Esspee

Oooops, sorry :-D. She has a tendency to gossip

itstheone

We're all kind of cult here too, you will fit right in!



Do what feels right. Welcome.

anattaboy

I can be me, you can be you and we can help each other despite our differences and w/out a tome of unquestionable truth? MY KINDA CULT!

newpage119

I am taking bits and pieces of various recovery methods, and putting them all together to work for me!
I like SMART, Rational Recovery and my new favorite is Women for Sobriety. They have awesome acceptance statements!

Face to face meetings are not for me. My strength comes from within.
That is just ME though, everyone is different.....

Mountainmanbob

Something that is not often mentioned.
Many over the years have sobered up in the church.
Before all of the Programs offered today, thousands were getting sober each and every year.
MM

DrunkenDonuts

There are some online AA resources which I have tried before, but I agree with you that this site works.

Regardless of where you are in the world there are generally quite a few people on this site, which is awesome! Help at any time!

esinger

Did AA for some time a couple of times. Finally decided there wasn't a program or power that was going to keep me from drinking other than me not putting the poison in my mouth. Read up on many methods and chose bits and pieces that worked for me.
What ever you choose. Good luck.

anattaboy

True enough. I have not been drunk since I quit drinking--100% success there. As for picking up again, the rates across the board do not look good. My home group recently had a 27 and a 25 yr. member go back out within a week of each other. Does that say anything about AA? NO! But it does say something about the insidiousness of the AV and why "I" need every tool I can get to not be caught off guard. RR and AVRT address THAT and I very much needed and support THAT.

LBrain

I am with bimini on this matter...

this site is my meetings and "program". I just decided to quit drinking. I did the AVRT crash course almost 90 days after I quit. and that was it.

Here's the problem (thing). Rehabs have become corporate entities. They are in it for the money - mostly. Most of them follow the 12 step approach to recovery because it has been around for quite a long time and also because it is readily available - FOR FREE - to the general population. They use AA literature and pretty much demand a client goes to aa and gets a 'home group' and sponsor ASAP. They basically wash their hands of you and send you to AA. Many will return to rehab to do it all over again.

Your psychiatrist is not an addiction specialist - ususally. Very few are actually trained in addiction and recovery. AA is basically something they "heard about" to put it in the simplest terms. So of course they are going to tell you to go to AA - it's all they know.

What you need to find is a trained addiction specialist. Many are psychiatrists or doctors or therapists who specialize in addiction. Alcohol is an addictive drug.

What you will get from almost everyone is that there is only one "program" that actually works. It is wanting to stay sober more than you want to drink.
Accepting it and doing it - not drinking no matter what - is the only 100% method that works.
If AA works for you and you are doing it and progressing nicely, then keep going and enjoy your sobriety. The OP stated AA is working for them. Well, if it ain't broke no need to fix it.

holy cow - 6 posts since I decided to reply. FYI - I did go to rehab. I did almost 90 in 90. I think after 60 I started to back off. It was interesting tho... I found SR on March 17 last year. I haven't left.

Fly N Buy

deadlydame,

Welcome - Glad your part of SR!
The beauty of recovery for me is my approach can change over time. What got me through the first 6 months may be different/morph over the the next 6 months....For me it's all about the willingness to "keep pushing through" (thanks pk) and regardless of plan stay stopped!!!

Close to 9 months at this point which is the longest period of sobriety I've had in generations.

I use a combination of things including SR - Some days I use one more than others. I like options and for me there is no one correct way. My one constant is prayer(gratitude specifically) and meditation.....

Keep coming back!

Tonks

I found the excellent community here within SR to be my only resource needed... The rest was exercise, nutrition, and introspection.

EndGameNYC

In every way I was a broken man when I put down the drink. I plunged into recovery after a false start of about three-months duration that included plans to resume drinking once I got back on my feet. I did detox and rehab, and then a full year of AA, IOP through OP, and therapy. I've continued since then with both therapy and AA. I found SR when I was nearly sober for two years, at which time I was making good progress. Most of my major problems in early sobriety were at that time resolved. My obsession to drink faded sometime between ten months and a year.

If you were to ask me now which of those things I could not have done without, it would be AA. I felt safe and protected, and the structure of going to meetings regularly, as well as the structure of the meetings themselves, provided a solid framework within which I was able to achieve sobriety and learn how to live a better life without alcohol.

BuddinK

When I first stopped I went to a few AA meetings, logistically AA woundn't have worked for me, so I researched other methods and found here, this site introduced me to AVRT. Between AVRT and here, things clicked.

I think everyone should do some research into what will work for them, it's as important a decision as buying a house or car. You shouldn't go to the dealer or realtor and buy the first thing they show you.

The most important thing is that you have to be ready to commit to whichever program you decide to use, and if it's not working out, try something new.

immri

I go to AA meetings and recenty got a sponsor, I like the meetings a lot they're (normally) great around here. I Often drank on my own or with other alcoholics/addicts, so it's very helpful for me to be around sober people, if nothing else. ive tried just using online before and it didn't work for me personally, but I'm a big believer in using all tools available so this time I have a good doctor, take meds, go to AA, have a sponser, come here regularly.
Just finding what works best for the individual is best imo

Dee74

I'm really tired of having to do this.

I went through and removed any posts that referred to a post that was removed or replied to a response from that post.
I also removed some posts that had nothing to do with personal experience and several posts that broke this rule:

Over 75% of this thread disappeared.

Food for thought...

Dee
Moderator
SR

least

I used the help of my addiction counselor and daily visits to SR. It's been working for me for over five years now. I no longer see the counselor, but still come here daily.

Ethos23

I am sober 1 year 2 months. I did not do AA. Never tried it. I see an addiction therapist once a week and it has been working for you. In my opinion, you have to do what feels most comfortable to you so that you feel the most connected to your recovery and whatever allows you to share open and honestly.

orderlychaos

I personally do not attend AA. I go to the place I graduated residential treatment on Tuesday nights as a general support person, and I regularly attend church. I also volunteer, in order to keep myself humble. These things work well for me, but none so much as complete surrender to the restoring power of Jesus Christ. Having a Christian sponsor and staying actively involved with him is what the game-changer has been for my success. What's most important, however, is finding what's going to work best for yourself. Best of luck.

Axiom

haha. I thought this felt a little lovey compared to others. Well, I like whats left.

I went to a bunch of meetings and for a couple really thought I could get into them. Something always came about which made me feel I should look elsewhere. Right now SR, RR, SMART, therapy and exercise.

I like what a few people wrote about not drinking has kept them sober. To me that is the bulk of it. Everything else just makes it easier