New here
 

Hello everyone!

I found this site today and am very pleased to see the secular and LGBT forums.

I went to my first ever AA meeting last week and I can see the value of face-to-face support but I don't have any religious beliefs, so I find that part of it difficult and didn't see how I'd ever be able to "work the steps". I was googling non-religious recovery today and found this site and the "atheist's 12 steps", which I can relate to much more!

Last year I was sober for almost nine months, then I drank one night before Christmas, but not since then, so now I'm a little over two months sober.
I'm hoping this site will help me stay that way!

Welcome to SR and the Secular Forum Slowchange, it's a pretty good place to hang out.

Welcome slowchange.
That is the EXACT same way that I ended up here and the exact same wording.
Two great minds think alike.
I get my support from SR and although it may not be as personal as face to face if you come here and post here on a regular basis you will get to know the regulars.
You may want to check out the newcomers section also as it is busier and sorta religious neutral.
I forgot to say :c009: and that we are glad to have you here. :)

glad you are here Slow :)

yeah there alot of seculars here...some do AA and 12 steps some don't...but we all seem to manage along just fine most of the time.

I am a godless AAer have been that way a long time. We do have a section below this for secular 12 steppers...however it doesn't get a whole lot of use..people tend to hang out here mostly :)

If you are ever struggling with wanting to go to AA and needing to bounce some stuff off someone, please feel free to pm me if you want the perspective of someone who does this....And of course post here...and other threads as well.

You might want to check out some of the other threads as well as their are a lot of ideas out there that are helpful.

but always "come home to the mother ship" Its taken time for this forum to develop adn we love to have new faces and ideas to help us in our recovery

(hug)

Welcome - ditto to the previous posters on trying the Newcomers section and also the balance here of AA and non-AA approaches to this journey. I am pretty new too (member since Nov but sober since early Jan).. I always get something from SR - most of the time more than I ever expected. Love the secular posts - need the secular posts!

You're in loving and supportive company here! :ghug

Thanks all for the welcome! This seems like a very big site, it'll take a while for me to find my feet.

Allport - a fellow Brit! I'm from Cheshire originally, but became a southern softie years ago...

Fubarcdn - thankyou, I'll have a look in newbies. Been on here for HOURS already today! Spent about an hour trying unsuccessfully to load an avatar

Ananda, thanks for the offer of discussing AA. I'm going to check out another, different, meeting next week and see how that goes. I was on a different recovery site and mentioned my problems with the religious aspect of it (oh, and the "powerless" thing too) and was told by one poster that if I didn't follow it all to the letter, and give my life over to god etc, I'd end up drinking again. Not helpful! That's when I decided to try to find another site...

Thanks KindBird! It looks like a much more open-minded site than the previous one I was on.

LOL slowchange a southern softy, I take back my welcome (not really of course), what other meetings have you found?

They seem to be a bit thin on the ground around here!

Still an AA meeting, just a different place. There are hundreds a week in London as you might imagine, and I thought I'd try a few before I made my mind up one way or the other.

all meetings are different and difernt times too...the group i go to now is very ok with my heatheness

but i've been in meetings like you descirbed to at times...just remember that just cause one person feels they need to come across the room to tell you that doesn't mean that all the people are that way HUG

Aa is the only face to face around here, but mostly its just a place for me with other alchoholics sharing how they get and stay sober....and thats what i get here too...

sorry...not pushing or anything ;) just saying there's lots of different kinds of aa out there but this forum has really provided the support i need

Welcome to SR, slowchange. Congrats on your sobriety thus far, and good luck for your future. Good to have you here.

keep coming back (lol). no really, keep coming back.

Welcome! I'm glad you were able to get right back with it after drinking before Christmas. Stick around.....lots of good advice here!

Thanks for the welcomes gneiss, windysan (:lmao) and coffenut (yes, I'm very glad the Christmas blip didn't turn into something much more messy..)

http://bestsmileys.com/welcome/18.gif to SR Slowchange, glad you found us...not to say we were lost...you know. I attend AA meetings about once a week to fellowship with other recovery peeps. I work the SMART Recovery program mostly and SR helps a whole lot too. I say develop a personalized treatment plan that meet your specific needs. That's what works best for me.

Welcome to SR, Slowchange, and especially to Secular Connections. :D

Welcome to Secular Connections. I'm glad you decided to join us.

Thankyou zencat, doorknob and alera!

zencat - yup, I think a personalised plan definitely works best for me, rather than doing what someone else tells me to do (I have a bit of a problem with that!). It takes a while to figure out, though, doesn't it... Still working on it!

Welcome slowchange!

Welcome to both SR and the secular forum, you'll find lots of good support here and congratulations on your two months.

Paul