I'm an alcoholic
 

I'm an alcoholic there I said it....and it's scaring the life out of me

Welcome.

Don't be scared. It's like an allergy.

Hello NeoGuest, :welcome

I am an Alcoholic also ... this is a GREAT place to be ... keep it honest, and keep reading/posting.

RDBplus3 ... Happy, Joyous and FREE ... and I KNOW U can B 2

Nothing of which to be afraid. No different than being allergic to strawberries. Just don't put it in your body. It really is just as simple as that only we wish to complicate it beyond imagine.

I am scared to go to aa I have gad and won't be able to do it...is there anyway to stay sober without it

Welcome! I'm an alcoholic too.

Scary to say, but better than not knowing what's wrong with you!

Search for Rational Recovery. AVRT works for some.

Welcome back neo. I was terrified to go to AA. Look at it this way. AA is like the strangers in the bar...minus the alcohol and with a lot of wisdom. You have been to the pub before, right? I'm glad you admitted it. That's the first big step. We are all here for you.

Jennifer

There's an AA meeting by me and the group is called "A Bunch of Drunks" haha!

Just like countrygirl said, it's just like going to the bar only without booze. I've talked to plenty of strangers when I was wasted and told them things I would never even tell my friends, so why not in AA, where no one is going to judge you and everyone has been through the same thing if not worse?

When I finally went to a meeting and said it out loud in front of people, it was such a weight lifted off my shoulders. It was definitely worth the fear and anxiety leading up to it.

Thanks guys I am going to look in to rational recovery and get some sober plan together.. I can stop for a few days and hate the thought of drinking then something in me switches and I am obsessed till I get drinking..why can't I hate it all the time..

Hi.

There is much info about alcoholism on the internet, some accurate and some not so. The simple answer is to not drink one day at a time in a row. That completed we need to work and change the reasons we drank besides the addiction to alcohol. For total success with this it’s often a lifetime relatively easy progression.
In moderate drinking success for the alcoholic it’s almost impossible.
Alcoholism is a disease that just takes away, our soul, our families, our employment, our homes, our friends, our health and our lives. It can easily give us an institution to live in, a prison term, a very miserable life and an early very miserable death along with the chance of living a very miserable life.
Just the facts for a very unhealthy drink IMO, which I’ve had too much of. IMO

BE WELL

I looked into Rational Recovery and AVRT and it resonated with me. I got a new perspective on addiction and what I needed to do to end mine, certainly couldn't hurt to look into it.
wish you well and hope to see you around

Yes, but....

I think of my pursuit of sobriety as a two-part process:
1) I stopped drinking, and relapsing
2) I made the changes in my life necessary to stay sober

For me, being involved with SR was enough for 1). For 2), I needed spiritual support from an in-person group. Not AA, but not nothing. Its just that for a lot of people, AA fits best.

Also, for 2), I needed to be brave. Specifically, I walked out on a high paying job because of the emotional stress my boss was putting me through. I got lucky. I have a new high paying job and a great boss who understands why I walked away from my old job. But it was a risk in today's job market. I put aside a lot of savings beforehand to tide me over.

Have you considered online meetings neoguest ?
most meeting based recovery methods offer them these days :)

D

Welcome to SR NeoGuest. Read and post here often. It has been a tremendous help for me. Good luck on your journey :)

Everyone feels this way, especially at the beginning. The first few days the feelings of why I hate drinking are fresh and easy to remember. Once the shame starts wearing off it's all "Well, it wasn't that bad. Plus since I stopped for a few days I must not have a problem!" and it starts all over again. I've found that the longer I'm sober (I think I'm on day 45?) the less I have those feelings of wanting to drink. I don't think they'll ever completely go away, but I'm much better at dealing with them.

People on here always say "They're just feelings, you don't have to act on them" and that helps me. Sometimes I feel like screaming at my boss, but I don't do that. Sometimes I feel like spending all of my savings on something stupid, and I don't do that. So why do I need to drink when I feel like I want to? The simple answer is, you don't.

AA seemed to help me, but I also tried every possible recovery method, and just stuck with what seemed to work best. I say try everything available to you.. AA, AVRT, SR, online meetings, even church. See what works for you and stick with it.

Hello NeoGuest
Something that did wonders for me - do a Web Search for Recovery Speaker Messages. There is a lot of really great stuff, most for FREE.

RDBplus3 ... Happy, Joyous and FREE

Hi Neo

Well that's the hell which has been day 1 over...thank god

Hey NeoGuest!! :)