Dollyangel17

Hello All,

I am on my 10th day of sobriety, and feel pretty good. I have not yet gone to an AA meeting, not because I haven't wanted to, but because the meetings nearby are offered at times that I really can't make it. I work during the day, and my husband works second shift, and with a young child, that makes it difficult to get out.

The only real option for me is a Sunday night meeting at 7:00 PM. My daughter goes to bed at 7:30 each night, so I would miss tuck in and I am a little reluctant to do that. When I was drinking I missed out on spending more time with her on the weekends because I would go "grocery shopping", but what should have been a 1 hour trip to the store was a minimum of 3 hours because I would stop at a bar to "make my list".

Anyway...my question is this: Are others out there NOT going to meetings and still doing okay? I feel like this SR board is helping a lot and was hoping it would be enough. Thoughts?

terribob

I tried without any meetings or outside help. Didn't work out to well. AA has been great as long as you attend and work the steps. Your mind will tell you that you don't need AA, and once you've been sober for a bit that you can handle your alcohol now. All lies by your drunk mind.

Best of luck to you!

MeSoSober

Count me among those who believes that your success or failure is going to have far more to do with your personal desire or commitment to getting sober than with any particular support method you follow.

I hope SR is going to be enough to keep me sober (I have 33 days today) because it's pretty much my sole means of support at the moment. These forums keep me mindful of and focused on my sobriety every single day. It's a bonus that I actually ENJOY coming here to get and give support and that it's available 24/7. I just have to remind myself regularly to APPLY what I learn here and that my main purpose here is not to be entertained or impart wisdom or even share experience but to STAY SOBER. Otherwise I'm of little use to myself or anyone else.

ScottFromWI

It's really up to you. AA is only one recovery method. The key is to find a method that works and stick to it. I've been sober for 4 months now using SR as my primary support and it seems to be going well at this point.

Mountainmanbob

miamifella

I do not think you need to go to AA meetings, but you need something! Whether it is religion, therapy, SmartRevery etc. The choice is yours, but without some help your real (as opposed to cyber), in my opinion your road with be more difficult. Not impossible, but more difficult.

Dave42001

I was drinking like rock star last year and AA's changed my life.. 4 months into the program I'm 50 days sober.. Truly a miracle for me.. Go to meetings, get a sponsor and work the steps.. Integrate the steps and traditions into your everyday life.. Be open minded and check it out! Nobody knows a drunk better than a room full of drunks!! Wishing you the best!!

ScottFromWI

The Newcomers Forum is a safe and welcoming place for newcomers. Respect is essential. Debates over Recovery Methods are not allowed on the Newcomer's Forum. Posts that violate this rule will be removed without notice. (Support and experience only please.)

Anna

I strongly believe that recovery depends on your motivation, not what program you are using.

And, SR is always a great place for support.

Dollyangel17

Thanks everyone! I appreciate the feedback. I think I will try to find a meeting that works with my schedule, but if I can't right away, I am not going to worry too much. That is unless I run into troubles and feel I need that extra bit of support.

Anna

Some posts have been removed.

ElegantlyWasted

From persona experience and the experiences of other people, you really need to have some kind of structured program to really get not using to stick. Whether its AA, SMART, printing out some CBT worksheets and putting work into them regularly, logging into SR or a combo of what I mentioned. People are different and no ones path is exactly like anyone else's. That being said, maybe ask is different forums what has worked for different people. Personally, I'm back again with 16 days this time hopefully a little wiser after having been totally dry for a year and in the process of putting some structure in place that will include meditation, participating Here at SR, CBT work and possible going to AA. Just know that there are many ways to skin the proverbial cat. I'm going through my friends list to figure out what happened to everyone (I've been on and off here since (2006). I have a hunch less than 30% are still active and doing well. I'll post my results, it should be a good learning experience.

tomsteve

good to see ya lookin for help. when i got into AA, i had finally found my home and family.
you may want to google "big book online and read it. it is the boook that lays out our program of action to help us get and sytay sober.
theres also online meetings. if interested, drop me a PM and i can show ya where i het online meetings. formatted just like face to face meeting, but no cams and,well, online. but awesome sobriety from all around the world.

Abetterway

Hi Dolly,
Today is my 521st day of continuous sobriety. Longest I have ever gone. Aa helped a lot in the beginning. Unlike a lot of people on SR I enjoyed the meetings and met quite a few people with long term sobriety who were willing to talk me down off of the ledge when necessary.
Good luck

2granddaughters

I could always find the time and a way to get drunk .....

Today I find the time and a way to get to a meeting.

All the best.

Bob R

whiskeyman

I take my daughter with me to the meetings.
she plays on the ipad for an hour.
I know that i have to go to any lengths

HitRockBottom70

Hi Dolly,
Congrats on 10 Days!
There are many options to gain the support you need. When I quit, I was unwilling to go to AA. I was afraid to go so I checked out different programs. I quit using AVRT. If you google "free crash course AVRT" you will find a great crash course . This and SR got me through the first 10 months. I got to a point where I questioned my quitting and I knew I can never drink again. All bets were off and I decided to go to a AA meeting. It helped and got me back on track and I met some great people who understand our situation.

I guess what I am trying to say is that quitting drinking can be done many ways. The most important thing in the equation is to do whatever it takes to not drink. If someone starts feeling like drinking it helps to do something... Exercise, post on SR, watch a movie, listen to music, do yoga, go to an AA meeting. Distraction and support were very helpful to me.

Good luck.

Fandy

2 years happier life in sobriety...No AA no real formal program except connecting here and being grateful for something each day...because drinking uncontrolably is truly the worst thing i can do to my health, both mental and physical.

if spending time with your daughter is important to you (because you missed so much previously), this can be your cornerstone too. there may be some online meetings here, others know more about it.

congrats on changing your priorities.

Lost3000

I quit once before for 62 days. It was very uncomfortable. I felt very lonely. I realize now that what I was missing was human contact. Going to mtgs every day not only helps remind me that I'm an alcoholic, but I get to see others like me, see where they've been and where they are going. I find this go around far easier - and I'm 17 months sober. I highly recommend AA as it's been a great help to me. Even if you go once per week, maybe that human contact will help you? I also made tons of friends and that was a major help.

neferkamichael

Dollyangel, 10th day of sobriety? You are FANTASTIC. Congratulations. Sounds like to me you want to stay sober, so you will. Rootin for ya.