oak

Does anyone know anything about Women for Sobriety?

I plan to go to one of their meetings tomorrow. I have been on their forum and looked at their website.

I feel some need for face-to-face groups, partly to meet people where I live. I moved here a year ago and don't have close friends nearby.

luckedog

Oak, go for it!! I find comfort in THIS forum. Not because of gender but on account of who we all are! If you feel more comfortable in a women’s group please feel free to go there! Just keep coming back and keeping us informed of your progress. Everyone has their own path to recovery, hope you find yours!!

oak

luckedog- I love this forum too. I also want face-to-face meetings. I don't know if it's important that it be women-only. Probably not for me.

I tried the local SMART meeting and did not like it. There are no SOS meetings near me. I did not like AA enough. So Women for Sobriety (WFS) is the only face-to-face meeting left! LOL

I'm really glad I like this forum and the WFS forum.

SoberArtistGirl

Hi! I participated in the WFS forums for a few months and enjoyed them. I also ordered a lot of the WFS literature and the monthly newsletter. I never went to an actual F2F meeting because the closest one was over 3 hours away. I got a lot out of some of Jean K.'s writings and found that I agreed with many of her observations and insights. I hope you enjoyed your meeting and am curious what your impressions are.

oak

SoberArtistGirl,
I liked the meeting. There were only five people- which seemed like a good number to me. People were very nice and the group ran smoothly. It was so pleasant. I liked the focus of being competent and healthy. The meeting format was reading some of the printed stuff, then we all had a chance to share, then we had a short open discussion at the end.

I am lucky to live near a meeting. 3 hours is a long way away! I wish you had one close enough to go to.

I will read some of the articles. I got a beginner packet at the meeting so I can start by reading all that stuff.

I hope it helps a lot.

I see you have not posted here a lot. Welcome!!!! I hope you like it here at SR.

luckedog

Sorry, Oak. Just reread my post and realized it was off point and could have been interprited as being "snooty". It was not intended to be that way!
I also tried the SMART meetings and AA and like you did not find them helpful. I understand the need for a face to face meeting, problem is I live in a very remote area with no meetings close either. Wish you the best in finding whatever works best.

SoberArtistGirl

Thanks for the welcome! I'm typically more of a lurker but will venture out every once in awhile.

I'm glad to hear you liked the WFS meeting. I think what appeals to me about their philosophy is the emphasis on "empowerment" versus "powerlessness". That always made complete sense to me. I didn't actually do the formal program for a multitude of reasons but there were certainly aspects of it I liked.

oak

luckedog- Thanks. No problem. I felt a little put off at first, but I also saw the encouragement in your message. So it seemed like your message was very encouraging. I appreciated that, and I appreciated someone responding! I was not sure how many people look at this forum.

oak

SoberArtistGirl- Yeah. It's the focus on empowerment that I like too. I don't know if I like everything about their program, and I don't know if I will ever do an entire formal program of anything. But I definitely like lots of WFS. I was a little concerned that they would say that people should try to get rid of painful emotions, but the people at the group definitely said no to that. They seemed very embracing of all human emotions.

I usually lurk places. I was desperate for contact, so I started posting here.

luckedog

Thanks Oak for your forgiveness. Sometimes I speak long before I think how It sounds.
I try to THINK and then speak, but It doesn’t always work out that way, I am trying to learn that it Is sometimes better to just "SHUT UP" but old habits are hard to break!! Thank you for your understanding nature, If it should happen in the future just overlook my rudeness. Thank you in advance!!

oak

I really appreciated that you responded at all. Your message was overwhelmingly encouraging. I did not even think it was something that needed forgiving. (I think it is hard to convey everything in just typed words. We miss the nuances of spoken words.)