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How many you guys in NA / AA ?

theartofwar

theartofwar

Bluelighter
Joined
Jul 29, 2009
Messages
3,263
Location
Boston
I only have been doin it for a lil now - honestly I was turned off from NA back years ago, I was on suboxen and some dude was tellin me to not show up if i was on "suboxycottin" - lol - but one bad apple doesn't mean the tree is a hot mess.

I've been back now and while I dont have a sponsor yet , which I do want to do. It has been a good thing in my life, I won't say it's always fun or I look forward to it - but I appreciate and certainly respect it.

Where are you guys at with groups ? How do you feel about yours and them in general ? Finally - when you got a sponsor how different was your life and what areas - thx guys n ladies
 
I attended NA for awhile but I found it wasn't my cup of tea - if I need support I generally find it via friends or with people I know online..

I got nothing but respect who people who choose to stay clean via NA/AA though..

Hope it works out for you bro
 
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Tell you one thing - powerless to addiction , that whole deal doesn't sit well with me. I just have found a group that I fit in with - i don't bring up the problems about NA in the group, I try to take the good that I can away.

One thing I have real prob w/is the fact that steroids are bashed on. Yet ciggs are smoked by the billions before and after each group lol.
 
yeah the powerless thing always got to me as well -- I think it is a cop out. Also, I didn't like the higher power stuff.. those are the main reasons I didn't stay with them

I also see the hypocrisy in steroids being bashed on when they smoke cigarettes and drink coffee like they are laced with coke or something

too each their own..
 
villian said:
yeah the powerless thing always got to me as well -- I think it is a cop out. .
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The powerless thing is to give hope to people who have lost hope in themselves. Once they start making progress, then they can start to feel empowered again. But if you tell a hopeless drunk they can do it on their own, they probably will fail because they have lost that hope.

villian said:
Also, I didn't like the higher power stuff.. those are the main reasons I didn't stay with them.
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If you have the power to do it on your own, you wouldn't be at AA in the 1st place. A higher power gives you something to believe in. Once you get sober, you start to realize the higher power is within you. But to get sober, the power of the group and a power greater than yourself helps when you couldn't do it on your own.

villian said:
I also see the hypocrisy in steroids being bashed on when they smoke cigarettes and drink coffee like they are laced with coke or something
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AA is to beat alcohol. It doesn't help you quit smoking or get out of poverty or lose weight. It has one purpose... to quit alcoholic drinking.

villian said:
too each their own..
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yup. AA worked for me. if something else works for you, more power to you!
 
Not my cup of tea (for some reasons which are AA specific and some which are to do with groups in general) but it drives me nuts when people join AA/NA and then complain about various aspects of the programme. It's not like anything about the programme is in any way secret - you know going in how it works and the core principles on which it's based so it's kind of silly to choose that particular path if you have a problem with those things.

That said, I find that people trying to get off any drug often find some "fatal flaw" in whatever programme they enter which then becomes their reason for leaving (or for not entering one to begin with). We're all special snowflakes who nobody understands when it comes to giving up our drugs of choice and even when we're spiralling downward fast we still want to negotiate everything.

Groups work well for some people for some things. The best of them pull everyone up and the worst of them pull everyone down. I view them as one option among many and given the poor recovery rate from substance abuse in general, I'm all in favour of people having as many options as possible. Someone else getting and staying clean by taking a different path than yours in no way diminishes your own recovery.
 
I've been to NA and I understand the concept. I accept that I am powerless over many aspect of my life, but if there is one thing I most certainly do have power over it is the intake of anything put into my body..

A lot of AA people seem to get rather defensive when you disagree with their concepts. What works for you might not (does not) work for me..

The end justifies the means though, so whatever way anyone can find sobriety I support
 
^^^

And people within AA itself seem to have radically different interpretations of the Steps and the Traditions. Not to mention that people often argue against positions they think AA holds.

Realistically, it harms absolutely no-one if someone gets their shit together by a different method but people get hugely invested in proving that what worked for them is the one true path to recovery (and anti-AA people are just as guilty of this as 12th-steppers) without asking themselves why they even care if someone takes a different path.
 
I attend meetings pretty regularly. I'm actually required to go to two recovery based meetings a week. I find them extremely helpful even though I do still use from time to time. I feel that they're a great outlet and the steps can be useful to anyone- addicted or not.
 
8 days clean and my first 2 NA meetings under my belt :)

I went out for coffee last night with a few people from NA and tomorrow we're hitting up a CA for kicks.

Feels good man.
 
I've determined that for myself, 12-step meetings are not the way to go. For many people, they seem to provide exactly what they are looking for. I think everybody needs to find what works for them - we each have a different history that needs to be taken into account.

This has been my main issue with AA, that it does give much room for the individual. We are given the identity of alcohol/addicts, told that we are powerless, and told exactly what we need to do. If an individual connects with the philosophy then it can be a great thing. But if not, it can be difficult to accept an identity that does not describe you well, or that you just don't connect with.

I say whatever increases your joy and peace of mind is a great thing. To each their own :)
 
I have been going to meetings pretty steady for almost 2 years now. I dont work the steps, I tried its just not for me now but who knows I might try again if I find someone I am comfortable with. I mainly go to discussion meetings, its interesting getting to know all the people that attend the meetings regularly. Sometimes I get fed up with the repetition of topics but whatever. Helped me stay clean so far. shrug.

peace.
seedless
 
^hell yeah ive found that meetings in elizabeth, newark, east orange are much better than those in summit, short hill, etc.

OD congrats on 30 days!!! you should come out to my area. we have great recovery around here (union county, nj), i dont know how far away that is from you but we should meet up. many ppl around here have 10+ years clean(usually more than half the meeting) and are still very active in NA. im sure some of friends/ sponsor would love to go out to the philly area also. going to different meetings is awesome.

i now have 107 days clean. i love NA and i go daily, its where i socialize which is the biggest part for me right now. if i was still hanging out with my old friends, there is no way i'd be clean. the ppl i meet there are, for the most part, good genuine ppl. of course there are assholes but that just comes with the territory. after awhile of going, you'll realize who to hang out with and who not to.

about the powerlessness- i just finished writing on my first step, so to me powerless means that once i start i do not know wheni will stop. that obsession that once i got the thought of using i could not get it out of my head untill i got high. its basically that in active addiction, the door was open it was very hard to get it closed. but now that i have shut it, it is easier to keep it shut. the obsession to use has been lifted which amazes me. i still get thoughts but i dont have to act on those thoughts anymore. i hope that made sense=D
 
calmAnimal said:
i now have 107 days clean. i love NA and i go daily, its where i socialize which is the biggest part for me right now. if i was still hanging out with my old friends, there is no way i'd be clean. the ppl i meet there are, for the most part, good genuine ppl. of course there are assholes but that just comes with the territory. after awhile of going, you'll realize who to hang out with and who not to.
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Same with me on all that, including the clean time! I go daily too and it has become my main social circle too.

The powerless thing I am fine with. From past experience I know that I have no power once I put one in me and I fully accept it as an illness. Powerless over people, places and things too, which I accept but find out as I want to help my brother who is using, but know nothing I do or say can change what he's doing.

I don't try to pick holes in the program because I have no need to. I was utterly hopeless and desperate to stop using and this program is working for me, so that's all I need to know. People who are cynical about the program and pick holes in it obviously didn't get to the point I was at, where they would do anything to stop. Some people say it's brainswashing, but to me I was so so desperate that I was like "Bring it on, let me be brainwashed!"

Just be open minded about it and if you truly want to stop using then it can work for you.
 
OverDone said:
the powerless concept is really simple. It basically means that we have no control (powerless) over other people, other places and other things whether we are clean or using.
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It does mean those things but thats not what it basically means. AA goes by the disease concept.

Powerless over drugs and alchohol means once you put that first one in you... all power is gone to stop on your own. I cant take one hit of crack or one shot of dope. Ive tryed for the last 3 years to use drugs succsesfuly it doesnt work. If im clean and relapse and take that first one i cant stop. Not a cop out at all because i couldnt stop before i got into the program and i wondered why.
 
I just got out of inpatient treatment two weeks ago, I go to outpatient, and about three meetings a week. I love the NA group in Rochester MN, very supportive. For me to return to using would be killing myself. My sponser is awesome, we dont talk as much as we should but oh well :) Its just about finding what works for YOU not me, not anyone else YOU. But its hard for me being a teen in recovery(I get shit from all my old using friends, and even some older people at some meetings) But Im stickin with the winners:)
Sober since 8/23/10 And Im proud of that date, means the world to me
 
I dont attend meetings anymore, but found alot of help and support from some of them and have no regrets. Think It really is about yourself and what you honestly put in and get out of them. Good luck with Meetings and Finding a Sponser you can trust and be honest with and vice versa AOW:)

Lolie said:
And people within AA itself seem to have radically different interpretations of the Steps and the Traditions. Not to mention that people often argue against positions they think AA holds.

Realistically, it harms absolutely no-one if someone gets their shit together by a different method but people get hugely invested in proving that what worked for them is the one true path to recovery (and anti-AA people are just as guilty of this as 12th-steppers) without asking themselves why they even care if someone takes a different path.
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^Agree with this wholeheartedly!
Think people often treat recovery like a Sport with just one winning team(ultimately the one THEY themselves support ie AA/ NA or not NA/AA !
Can understand that a dogmatic approach to recovery may be necessary for an individual to beat their addiction however this does not justify imposing this view on anyone else, unless they invite it. Likewise, for people who claim they are leading healthy lives by choosing to abstain or control their problem by other means; who look down on those following NA/AA.

Reality differs for everyone, yet also holds some common principles for all of us.
Differing interpretations and reasonable debate about the tenets of any organisation is a good thing, because it establishes a necessity for a concensus regarding the essence of what really needs to be understood and addressed when it comes to addiction ie it weeds out all the superflous bullshit and faces the common, real core issues !!!

And regarding Powerlessness...
No one wants to be told their Powerless, it makes us feel powerless just to be told this and it scares the begeezus out of us.
Superficial power is a construct, you can not truly own Power; you can create an image that looks like you own it but thats all. It is created and takes many forms, it can only be harnessed. The Addicted are biologically Powerless over thie DOC because they are either/or Physically addicted, Psychologically Addicted- they cant stop, and this spills over and into other layers of life-Social, Psychological, Spiritual, etc...However with whatever help (which is powerful)- the Addict can become better ! Simple....kinda lol! No one in this world survives in a bubble, everyone harnesses power from scources other than themselves; as well as from themselves.

Wisdom is a Power I personally value, and I find alot of it within these words~Desiderata
 
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