Summit Lake Community Center 380 West Crosier Street
Akron, OH 44311

Monday 19:00 No Discussion/Participation Estimated Miles:
Summit Lake Community Center 380 West Crosier Street
Akron, OH 44311

Tuesday 19:00 No Format Varies Estimated Miles:
Men's Salvation Army 1006 Grant Street
Akron, OH 44311

Wednesday 19:00 No Men, Format Varies Estimated Miles:

Done_With_It

First Congregational Church 85 Heritage Drive
Tallmadge, OH 44278

Saturday 19:00 No Format Varies Estimated Miles:
Akron City Hospital 41 Arch Street
Idabelle Firestone Center
Akron, OH 44304

Sunday 09:00 No Estimated Miles:
Akron City Hospital 41 Arch Street
Idabell Firestone Center
Akron, OH 44304

Sunday 18:00 No Estimated Miles:
Butchel Market Building 680 East Market Street
Akron, OH 44304

2nd floor conference room Tuesday 11:30 Yes Format Varies Estimated Miles:
Akron City Hospital 41 Arch Street
Ida Belle Firestone Center; 2nd & 4th Saturdays
Akron, OH 44304

Saturday 12:30 No Estimated Miles:
Cornerstone Methodist Church 578 Killian Road
Akron, OH 44319

Tuesday 19:00 No Estimated Miles:
Manchester United Methodist Church 5625 Manchester Road
Akron, OH 44319

Thursday 19:00 No Basic Text Estimated Miles:
Todays Club II 704 North Main Street
Akron, OH 44310

Sunday 19:30 No Format Varies Estimated Miles:
Saint Thomas Hospital 444 North Main Street
Akron, OH 44310

Thursday 19:30 No Basic Text Estimated Miles:
Saint Thomas Hospital 444 North Main Street
Room D
Akron, OH 44310