So You’re Trying to Stay Sober Without AA?

“Our traumas run so deep that we often feel stuck, as if we will never find solutions to the struggles we face. So yes, we drink, and if anyone were in our shoes, they would probably drink too.” These are the words that begin Sober Black Girls Club’s mission, and they’re right. The traumas faced by the Black community, and women in particular, are many. So finding help in recovery for your particular experience is really important, which is why this community exists. The Instagram account, run by Erin Shaw Street who is a seasoned media professional, criticizes other websites and media who are promoting alcohol in an unhealthy way. But beyond that, Tell Better Stories is forming a community of women who understand that lifestyle media and female-centric marketing promoting alcohol is highly problematic. Plus, their website offers resources including a suggested reading list, blog posts, and other articles and essays.

For those struggling with drug or alcohol abuse, AA and its sister groups are some of the most popular programs for getting sober. In fact, as of 2019, over 2 million people worldwide went to AA. Now at 4 years and almost 4 months sober, I am in the latter group. I put a date on my sobriety a month before August 1st, 2015. Through my therapist, I found a support group for people making a difficult life change. I reached out to my support system, both to hold myself accountable and to let them know I might be needing extra care. But I would rather this happen than return to the life I was living prior to sobriety. Before I got sober, my physical and mental health were questionable.

The History of AA

Court dates, fees, fines, judges, child support, failed marriages – we all have had to contend with some or all of those matters, but hearing this endless barrage of events from the last debauch in an AA meeting. And being told that you are “intolerant” because you speak up about not wanting to endure these discussions best held in a court room, DA or attorney office is like being a moving target for retribution. AA members becoming tax funded employees and court advocates to help people skirt responsibility for criminal behavior, reduce time for treatment – AA taught me to take responsibility for my actions. When I got somber, another lady went to prison.

Sometimes, you just need a community that gets you on several levels. LGBTteetotaler can provide that boost of extra confidence. As a member of the LGBT community, I sometimes have sobriety-related concerns that are difficult to share with my heterosexual friends. That’s exactly where a community like LGBTteetotaler comes in. The free iOS/Android app can connect you to other sober people all across the world.

Forever35 Sober

I started doing volunteer work in my community. I built a support network of people who were not addicts who supported me in becoming successful in my life. I changed careers to work in recovery and give back to the world not just “a program”. I learned cognitive behavioral therapy to learn how to change my thinking and actions so I did not have to depend on meetings and a 85 year old program that you never graduate from. I found a way out of my addiction I don’t talk about it anymore it is of no interest to the kind of people who are in my life today.

Alcohol withdrawal symptoms are real and can be dangerous, if not deadly. Not only is it safer to abstain from alcohol under professional care, but it’s also more likely that you will get and stay sober. When I decided I would get sober stay sober without aa on August 1st, 2015, I knew I would do so without Alcoholics Anonymous. I had tried the program in 2009, but hadn’t connected with it. I didn’t stay sober for long that first time—not because of AA, but because I wasn’t ready.

What’s a Thirteenth Stepper?

It’s about creating lasting changes in your life to live a happy and healthy life. Many people have a problem with turning over this control. They feel that while their higher power could help them, it’s still within their Sober House own will and power to change their lives. AA will provide you with a preferably same-sex sponsor and worksheets to help you work the 12 steps. Opposite-sex sponsors are discouraged or even prohibited in some groups.

Finding a sober community is essential to feel a sense of belonging and camaraderie in your shared struggles to overcome addiction. Continue to grow and nurture important relationships. Join a support group, and as you get more experience, look for ways to help others. You can become a mentor or a sponsor to those in early recovery. Could the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of coverage prompt us to rethink how we treat alcohol-use disorder? The Department of Health and Human Services, the primary administrator of the act, is currently evaluating treatments. But the legislation does not specify a process for deciding which methods should be approved, so states and insurance companies are setting their own rules. How they’ll make those decisions is a matter of ongoing discussion. In 1980, the University of Toronto recruited the couple to conduct research at its prestigious Addiction Research Foundation. “We didn’t set out to challenge tradition,” Mark Sobell told me. “We just set out to do good research.” Not everyone saw it that way.

If you find it difficult to make new, sober friends, try joining a support group. Spending more time with supportive loved ones and planning activities for the entire family can also help you develop a healthier lifestyle and avoid situations in which you would normally drink or use drugs. The first steps of sobriety might be the hardest. When you detox, you deal with ridding your body of dependency on drugs or alcohol. Whether you are starting your sober life, take things one day at a time. Recovery from alcohol and drug addiction can be full of ups and downs. You might stay sober for years and relapse following the sudden loss of a loved one.

The theory is that through a dedicated commitment to the church that celebrates life, an alcoholic can overcome their sickness. Each of these alternatives to AA may have strong merits for different circumstances. Again, AA has never claimed to have an exclusive inside angle on recovery. However, Alcoholics Anonymous has the longest and most proven success rate of helping alcoholics to stay sober. So, the truthful answer to whether or not you can stay sober without AA is yes. AA has such a proven track record of helping millions recover from the devastating disease of alcoholism; it should at least warrant your curiosity. Acknowledging and celebrating the hard work of recovery is helpful for keeping you motivated and reminding you why you took this brave step toward sobriety in the first place. Just be sure that your rewards don’t involve drugs or alcohol. Instead, focus on things, experiences, and activities that will support your new, healthy lifestyle.

Benefits of Relapse Prevention Programs

Its hard to find a balanced view of AA out there, but I found online blogs from others in a similar situation to be very useful. RecoveringFromRecovery is a great example of this. Going to meetings and hearing people talk about their powerlessness over EVERYTHING and been reminded im living with an illness thats incurable is deflating. I am finding alot of nasty, acting out, ragers, and fear mongers in AA. I am planning to cut it out…I will not share openly anymore at meetings as people can give you ridiculous cult zealous feedback. I also have never had a sponsor who could talk anything but the lingo jargen.

But hey, if you have any confidence in your abilities or get “too happy” watch out! You’re probably not “working a good program.” I get so sick of the self abasement and self deprecation that seems to be a requirement to be a good aa. At this point in my life, to bad mouth myself that way is as much a lie as being grandiose is. It seems “right sized” in aa means smaller and less than you really are. Thanks all, over 23 years sober in aa, since my mid 20’s. I’ve been slowly pulling away for the past several of those years and yeah “deprograming,” at least that’s what it feels like. That doesn’t happen though, I always come away with baggage I didn’t go there with and further confirmation that God led me there , but now God is leading me out of there.

• We built out this option so we could include employees who weren’t in recovery from addiction to substances, but still might struggle with other issues.
• My company, Workit Health, has offers online, science-backed courses to help you beat alcoholism, all from your computer or phone.
• Recovery is possible, with or without the 12 steps.
• It has been a very confusing and difficult decision to sort out.
• Generally speaking, I just don’t want to be around this cult like behaviour anymore with people telling me that God got me sober for a reason and I should do what they tell me to.

I learned heaps of strategies that help me not drink. Although these new activities are healthy and productive, they can be a stumbling block to lasting recovery if they become a transfer addiction to fill the void left by the original addiction. A therapist can help you stay sober without aa learn new coping skills, develop new thinking patterns, and address any co-occurring mental health conditions that may make recovery more difficult. Depending on the type of dependency, PAWS can last from six months to two years after you stop using drugs or alcohol.

AA is based on a foundation of 12 escalating steps. It starts out with Step One, where you must admit that your life has become unmanageable because of your alcohol or drug use. This part is acceptable because if you’re addicted to drugs or alcohol, this is almost certainly a fact. Next, you must appeal to your higher power to help you get sober. This requires turning over control of your life to your higher power, although you are allowed to define the term higher power any way you wish. It could be Jesus Christ, Allah, Buddah, Ra the sun god, a pineapple or the neighbor’s Abbysinian cat. One organization that has shown successful results in helping alcoholics remain sober is a Christian recovery organization.