Anyone get sober without going to AA? Just curious
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A friend mine who was definitely an alcoholic, drank every morning, throughout the day, passed out, woke up and did it over and over again for years and one day stopped, no program or anything, and never drank again and hasn't in a decade.
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The Dharma meetings like Refuge Recovery and Recovery Dharma work best for me…
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I live in a small community and AA is the only available program but if there were others I’d add them. AA has saved my life though so I’m pretty partial 
3 years and three months
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Yes i did it !! AA is not for me . We are all different and you will find what works for you . When you do , run with it .
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Yes, opted for individual therapy
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I used to go to meetings drunk. Now I only go if I really feel like it, which is rare. I go only to share my experience and perspectives that others can feel less overwhelmed. Just got it, but this app has been great for that as well. Know thyself.
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We have a question in AA.
What do you get when you get a horse thief sober?
A sober horse thief.
You see, drinking was but a symptom of our problem. We have to get down to causes and conditions. Provisions are outlined to do exactly that in the program of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Sadly, many people these days seem to want to do everything from their cell phone keyboards. Download an app to fix all your problems. That program doesn't seem to be demonstrating a very good track record.
I've been sober almost 9 years. I just came back from an AA meeting tonight. We were reading from the book entitled, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.
What a great meeting and what a great book. Written by alcoholics for alcoholics. I added another phone number to my contact list tonight too.
I need/want to continually go to AA meetings to share my experience strength and hope and also to remind me that the circus is still in town.
I love this app but I don't believe it's a solution.
Just my opinion. That and $3 will buy you a cup of coffee.
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Yes, when I got thrown in jail. They were fresh out of cold beer.
But that’s me.
I did have an in-law that drank like a fish and acted horribly when drinking. He just decided to quit after a big drunken screwup. He hasn’t drank since then and it’s been years. He is also not the happiest guy around since he quit. But maybe that’s just his personality.
All alcoholics have underlying issues that need to be dealt with. Alcoholics who join AA incorporate the program of recovery into their lives which deals with those issues.
Alcoholics who simply just quit on their own without such a program are not generally happy people.
That's why we ask,
What do you get when you get a horse thief sober?
A sober horse thief.
Drinking was but a symptom of our problem. We have to get down to causes and conditions.
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I’ve done this journey on my own. It’s only been 2 months but not sure if I should start now.
Thank you…ironically I don’t know what my problem is other than I can’t stop drinking when I start….I’m sure anxiety has something to do with it but I just never seem to want the party to end… I’ll check out AA
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Morgan
You talk with any alcoholic and they will tell you that they can definitely relate.
If I pick up a drink I won't be able to stop until I'm passed out. I won't be able to completely stop until I'm laying half dead somewhere.
If I drink today, I'll drink tomorrow, the next day after....
It's called the insidious cycle of insanity.
Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one. They are
restless, irritable and discontented
unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinks—drinks which they see others taking with impunity. After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the
phenomenon of craving
develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again. This is repeated over and over, and unless this person can experience an
entire psychic change
there is very little hope of his or her recovery.”
Can you relate to any of this?
This is a great app for finding AA meetings wherever you live in North America. You can find it on both platforms.
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I have quit a million times but this time I feel different I know there is no possible way I can drink responsibly I need to quit for myself but also so I don’t lose my family or career I’m definitely a highly functioning alcoholic and honestly felt embarrassed to go to AA it’s like letting everyone know my dirty little secret even though I’m sure most of the world already knows
Not I!
SMART Recovery is another alternative to AA or 12 Steps. They take a cognitive therapy approach. There is also an app available on IOs to find meetings and explain program.
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No need to feel embarrassed or ashamed. It requires courage to admit that we have a problem and need help; a trait that much of the drinking community lacks.
I'm an alcoholic. No big deal.
This admittance is actually a key to starting the life we were meant to live and one that many people with drinking problems will never experience due to false pride.
Give yourself a pat on the back. You have taken the first step.
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.
You never have to drink again!
When you get cravings, try some sweets. They help curb the cravings.
Alcohol lies to us. It's called believing the BIG LIE; That this time, everything will be OK. But it never is, is it?
We have to learn to play the scene forward. If you pick up a drink, you might feel some relief for a very short period of time but sooner or later you will be right back where you are right now, carrying around more guilt and having to start all over again realizing that you accomplished absolutely nothing.
Almost two years sober here. Did it on my own.
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Yes, therapy and this app is a huge help.
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