greenfield

I have just joined the site today on the advice of a friend.
I need help. Through alcohol I have just lost my job, and I may well lose my wife. It has taken a long time to accept my problem but I'm doing my best to sort the mess out.

Please feel free to get in touch - I'd welcome talking to others with similar experiences as right now I'm kind of full of self loathing and stress.

Thanks

BruceJ

Welcome.
There is a ton of help available for the asking. You sound like you have the right attitude. So many suffer for so long trying to do it their own way. I know I did.
Have you checked out AA or any other recovery program? There are many folks around you that can help.

All the best.

Received

Hi greenfield and welcome to SR.

This place has been a life changer for me. I put down alcohol that very night and have been alcohol free since.

Please let us know how we can support you.

ivegotsunshine

Hi and welcome. I am sorry to hear about your recent troubles. Life has a way of never really being easy but when i deal with it sober it is much more manageable. I've been at this for almost 2 months and its hard, but I know for me its what I need. You will find wonderful support here. Keep posting and keep reading. There is really nothing "we all" haven't heard or done ourselves. You are amongst friends

SullyS

Hello and welcome to the forum!

I would certainly recommend checking out an AA meeting if you are serious about sobering up! Glad to see you here!

greenfield

Hi and thanks - all help is welcome.
I went to AA a few years ago but didn't persist, partly because of my non-religious views but mainly because I was blind and stubborn. I hope to use this forum as a starter meantime.

Thanks again

greenfield

Thank you for being a friend

SullyS

Well thats perfect because AA isn't a religious program, it is a spiritual one! They have absolutely no affiliation with any religion.

The only reason I am so insistent on AA is that I personally tried all my ideas plenty of times and joined forums and stuff and it never helped and I continued drinking. When I truly found what the AA program offers, I lost the desire to drink. That is just my experience but I feel I must share it with you as what you just shared with us sounds very similar to my thinking before I got sober over two years ago. As with everything on here though, you can take it or leave it and I hope you dont think I am telling you what you need to do because that certainly was not my intention.

Received

There are many paths to not drinking, greenfield. You may want to visit our secular section:

Secular Connections - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

Also this link which gives a brief description on other recovery methods:

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

Here is a direct link to a summation of someone's experience with a program called Rational Recovery/AVRT which is the technique I used:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ined-long.html


Not drinking can be achieved and some people choose several different methods in conjunction with others.

The goal for me was not to drink. Period.

Best to you.

1stepup

Hi greenfield, and welcome i too am fairly new to this site and have so far found it useful. I lost my job last summer through being too drunk to show, instead of ringing in sick i just went 'on the run' for 2 months. It was probably the worst stage my drinkings ever been because of the guilt and regret of throwing away something, my girlfriend also split up with me last year.

Only my third day sober so still pretty raw for me but thought id share it to say youre not the only one going through all this stuff that alcohol brings us.

Good luck

elderine

Hi Greenfield. I'm pretty new to this site, and like many of us struggling to maintain sobriety (day 7 for me today). But this is one of the best resources I've come across. Just being able to wake up and check the discussion boards and remind myself that there are others who are with me in this struggle is so motivating. I've also been trying AA and have been really impressed at the fact that there seem to be plenty of meetings filled with people who really downplay/reinterpret the religious aspect of AA. In short, you may want to shop around for different AA meetings - you may well find one that works better for you.

Good luck. This is such a struggle but, I think, so worthwhile.

greenfield

Hi Sully S,
No offence taken at all - I welcome any help and all options are open at the moment. Given the mistakes I have made in the past I need to consider everything. Thank you again for taking the time to get in touch.

greenfield

Hi 1stepup, thank you.
I too am in the very early stages but I'm going to make it stick whatever it takes. I kidded myself for years that I was fine but I'm obviously not. Feel free to keep in touch anytime - you're not alone either. It's certainly nice for me to know that I'm not alone.

1stepup

Thanx greenfield, will keep in touch. The problem i have found with aa in past is that i felt so far away from the guys ten years sober, five years sober even one year sober, mainly because theyre lives seemed so great and mine was so bad that bridging the gap seemed too much. Think i wanted instant success but in future ive got to keep it simple and just do it day to day.

Stay strong

Dee74

welcome to SR Greenfield

D

MAlan

Hey man. These forums are great. I lost my job too, though not technically because of drinking BUT, my 2 DUI's have completely destroyed my career. I had just gotten out of Paramedic school when I got the first one. At 30, I am literally starting out all over again. But there's a lot of people here with similar stories and good advise. As someone else said, we have heard it all (or done it ourselves)!

greenfield

Hi again 1stepup. We seem to be on the same wavelength with similar experiences and timescales. Stick in and I'll do the same. As they say, one day at a time. Thanks again for your helpful thoughts.

Raksha

... same hre... when I was in AA I felt precisely the same, and now that i am in a different groups for kinda 3 weeks it's the same thing, only that this new group is a bit more "extrmist", quite aggressive I would say... and actually i don't feel that comfortable there.... In fact, after each one of the 3 sessions I have attended so far I feel like drinking more than ever... What I don't really think is the idea.....

1stepup

Will do greenfield thanx. Hi Malan im similar age to you and i also feel that ive got to start my whole life over, it can be overwhelming but i know deep down that drinks not the answer to my problems and mistakes only the cause of them.

Hi Raksha, must admit i agree with you i went to my local meeting earlier and it went ok but other meetings i have been to have been quite overwhelming especially in the early days of sobriety. Everyones path is different though and staying sober is the main thing.

Wish you all well, keep in touch.

TrixMixer

Hi Raksha,

Sorry to hear that , but I wouldn't go to a fourth. WTH, we have it tough enough don't need Alcohol supremacist 's, eh Extremist's. Aren't you the lucky one to find ,probably the only one of it's kind--at least I hope so!