In person meetings
 

Hey everyone! I just joined the site today. I am closing in on day 14. I got sober for just about a month last August by holding on super tight and attending AA meetings and praying. Although I attended meetings I never felt comfortable and have huge anxiety about them. I have no idea why! I have tried to get to two the last week and the fear grips me to where I feel sick. Today I just drove straight home to get safely in my house. I thought posting here might help. I know there are other ways to get sober besides AA but I am unsure what is best for me. I need the community because I have no one in my life that has the same goals. Any encouragement would be great! Until then I will keep trucking on!

Hi,

There are many roads to recovery and we have a great Sticky here with lots of ideas and plans. You will find lots of support here in which ever way you find to recover:

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...at-we-did.html

Hi Linz. If you have a lot of anxiety about the meetings and it's just too much right now, there are AA meetings online. We also have chat meetings on here twice a week on Tues and Fri evenings :)

Ok thank you! I appreciate your response. I will give those a try. I know there is a lot of information out there I am not aware of!

xa-speakers.org take a listen to a recorded speaker meeting!

Hello and Welcome Linz. Anxiety went right along with drinking and quitting for me as well. It took a while but slowly it has gotten much better the longer I've stayed away from drinking. Wishing you all best on your journey.

Just do it. I was scared too. Socializing and meeting new people caused me anxiety and still can to this day, however, my decision to go to AA was one of the best decisions I have ever made. You can do it!

Hi Linz, welcome and congrats on two weeks! There are many roads to sobriety, if we keep seeking until we succeed. If you're not comfortable in meetings, there are lots of other resources such as counselors, online meetings, lots of books, and of course reading/posting on SR. Glad you're here -- hope you find the support to stay sober for good.

They can be scary at first. Your AV is probably pooping itself that you might hear something there that will keep you sober for a start off.

It gets easier once you start to get to know people. Its no fifferent from first starting school, and i managed that. Or my first job, and i managed that. So i decided I'd keep at it. Sometimes we just have to lean into the fear and do stuff anyway. As alcoholics we're very fear driven, and that only stops when we make the decision that fear is just a feeling, and not an actual barrier.

Thanks for the responses. Know I am reading them all. So far I have been seeing a therapist. We are just beginning and will come up with a treatment program. I have been to Celebrate Recovery both weeks, just skipped the group session. I have two books I am currently reading on sobriety and I did try the AA meeting online. Baby steps and breathing and getting thru the days.

Linz. It's great that you used prayer as part of your approach to getting sober before. That's always a resource we can use wherever we are. To learn more about prayer, there are lots of books and of course most churches and religious groups help their members to develop their prayer lives as groups and individuals. For me, learning to pray in groups meant that I saw things with quite a new perspective and that has had a big impact on my life.

Well I got the courage to go to a F2F meeting today and it was good. I got called on to share which is why I dread them but I took a breath and spoke. I'm still alive! Thanks for the encouragement

Glad you were able to walk through that fear! Hugs to you

That's great Linz! I have the same anxiety and I'm so glad you took that step! I'm guessing it will get easier with time 😊

Yes I like when someone said just like starting a new job or school it will get better. It is better than the alternative right?

So much better! It takes some time..... But it's all sooo worth it.

AA saved my life. Without it I would be dead. It teaches how to lead s life thats better than I could have possibly imagined

Great to meet you, Linz. :) You're never alone - we're open 24/7. Congratulations on your 14 sober days.

welcome, Linz.
and as you're already experiencing, we can not only survive but actually thrive from doing stuff regardless of fear.

keep going:)

I deal with terrible social anxiety as well and going to an in person meeting would likely make me completely lose it, but I've found there is countless great resources online from the AA website as well as youtube which has countless videos of AA speakers, others battling with it, and other great content I've found to be really helpful.