HELP.....Sobriety after relapse...is it possible? :-(
 

Hi all,

I'm really struggling right now. I had 5 & 1/2 years of sobriety & relapsed last October (about 7 months ago). I have never been a daily drinker....I am and have always been a binge drinker. I go to the bars every couple days & get extremely drunk & have a hangover for a few days & then do it all over again after swearing I wouldn't. :-( It's truly insane!

The first 1 & 1/2 years of my 5.5 years of sobriety I went to AA (mostly b/c the courts made me after a OVI in 2008). I never liked AA, don't feel it's effective for me & don't wanna go back. I maintained 4 years of my 5 & 1/2 without AA.

Is it possible to get sober again without AA? I feel miserable & despite having so many wonderful things in my life....I hate myself & feel truly hopeless.

I could really use some hope, advice, anything right now....I'm hanging by a thread.

Thx in advance,

Jen

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Yes, I think it's possible...very possible. There are different ways to skin a cat. Some folks have sobered via this website alone...some have used addiction therapists or other recovery groups..some use AA.
I think community and support is very important in recovery...simply because it can be lonely business...and lonely is a pretty big trigger.

Although I am not a member of AA (have been before)..I am open to attending a meeting if need be...even if its just to listen for an hour...to other folks trying to stay sober.

Welcome back.

Yes you can get sober again, with or without AA. I agree with NuuDawn, it's lonely out here alone.

Yes, it's possible, certainly. Read around this site re: AVRT. Or maybe go to AA, to get you started again as you have in the past. With over 5 1/2 years of sobriety in your past, you know it's possible. All the best to you.

I stay sober with the help of my counselor and daily visits to SR. :)

It's still very early on for me, but I have found solace as well in the AVRT section of this site. It speaks to me a little more than AA, so far.

Hi Jen,

Is there anything you can recognize now in retrospect in your thinking, attitude, lifestyle, whatever before that relapse happened? You know, it's often discussed that cognitively, relapses usually start before they occur in practical terms. So many stories on SR... I believe that to be true. Perhaps think about this and try to work around not getting into a similar state again?

In terms of maintaining sobriety, I think many folks use a combination of recovery methods rather than just one. You don't even necessarily need to use them in their conventional form, as originally prescribed, if you can find a more personally suitable way. For example, SR has been a key component in my recovery so far and I am not planning to drop it anytime soon. I like some aspects of AVRT and use them, but not all. As for AA, what I like about it so far is the 3D aspect of being around other alcoholics, I don't go to many meetings and when I do, it's mostly to hear others' stories, interact, and if I have something to add, share a bit. I also like some aspects of the 12-step program but have not chosen a sponsor to work it formally. Still undecided whether I want to. What I enjoy better is informal discussions with people, be it the program or anything else. I also started therapy recently and it seems like that will be something very suitable for me. I don't actually want to use it to target and address my addiction problem specifically and primarily, much more a variety of others issues. I like to pull together all these "tools" in my mind and use the conclusions and insights to aid my recovery, but I prefer to do it my own way.

Do what feels most comfortable, natural, and useful for you if you think you don't want to follow just one program.

Thank you so much! What is AVRT?

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Hi Jen, I'm almost a month and a half sober and I haven't used AA I just visit this site a lot and try to keep my mind occupied with other things, I've always wanted to go to America and I'm going to go in January and I know if I drink or touch substances that it will go out the window. You did an amazing job getting to 5 1/2 years sober, you have to power within you get get back up on the sober journey.

Of course you can do this without AA, I have never used this personally and simply I chose not to drink, period.
I have no doubt that the AA installs many many great practices into your day to day life but at the end of the day, you have to implement these practices yourself into your own life in general. So to answer your question, yes you can do this in any way which seems appropriate for you.
There is no right or wrong way to get sober.

There are many of us here who do not use AA for our recovery.

If you are motivated and focused, you can do it.