fastfocus

5 months sober TODAY!

but I am really really wanting a drink

ive been to aa regularly and im getting sick of it

and I don't or never will believe in god

do I just pack my bags and walk out so im alone to drink and my family will be better off with me out of the way?

I know drink gets me in to trouble but I cant fight these cravings off

oh and ive been to aa for just over 5 years now.

Niamh

Don't give up now. Thinking about drinking is totally understandable. You've come so far. Your family will not be better off. Open up to someone at AA. Let it all fly. Keep fighting.

Anna

I'm sorry you're struggling so much. Please do not ever give up because this disease is relentless.

Have you made other changes in your life besides stopping drinking? In the last five months have you started new activities or hobbies, do you exercise, have you made any new friends? For me, I had to make a lot of changes.

Soberwolf

Try this FF http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...-cravings.html

Urge Surfing ? Relapse Prevention ? Mindfulness

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...e-surfing.html

and heres a youtube link to urge surfing http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=__0dNKJV0zo

ScottFromWI

There are a lot of other options than AA. There are also many in AA that don't believe in a god in the normal sense.

Sit and think for a minute about what you would gain from drinking. Write it down on paper if you have to. You could spend some time here too, someone is always online.

Remember too that cravings are just thoughts...you have the choice to ignore them.

Soberpotamus

We have a secular part of the forum: Secular Connections - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

You can get sober without believing in god. Don't let that be an excuse to drink.

Thepatman

You have some solid sobriety time. Please don't throw it away for a one night bender.

Tomorrow you would feel like crap. There is nothing in a drink that can fix how your feel. Only think you will find is a step closer do a permanently damaged liver, depression, despair, etc.

Rooting for you!

Fly N Buy

fastfocus,

As you've attended AA for a long time, you're aware the entire program(working the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous) is to cure the spiritual malady and bring one to a spiritual awakening. "Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs".

For one who does not believe in any power greater than oneself or potentially keep an open mind to that, I am uncertain how they would integrate with this particular program.

You state you don't believe in God, which is not necessary. But, a God of our understanding/higher power is.

If this concept does not resonate with you after 5 years, maybe try another way. Many friends of mine here are sober without AA or any belief in God. I do not personally know anyone that goes to AA and will not come to terms with a higher power of some sort. Meetings alone do not keep people sober long term as has been proven over and over in the rooms of AA for years. We hear this in peoples stories daily. It is the action of taking the steps = working the program that leads to recovery.

Have you done step work??

I suppose it would be like me accepting Avrt but disagreeing with the concept of an AV? If I did not, I would do something else personally.

We all want the same outcome regardless of program. If you're not getting the help you need do something else.

Sobriety is the ultimate goal, not any one program - to be relatively happy
Kind Regards,

leviathan

research! at 5 months you now know that you can resist the urge to pick up. good job!

the next step for me was trying to be ok with it. to not be missing it. white knuckles may get us through it, but i really didnt want to live the rest of my life that way.

i had drank long enough to be at a loss with how to live life without the extremes that drinking brought to me. when I'm intoxicated, or hungover alot of the time, i dont have to worry about being well rounded. I'm just pretty much getting by.

you are allowed to look at information outside of the rooms.although i value what is taught there, it is by no way the entire scope of recovery knowledge.

my mission to find a new life that fits me is ongoing and, so far, worth it. do i have occasional cravings? YUP. but i now have other things that fill that hole that seem better than talking about the hole. -does that make any sense? im talking about passions, hobbies, connecting with people. basically, all the things i started neglecting when i stared digging.

Stanio1981

You have come so far! It would be such a shame to throw such an achievement away by returning to drinking.

Do you have a sponsor?

I dont know you but I doubt your family would be better off without you. More importantly, this is about you and your recovery...... Play the tape through to the end. If you relapsed...... how would feel when you wake up? What would happen going forward because of your relapse?

I am only 109 days sober but when I crave a beer I remind myself of how I felt prior to the first 24hrs.

Hang in there!

fastfocus

what is - AVRT- ?

and thanks for replies people

dwtbd

I found that I can decide to not drink, but I could not simply decide to not want to drink. But the longer I went with the former the less the later mattered.

There are great threads describing it in the secular connections forum here on SR., rootin for ya

SoberLeigh

Here is a link to AVRT:

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

Dee74

Hi FastFocus

This is your addictive voice in full cry.

Like others have said, there are secular approaches that you might like to try.

Apart from AVRT, there are two other groups, meeting-based, that seem to have a reasonable prescence in the UK

UK SMART Recovery

LifeRing UK - LifeRing

what do you think is triggering these cravings FF?
D

PurpleKnight

My mind kept trying to sell me these types of fairytales too!!

You won't be better off drinking, alcohol doesn't nothing other than create misery for people like us, so don't let it creep back in.

In 5 months you must have been doing something right? . . . AA or not something is working, but don't simply do nothing, substitute AA for something else, whatever it is don't isolate yourself so you're mind and it's myths can grind you down!!

Hang in there!!

FeenixxRising

Hi FF, you may want to reread your first post on this site http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post4984941

At that point you had two months sober, and you seemed to be doing reasonably well. I see that you have worked the Steps; maybe a long talk with your sponsor or another AA member will help?