Many paths to recovery- not all are equal, not all are effective, and not all are equally effective. 
Happy, joyous, and FREE! That’s a promise of effective recovery. Don’t stop until your miracle happens ❤🩹
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AA works for me. Hbu?
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Agreed, there is no “one size fits all” to sobriety as some would like to convey. The most important factor of success is that a path is chosen.
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Amen sister! Congrats on your sobriety
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Recovery Dharma
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I love this thanks vaida
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Love this. Although I'm finding AA to be my rock for the time being, I love attending other practices and discussing others' paths and practices. I'm in recovery to learn to be the best person I can be, I refuse to be close minded because I could very easily miss something profound.
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In my personal recovery it’s AA all the way. I’m a big book thumper through and through. But as a peer support specialist I support any avenue to happy, joyous and free!!
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Narcotics Anonymous for me. 5 years, 1 month and 17 days. No alcohol either, in this period.
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When I was in inpatient I was asked about using a drug to curb my cravings and decided to take Naltrexone. I used it for about two years and felt comfortable to quit using with my Drs blessing. Still sober after three more years. Someone at an AA meeting kind of looked down on me because of it. Ya' know what? I didn't care! It worked for me! I still was active in AA, working the steps and going to meetings, that was working for me too! We're all different. Thank God for that!
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I love this!! My saying is if your miserable in recovery, your not doing it right
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Lisa, good for you for taking Naltrexone. That was prescribed to me and I was inconsistent with my prescription, meaning I would was not disciplined at all.
Looking back, I was not ready to quit and was making excuses like - oh, I hate the side effects of medication ( which I do hold a fear of ) - while yeah, I was not ready to make a sincere effort towards recovery, remaining sober.
I love your post, Vaida…and the responses.
Too bad that there are some people in AA that yes, look down on other paths.
Am excited to see Recovery Dharma mentioned also!
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I'm 85 days sober and still taking antibuse. No shame!
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I'm in AA and I am allergic to about half of it. The other half is working for me. When asked to read anything other than the preamble, the responsibility statement, such as the 12 steps/promises, I decline. I am true to myself.
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This comes from the Big Book of AA and I firmly stand by these words.
RARELY have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program.
Usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. They are not at fault. They seem to have been born that way.
They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a matter of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average.
Been hanging around Alcoholics Anonymous for a long time and I've seen several people who claimed that Alcoholics Anonymous simply doesn't work for them. I've also seen some of these people return years later and then sat down all the way and actually listened this time. These people have since then fully recovered.
If you find an alternate way that works for you, God bless you and we wish you well.
If you find out that it doesn't work, we welcome you back with open arms.
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I always wondered about those words in particular. "Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path". At this point when this was written, how many people were in AA and for how long? Seemed early on to make such a bold statement.
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My Dad took Antibuse back in the 70s, when he was in his 50s. He stayed sober the rest of his life, nearly 20 years. I still miss him.
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I was helped by the thought to embrace not fight it, look for similarities not differences. We western societies conquer Mt Everest and Easterners befriend Mt Everest. You don’t have to marry AA to befriend it.
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Colleen, Can you recommend a particular meeting? Thanks for any info!
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The people I have met are what keeps me coming back. The secular meetings are also where it's at for me. No praying and finger crossing, just straight up recovery, no chaser.
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