visch1

I've been sober/dry for a long period and express myself by saying things like "if we don't pick up the first drink we don't have to get sober again" which is true but how not to for the long haul may confuse people. Personally I think reading these posts help. The internet was only some ones dream when I came around so I went and continue to go to AA and work the program.
What might help others in this fast paced society we live in that will give some light to those that read these posts and wonder how it works? BE WELL

doggonecarl

I often wonder if the internet and the instant access of information are somehow detrimental to long-term recovery. Not as a tool. I think SR is a wonderfully resource. However, the speed of communication, the glut of information, feeds off the alcoholic's and addict's need for instant gratification.

I sometime wonder if some folks here just don't have the patience for recovery. They want it now, and when they don't get it, they do what is quick, which is drink or use.

Anna

The main thing I think we at SR can offer to newbies, is that you are not alone and we do understand how hard this is. We can also confirm that, yes, recovery is achievable. And, one thing I know for sure is that stopping drinking, though essential, is not enough for long-term recovery.

When I stopped drinking, it was the most alone I had ever felt in my life.

Climber122

Good point - alcohol was my most trusted way of dealing with life, but I kept drinking even though I was on the road to insanity and death. Drinking was a symptom of my sick soul. Once I admitted my life was unmanageable and started going to meetings, I laid the groundwork for a much better life sober. But yes, it is often very slow and painful, and addicts and drunks like me don't like to be in pain - in our addiction we are striving to build a pain-free world in which we dictate our day. Now God dictates my day and I roll with what comes, including the tough days. Been working for a while!

Threshold

I've heard AA old timers say that people don't recover in AA the way they used to either...lower %, more relapses...I wonder if that is because there are so many meetings available? Used to be that people in most areas were lucky to find one once a week, now most of us have multiple one's available every day.