deadlydame

Spending more and more time on SR, I was surprised to see the number of members who are not in AA but practice another type of recovery. I am new at recovery and all I heard from my rehab to my psychiatrist is that AA was the path so I followed. I am doing great so i will continue on my path but out of curiosity i was wondering how many of you are not AA and what recovery you chose to follow

Dee74

I followed no programme as such, but I used the community here extensively.

D

seanie1888

Im in AA.
I tried other programs, AA was only thing that worked for me.
But we are all different and all on our own path, so pick something that works for YOU

All the best

Spacegoat

Winging it by myself as usual. Here is a good resource, it's good to know that others have been through similar struggles.

mns1

I do not use AA but SR here as been extremely helpful to me. I rely on the support and wisdom here combined with an unrelenting desire to improve myself.

Vandermast

I think the idea is to pursue whatever works for you with great gusto

for me AA helps but just as important is exercise, diet and of course SR

v

anattaboy

If I had not found SR I woulb be going to meetings. SR seems to to work just fine for support--better actually.

Dave36

I'm not in AA either. This place seems to be enough this time around but I'm more committed. I think that's all that really matters is how serious you are about it. If you really want to stop you will if you're lying to yourself(which I've done plenty of)the best program in the world won't help.

Mountainmanbob

AA meetings, church with bible study, this sober site, bicycle riding, camping and most important to thank God for sobriety.
Mountainman

Notmyrealname

AA is a way to do it, and for some people AA ends up being the first approach that ever worked.

For some people a different approach worked.

If you find yourself drunk all the time with a lot of alcohol-related regrets piling up, I think it's probably wise to keep an open mind as to solutions.

Dee74

Can I insist we stick to our own experience please?

Unsolicited opinions on the validity of other peoples experiences is what inflames other people and gets these threads closed.

to that end I've removed some posts.

Dee
Moderator
SR

MIRecovery

AA has a line that says, "Stick with the winners." Look for people with multiple years of sobriety and do what they do. A winner's sobriety has been tested many times and in many different ways. I have found their experience is invaluable. They have seen first hand what works and what doesn't.

People with long term sobriety are doing something right so I pay attention to what they have to say

Kevin78

I feel I cannot do it alone. I tried AA again and it's keeping me sober for now.That is my main goal. As long as it works and I continually work at it, I think this may be my way forward.

Dave36

But remember the vast vast majority of people who quit drinking do it on their own. Without AA

DrunkenDonuts

Hey deadlydame

I have been to probably about 20 AA meetings in 4-5 different locations to try and find a group to suit me. I don't know if it's the same all over the world, but there appears to be an over-representation of Irish... Do the Irish really drink a lot?

Anyway, I never got a sponsor even though I became a somewhat familiar face at meetings. I didn't find them to be particularly friendly, although they were welcoming. It just seemed like a bunch of old friends getting together for a chin-wag a few times a week. And I wasn't a part of it.

Quite often I would get pissed off, leave half way through and buy some liquor. But I'd go back. Eventually it felt like hitting my head against a wall.

Now I'm taking antabuse and I feel I have a more realistic view of my addiction. I just can't drink. Some people can't take a **** without missing the bowl. Some people can't say the alphabet backwards. Some people can't shut the hell up about their religion. I can't drink. Oh well. Thems the breaks - move on and accept it.

RobbyRobot

How a person decides to quit is their own business. It really doesn't matter across the board. What does matter is how well one can actually live and get on with their own lives while staying quit. The ways forward to do so are many. Importantly, our personal choices in everyday life which support our staying quit make the crucial differences more than does how one moves forward, imo.

I think the moment one decides they have many opportunities to stay quit is the same moment they actually will use whatever it takes to keep quit. It's far better to be dynamic and present with our challenges rather than dogmatic with whatever.

Years of sobriety is no guarantee of a well lived life. Those with decades of sobriety can nonetheless have failed lives even though they haven't drank.

Whatever works is always the best choice each and every day... and whatever doesn't simply doesn't...

Esspee

I haven't used AA, just this site. My reason being that with so few meetings in my town and surrounding area I would have been attending with a woman I know has a gob on her like a crack in a pie and despite AA guidelines my private life would have become public.

Fortunately this site works for me.

Nowsthetime

Hello:

I do not do AA but I do stick to a plan. I use SR as my meetings and support. I don't have anything against using whatever you can as a resource. Just know that YOU need to figure out what works. Another thing: I have learned here that not all AA meetings are the same so "shopping around" for a group that fits you isn't uncommon...

Find what works for you. Definitely make a plan and work it! We are here for support.

biminiblue

at the risk of sounding like an ignorant American, could someone translate, please?



To the question: I went to 90 meetings in 90 days and also came here every day. AA wasn't for me. I tried eight different groups. I did take away a lot of good one-liners that have helped me, and the Serenity Prayer still gets a lot of play in my head. AA literature is excellent and I think should be read by anyone in recovery - especially the Big Book. This site suits my personality and needs, so it has become my primary source of recovery connections. There is a lot of wisdom here on these boards if you are willing to look for it and heed it.

Mountainmanbob

Those are good points made, for I know of many with well over 20 of sobriety that are still, not moral, foul mouthed, cheaters, etc, that I wish to have nothing to do with.

Just because one has stopped drinking, in most all cases there will still be plenty of work to do in other areas of our lives.
If I may quote the AA Big Book, "we had to let go of some old ideas." In my case it was more than some !

Bob