Recovery advice for someone new to recovery?

[Tattooed Nerd]

I am starting my recovery journey; I'm quitting mostly cold turkey. all drugs and substances. I'm scared but ready. I'm going to my first NA meeting tonight. has anyone here ever been to a AA or NA meeting and can tell me what it is like? I've tried quitting alone so many times and failed. so, I figured going to a meeting might be helpful. i would just like to know what to expect. also, any and all advice with getting and staying clean would be helpful. thank you for taking the time to read this.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

AA and NA are essentially the same thing, but contain 2 different types of people. AA typically has an older crowd, rigid but welcoming and very friendly. NA typically has more wilder types, court ordered people, sketchy people, younger people.

Even if your problem is drugs, you might want to go to AA. I much prefer the AA crowd.

It's a great place to meet people and get plugged into the recovery community.

Your first few times you probably just want to sit and listen, maybe introduce yourself if you want. Just see how it works.

AA has helped me a lot over the years.

Recovery is a journey. My advice? You have to put recovery above everything in your life. Above the drugs, above your job, above your significant other. You have to obsess over it. The 12 steps is proven to work. As the AA motto goes; "it works if you work it".

 

[crazyhairman]

You really never know if you'll be successful, but the fact you're trying on your own. Well it's fearless of you. No matter what happens you just take it one minute, one day at a time. Try to sleep, eat, shower, you might need to stay away from friends , stay away from people who still use. It sucks , no one will tell you any different. But Jesus Christ you know it's the right thing to do.

I was ready to either die, or get clean. Time clean , it helps . It really does. I did cold turkey august 8th 2016. You will never forget this day. The day you died. But you can come back from this.

I know really great folks that go to N/A or AA. Me personally I don't go. I went through most of everything alone. I had friends and family I talked to but no one really knows what you are going through except other addicts.

It's your fight just one day at a time. Then one day you'll have a good day... And that first good day gives you hope, then months later you have another great day... Then you'll have weeks of good days in a row.

Then years ago by but you never forget the day you died and the struggle to put your life back together.
Just one day at a time. Talk to anyone here anytime. It's a fight worth fighting I promise.

 

[Lil'LinaptkSix]

If one wants to recover one will find a way to get there is my opinion.
We can get a fix if we want it.
Just do a little rearranging of the furniture and see if it's any more comfortable. Sometime it seems we just need a different perspective.
My best to you in this journey.
Always,
J

 

[ElectricFeels]

AA..its a CI am starting my recovery journey; I'm quitting mostly cold turkey. all drugs and substances. I'm scared but ready. I'm going to my first NA meeting tonight. has anyone here ever been to a AA or NA meeting and can tell me what it is like? I've tried quitting alone so many times and failed. so, I figured going to a meeting might be helpful. i would just like to know what to expect. also, any and all advice with getting and staying clean would be helpful. thank you for taking the time to read this.

Honestly? Look up Smart Recovery..I hated AA..Essentially its a Xtian program..It irritated me that they tailor their wording to be 'inclusive'..but really its just Xtian..Which is fine..if you are Xtian..but the amount of people I've seen trying to turn themselves inside out to come up with a viable 'higher power' to please their sponsor? Its ridiculous..Totally unnecessary..they will tell you if you don't come back you will fail..or die in my case..Uh..here I am..not dead..12 yrs later ..Smart Recovery is a CBT (cognitive behavioural therapy) program which is run in conjunction with peer support and trained facilitators..They teach you how to deal with the day to day 'stuff' not just with substances..but every kind of coping mechanism out there..and they don't require or reward sobriety..because that's not what we want..we want to live our best lives..whatever that might entail..

 

[MuertaMan]

I still go to AA and take what I need and leave what doesn't apply to me but yeah I hate that arrogant "you will die if you don't do it our way" anyone who says that can get fucked. They don't want to imagine a person can stay clean on their own volition because then that means they have to take some accountability and can't chalk it up to "IM POWERLESS" thus absolving much of the guilt for the things they've done. Im powerless if theres a big pile of my drug of choice in front of me but am I really because once its gone wouldn't I go out and rob to get more if Im actually powerless? I dont though i crawl my carpet for awhile and then I give up and accept Im out. The religious undertones like you said are another obstacle, they claim its inclusive but if you comment that you are an atheist its almost like you can hear a collective groan and its off putting.

 

[THECATINTHEHAT]

Things I have done that have helped me in my recovery so far (six months clean tomorrow):

Gone to LOTS of meetings with other addicts who are also recovering
Not worried about the literature and detail of the program, I just tackle what is in front of me and choose not to pick up. I don’t let the things I struggle with prevent me from accessing the things I need.
Not allowed my mind to separate me from the people who will help me by comparing myself to other people and looking for differences between us. Even if every fibre of my body is telling me I don’t like or relate to someone I try to find common ground.
Be open minded as to the fact the way I see things can and will almost certainly change over time.
Been open and honest as possible so that people are able to see who I really am…when I do this I find that it allows people to recognise that I am in need of help and make themselves available to me.
Forced myself to make connections with other recovering addicts and become friendly with them so I have a support network.
Found a sponsor whom I trust, identify with and whom I am comfortable engaging with (it’s worth noting that they have never asked me to do ANYTHING, all they do is share their experience and allow me to take what I want from that).
Been willing to accept that I don’t know best and am unable to recover alone.
Got service within the program I work to help make me feel part of.
Try to have patience and accept that recovery will be an ongoing process and I am not going to get to where I want to be overnight.


I go to NA and have been for six months. I’m someone who had done quite a lot of NA meetings in my earlier life (but not really done the suggested things that actually help you stay clean) and then lost faith and just used again for another decade. I’ve been on both sides of the coin with regards to belief in 12 steps. Which route (AA, NA, another 12 step fellowship or something outside the 12 steps) you take is up to you, but I feel the thing that has made the most difference for me this time is that I focused on getting myself around other recovering addicts that I related to and respected and didn’t let anything stand in the way of getting that help I needed.

Good luck, this shit ain’t easy.

 

[MuertaMan]

When I was 15 I got ordered by PO to go to 90 day inpatient in some bumfuck nowhere town "nachusa illinois" and once a week we would all get in the van and go to an outside AA meeting. One day at this meeting its about maybe 15 minutes in a bum walks in, hes wearing a shirt thats so small its above his belly button and hes wearing blue jeans with a waste size like 20 times bigger than his and wouldn't ya know it hes not wearing underwear and his jeans are sagging so bad that his fuckin penis is swingin around for all to see any time he stands up. He spends half the meeting with his dick out perusing the table with donuts on it and making coffee, he did everything but stir his coffee with his dick and then goes and sits back down. This was a meeting that was mostly attended by a tight knit group of old timers who are there everyday and they were too nice to throw this fuck out and tell him to come back when he finds a belt. Well anyone who goes to meeting knows how every meeting ends, you guessed it two poor bastards who were too nice to speak up had to hold this guys hand reciting the serenity prayer while his dicks hanging there a few inches from their hands. We all walked out the door and everyone even the counselor erupted into laughter "did that just fucking happen WTF?" and as if that wasn't crazy enough as we are pulling out of the parking lot to leave the bum guy had climbed over a persons fence and he was jumping up and down on their trampoline with you guessed it, his dick flailing around. One of the weirdest things I have ever seen..........