Army11b

I guess it is supposed to go like this, "Hi I am Matt, and I am an alcoholic'... The psychological dumbing down and degradation of that sentence is probably why people do not go to aa much.. They want to be treated as humans, not idiots.. So to the shrinks out there. Give it a thought. We aren't as stupid as you think.

P.S. It took about 5 minutes just for this post to finally go through, so slow, that makes me wanna take a shot, anyone else?


Matt

GettingStronger2

Hi Matt. There seems to be a bit of anger and pain in you. Do you want to stop drinking? If so, hang around here, you will find support.

I do not think the admission you typed keeps many people from AA. People have a lot of reasons for not going, and that is up to each person. It does not sound as if you want to go to a meeting anytime soon, but do know, you do not have to introduce yourself at all, let alone identify yourself as an alcoholic.

Best of luck to you.

SeekSobriety

Hi Matt,
Thanks for posting. The 1st step in AA is to admit thqt "we were powerless over alchohol and our lives had become unmanageable"

It sEems to me in my experience that people at meetings share with the statement that they are a alcoholic (at Aa meetings). Or a "addict" at (Narcotics anonymous) meetings , Whoch creates in my opinion a "level playing field". We are all there sharing the same type of experience, puting ourselves out there as Alcholics who are wanting to be free from this obsession to drink.

Of course there are many different types of "recovery" groups that are not "12 step" based. If introducing yourself as a alchohlic is a big issu which is keeping you from continuing recovery i would recommend checking out the other programs like SMART or the others.

I am glad you shared and allowed me to share my experience as well. I hope you find the freedom from alchohol if that is what you are searching for.

sugarbear1

Why equate alcoholism to dumbing down, degradation, idiots and stupidity? Oh, nevermind, I did that to my self every time I drank!!!

I attend aa meetings for the fellowship and to help another person who is struggling with this disease. I work the steps with guidance to grow spiritually as I hadn't learned how to grow up, yet!

Welcome to SR! You aren't alone in your struggle(s)!

Opivotal

Hey Matt....Welcome to SR. What are you really angry about? There are plenty of Recovery options. AA helps a lot of people. Perhaps its not for you, which is fine, as long as you find your way into Recovery.

Maybe you can tell us a bit about yourself. I'm sure you will find SR treats everyone with respect and dignity.




Best Wishes To You!

sugarbear1

I was answering phones at my local aa office the other day and I helped a guy who is in the US Army find several meetings. Alcoholism has No Boundaries.....

eJoshua

Hi Matt -

I don't think anyone here will think you are stupid for admitting you are an alcoholic. I think that takes a lot of strength and emotional intelligence to admit.

It takes even more strength to do something about it, though. What are you doing about the fact that you are an alcoholic?

CarolD

Welcome to SR......

We have many members who are finding a way to live sober...some do use structured program such as SMART or AA...and others do not.

There is no wrong way to quit dirnking...and I hope you will
return and share more with us.

Thanks for joining us..we do understand how difficult things can be ..all my best.

Yes...the teckies are working hard to correct the slow down problem SR is having. I agree...it's slow for me too.

ButterflyMan

AA is not the way for me as I don't feel it's right for me, simple as. For ALOT of people it it's the right way though. It's a great programme that changes so many lives. I however love SR and the support that members here offer so I urge you to stick around and participate.

Terminally Unique

I long ago lost count of how many meetings I've gone to, and I can assure you that I never once said that particular sentence, and some people tried to get me to say it. In fact, I have yet to find one instance of a transcript or recording from a meeting of the original members of AA where they say something like "Hi, I'm Dr. Bob, and I'm an alcoholic."

That said, it seems to me that you are using AA and shrinks as an excuse not to quit, so try this on for size:
The choice is yours, not anyone else's. Not AA's choice, not any shrinks' choice, and you don't necessarily need to use either one to quit.

You can either advance towards life, or retreat back into the bottle.

Which choice do you think befits a soldier?

soberlicious

You can use your anger toward AA as an excuse to keep drinking or you can find another way...there are many. I don't "do" AA, neither do I feel a sense of urgency to bash it. I respect that it has helped some to stop drinking. I too felt the same way you do. The dumbing-down, among many other things, bothered me. So I pulled up my big girl britches and went on about the business of quitting for good. I don't mean to sound glib, but it's not rocket science. You are obviously an educated individual. You can do it if you want to.

Boleo

I agree with Soberlicious. No matter what route you take to sobriety, I guarantee you will have to do some things that you do not like, that you do not understand (at first) or that you think are foolish.

If you don't believe me, ask anyone here if they liked all the work they had to do getting sober? Some may say they liked it after the work was done. However, the process of recovery is like a shot in the arm - I helps in the long-run but hurts in the short-run.

"Nothing ventured - Nothing gained".

Anna

Welcome to SR!

This can be a first step towards a sober life.

Dee74

Lots of good advice here

I hope we see you again Matt
Welcome

D