stacylove

Hello, I have been attending NA for over a year, however, I have had several relapses. Don't get me wrong, I love NA and I have met a number of new friends, including my sponsor, however, I think I need to try different avenues. Can I attend two different programs at the same time? Has anyone tried Smart Recovery or Rational Recovery and how do they work? Are there other programs you know of? Please I am open to anything.

Thank you so much,

Stacy

Dee74

I know a lot of NA/AAers who participate in a lot of other programmes too, Stacy.

I always encourage people who are struggling to look at what they can add to whatever they've been doing, so I hope you find something helpful

Leave no stone unturned.
D

DayTrader

The AA and NA programs center around the necessity for a higher power because the individual is completely unable to bring about their own recovery. Other than the obviously religious based recovery programs (like Celebrate Recovery, for example) programs like SMART, Rational Recovery, and LifeRing go the other way and say the individual IS able to recover without "divine intervention."

I guess the first thing that hit my mind though was has your sponsor taken you through the NA book and have you worked all the steps? If "NO" then that's a pretty good formula for relapse in and of itself.

reggiewayne

I think recovery programs are like diets. They all will work if we follow the directions. I think the key is finding a program that works for you. The flipsiide of the argument is when we first quit drinking we're often not seeing things as clearly as we later will. I know with me I questioned everything when I was drinking. I now see that was not really in my best interest. The goal for all of them isn't to be right and prove the others wrong - moreover to get us and keep us sober. Some things seems universal with all of them. You need some type of support group to help you. I know this site helps me a ton.

I wish you the best!!!

TheTinMan

Anything that will keep you from relapsing should be given a try. But I have to agree with the above poster. Have you been through the steps with your sponsor? Are you putting 100% effort into the 12 step program?

stacylove

Hello, just a footnote, I am working the steps and I am writing in a journal, but I do have a hard time with the HP aspect and I do know it's a HP of my choice, I just think I need something more or different? Two or three programs might be right for me.

Dee74

Only if you find the combination is a good one for Stacy.

I think it's common sense to say 2 or 3 programmes doesn't necessarily always mean 2 or three times better.

Here's some links to the major players. See if you find anything you identify with.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html

D

JohnBarleycorn

Stacy,

There is always Rational Recovery's Addictive Voice Recognition Technique, or AVRT, which does not rely on any spirituality or any psychological improvement.

It is not a program per se, but it is a method for recognizing the ways in which our "Addictive Voice" convinces us to drink/use again over and over in spite of our better judgement. I have found it useful.

The book "Rational Recovery: The New Cure for Substance Addiction" by Jack Trimpey outlines the AVRT approach and is self-contained. You can easily read it in a weekend.

Other people prefer to use an actual program, and there are others, such as SMART RECOVERY, SOS, or Women for Sobriety.

Here is a list available on SR which CarolD and Dee compiled.

nogard

Thats the key as far as I am concerned. Nothing changes, if nothing changes.

Recovery is a process and as such it takes time, patience does not tend to be one of my strongest attributes but as I have got better day by day I see the value of patience tolerance and acceptance of myself mostly and then of others.

Supercrew

I think DayTrader hit the nail on the head. You have to get active in the Steps or get active in another program.

If you are having a problem with the HP concept but you still want to stay with the program get active doing something else whether it be working out or or just something you enjoy to take the place of whatever you are trying to quit. None of these recovery programs will ever do the work for you until you start making a real true effort to do the work.

We are all basically the same, and no matter what program you are using if you get lazy or complacent you are going to fall back on what made you go to the program to begin with.

nogard

I have been a member of NA for mearly 6 years and am an atheist, its a higher power of your understanding, can be anything we choose.

stacylove

Me again lol, Thanks everyone for your input, I appreciate it. I do like NA and I was working hard on my steps, maybe not hard enough I guess, anyway, I am still curious if anyone has tried or is working one of the other programs and how they like/d it? Thank you again

JohnBarleycorn

It can't be just "anything" if you want to actually work the steps - it has to have certain qualities, which are spelled out.

It would have to be able to restore you to sanity:
It would have to be able and willing to let you turn over your will and life over to it's care:
It would have to be able to remove defects of character and shortcomings:
It would have to be capable of conscious contact and receptive to prayer, and it would have to have a will:

yeahgr8

Have you worked the steps of NA? Actually done the work under the guidance of a sponsor who has done the same? Thats the solution of NA, maybe do that first and see if NA works before moving on:-)

yeahgr8

How many times do i have to post this lol...it can be a can of coke...you even filled out the 12 steps with a can of coke as a higher power remember:-)

cabledude

Most don't take the steps and flake off. That you want to take that course is not the least unusual.

Just follow where your heart leads you. Try SOS, I know of a couple of people sober there.

LillieB

Hey Stacy..aa/na is a religious program so you kinda are stuck with the whole "higher power" concept and it can't be a doorknob or a can of coke. I haven't worked any other formal program. I quit the way most people do..on my own. I had to work hard and change almost everything about how I thought and behaved. Well worth the effort and no religious conversion involved. It can be done.

keithj

Yes, AA has worked for me for quite a few years. It revolutionized my life.

A number of posts have asked the question, have you really taken the Steps? I don't think anyone is trying to be offensive. I know personally, I've sponsored quite a few guys who have told me they worked the Steps, and within 10 minutes of talking to them, it's pretty clear they really haven't followed the directions outlined in the BB.

I say BB because that's what I know. I don't qualify for NA, and mean no disrespect there, but I just can't see how the 4th Step is done from their basic text. The workbook seems essential, but others are more qualified to say.

Stacylove, the continued relapsing (or inability to stay sober) speaks to your basic powerlessness. You've chosen to not drink, and still you keep drinking. Knowing that I was going to keep drinking, that I was going to keep failing, that the bad stuff would keep happening, that this was my wasted life and it sucked and it was never going to get any better, brought me to a point of desperation necessary to surrender and take the Steps.

GreenAces

For me it does work, but only when I put in the work required for it and only when I fellowship and build friendships within the program. I have had a good number of relapses aswell and I can tell you that they all stemmed from me not working the program to the best of my honesty, or even not working it at all. Also when I turn my back on the friendships I have had in the fellowship I tend to slip back in to my old routines that I had back when I was an active alcoholic/addict.

So my answer is the same one you here time and time again, it works when you work it.. And that really holds true with me.

Zencat

I primarily utilize SMART and CBT not only for an addiction treatment program but also for a guide to healthy acting and emotional living. I do incorporate other resources that can help me life a satisfying drug free lifestyle like NA/AA.

As a once chronic relapse-er, I interpreted my experience as being out of control and my life as unmanageable. Another way to look at is through an NA interpretation is being powerless. IMO, either way it was the same thing seen through different POV's. I prefer the empowerment approach to making deep psychical changes in my way thinking and acting. CBT and SMART empowers me to see that I can, with the development of healthy living skills, change the direction of my life with or without HP beliefs.

Having been living a life unmanageable, I realized I could bring manageability back and so I did.