My addiction treatment plan is_____.
 

of my own making

Alright, making this poll I got confused...normal. So I answered it before I was decided on what the questions would exactly be on the poll.

I'll stick with 'my own making' but I borrowed plenty from the world wide web and my library studies of past as current. I guess there is some determination that comes from learning that can't be ignored. Once a set course has been established, reinforced by the conscientiousness of insight from many learned ones in the recovery deal...theirs no going back.

I plod along a course from knowing and its been an insightful as fruitful journey of salvation from self-destruction. And yes I do talk this way in real life :)

I went "of my own making" because I haven't read any books about recovery programs, attended any meetings, or seen a professional recovery expert (although my doctor knows I quit drinking and gave me the standard tests to make sure there weren't any health problems).

So far, I've been able to stay sober using the knowledge found in the science and research links here in the secular forum. I'm lucky, in that I led a relatively emotionally pain free life, and suffered no debilitating degradations or horrors which would definitely complicate things...

Knowing the physiological changes that have occurred in my brain from abusing alcohol, and what will happen in the future as my brain finds its way back to some semblance of natural equilibrium has been enough for me. Knowing that having just one drink will stomp the alcoholic gas pedal in my brain stem and limbic system, and it'll be back to square one again on the road to recovery is also keeping me sober.

Having said that, I'm 6.5 months sober and still getting intrusive urges about drinking that seem to come in waves, so I just might have to get outside help if they become too much to bear.

Murray

I am going to take it 'as read' for a year. Once I get some time under my belt I will be more comfortable in figuring out who I am...hopefully

Cool! Have I mentioned I love polls?:)

I said of my own making but I should have also picked bits and pieces. Since I read lots and borrowed peoples ideas, plus added what felt right to me and a whole lot of self help stuff.

T

I went for all of the above. I go to some Women for Sobriety meetings still, but have altered their program a bit to suit me better. And I still like some SMART techniques. And I see a counselor. And I love the science links on this forum.

I love polls too!

+1 for polls

I chose all of the above because I'll try almost anything to stay sober!

Of my own making.

SR, therapy and meds for depression, and my brain.

I have no plan, but I am not a wild child. I'm simply done "recovering": I'm a nondrinker, period.

OTT

OTT, I like that concept!!

I think to a great extent each of our recovery programs have to be of our own making,
even if elements like meetings, medication and therapy are part of it because the only one who can make it a success is the person trying to recover.

I'm a Nephalist:)

OK smarty! Quit using those big words we are a simple people, at least I am. I had to go to the dictionary to find the meaning;

nephalism
an adherence to the tenets of teetotalism. — nephalist, n., adj. — nephalistic, adj.

I am one too, just did'nt know what to call myself!

http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:A...nXsh4rVWGw&t=1

I know what to call myself...

I'm a unibrowed, slope foreheaded, knuckle dragging Neandernephalist.

Murray

:rotfxko

Think how cool we can be when people ask why we don't drink...we can say we are "Nephalists...didn't you hear? It's the latest craze!" And it is, everyone in Hollywood is doing it, after they come out of rehab that is.

Bwahahahaha!

Well, I used to be a Catholic or a Methodist but now I am a Nephalist?

I don't want to get mingled up with those wild eyed, placard waving teetotaller types, so I'm changing my handle to Neonephalist...it sounds way cooler too :D

Murray

When I Googled Nephalists, they asked if I did not mean Nihilist?
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_kSNVKrktKU...nihilist02.jpg

As a newly realized Nephalist I guess I'll take the pledge and adhere to the tenets of teetotalism.

From the Preston Temperance Society.

The Pledge: "We agree to abstain from all liquors of an intoxicating quality whether ale, porter, wine or ardent spirits, except as medicine."

Will G (T)

Hey zen...I like that! Might add it to my signature line:) it sums it up nicely!

Neonephalist does sound cool....hmmmmmm;)

Zencat, I'm with you on the pledge!

I can't even pronounce that word.... in my head it make me think of 'nefarious' which I guess I used to be...

I'm with OTT now- I have no plan -I'm done recovering I don't drink; I don't eat onions or mushrooms either cause they upset my stomach as well

The no-plan plan is a good plan! At least it is for me. I found that the "alcoholic" label joined me with other "alcoholics" but separated me from the larger society as being somehow different from them. What I've found is that except for my inability to injest alcohol (green peppers too) I am pretty much the same as the rest of humanity.

OTT

I am glad you guys are doing so well. I would need a fair number of sober years before I would be comfortable with a 'no-plan' plan. At 4 months sober, I work very hard at recovery everyday. I don't feel any cravings or desire to drink, it feels very much like something I used to do, but I do remember the insanity of it. That insanity ran far deeper in me than an intolerance for a type of food. I never ate green peppers until I passed out and then woke up and started eating green peppers again.

I think the no plan plan is more of a lack of a formal program. I work hard at my life...not because I am an alcoholic or in recovery but because I want my life to be all that it can be. I don't know if I would have realized this without the drinking problem so in a way I am deeply grateful for it...if that makes sense.

I have no program or plan other than a promise to myself that I will not drink again and that every day of my life I will work to be the best me I can be.

Lafemme, I think you make a great point! I struggle with bringing BALANCE & HARMONY to my life. My natural tendency is all or nothing! I have to work hard to keep from obsessing over different things whether it be work or play. With alcohol I can’t control it so I must eliminate it! It is hard work keeping things in balance, but I want to have A balanced life!

I remember the last day I was in the hospital from RX drug overdose and had just accepted the day before that I could not and would not ever drink again and 1 of my sisters called me, she kept asking me "what is your plan, what are you going to do", it annoyed the heck out of me! I wasn't even out of the hospital yet and was still basically in a state of shock; 2 other sisters had invited me to come stay with them but this sister didn't (they all live in different states than I), I chose to recover on my own and didn't talk to that 1 sister for at least a year cause she ticked me off so much with her "what's your plan" cr*p. I never had a plan, I went to a couple AA meetings, read the AA book a couple of times, and I prayed; with me my recovery just kind of happened naturally because I wasn't drinking I was able to deal with all the issues I had accumulated with a sober mind and heart; and with prayer I found forgiveness for the worst (both for myself and for those who had harmed me) and that forgiveness truly did set me free. I still pray, always have even when drunk (heck I think I prayed harder when drunk), and I always will.