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Alcoholism Discussion Thread Version 7.0

I'm in agreement with closeau. My first AA experience was not a good one. It was a large group and peoples' attitude toward me ranged from indifferent to downright hostile (particularly when I broached the subject of medication). Then one day, in a severely hungover daze, my exgf took me to an open meeting near her house and the people there were friendly, open and welcoming and that has been my homegroup ever since. That said, I do not believe that AA by itself is a panacea, at least not for me. I still see a psychiatrist and psychotherapist regularly to treat not only the addiction but also the underlying panic and anxiety that led to my drinking. But given that alcohol wrecked my marriage and left me basically friendless, I am very grateful for my AA family and especially during this time of year, I don't have to spend my holidays alone and depressed and let drinking thoughts creep into my head. If it weren't for my AA family, I would be living in near-isolation.
 
^aihfl, I used to enjoy my AA fam, and I know they are still there, but I feel like it was a good decision to stop attending after the local club burned down. I was lucky to finally have the obsession to use or drink removed. I was getting tired of many of the members, and nowadays I spend my free hour in the forest jogging and conversing telepathically with the redwoods :) Speaking of the trees, I'm off....
 
Yeah aihfl, I see a shrink which is more med management and a therapist too. I'm also bipolar I so I'm in dire need of meds which I take and work well. I also have nasty anxiety disorder that I'm on meds for. Even in big meetings I get really squirmish. We have to take our meds and AA is my med for my alcoholism. I liked what you said about family. Sometimes that's all I'll get out of a meeting but it's enough, seeing people who have absolutely nobody and I get grateful quick. Thru step 9 I was able to make amends with a lot of people who are in my life today and I'm really grateful for my AA family cause they are the only ones who understand me like my real family can't. I'm glad you found the right group cause that's what it's all about. I live in a fairly argue town there are some really bad meetings but there are good ones then there are great ones. Those are the ones you make your home group like you did. That's awesome!!! My AA family is pulling me thru some tough times now. My mom passed of cancer 6 days ago and I'm struggling with a problem I'll leave out of the post and they've all been great. I've been bouncing in and out for 9 years now so I've met a lot of people and I have some very close friends and a awesome sponser. Anyway, good to see your post. Good luck to you on your journey!!
 
So happy to be off the alcohol after a month long binge that got pretty ridiculous. Hope everyones doin alright and hope those who arent get better.
 
Sorry to hear about your mom closeau. Must be tough.
Nothing that can really be said, is any kind of a consolation.
Take care of yourself.
 
Ive always been turned off to aa because of the religious aspect. Its one thing when people refer to a higher power but when they want to close the meeting with the lords prayer, it different. I never really liked meetings but im definitely not going to pretend to be religious just to attend
 
glitter_kiss said:
Ive always been turned off to aa because of the religious aspect. Its one thing when people refer to a higher power but when they want to close the meeting with the lords prayer, it different. I never really liked meetings but im definitely not going to pretend to be religious just to attend
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Exactly what I said, how can they claim to be non-religious but then close the meetong with the lord's prayer? Pretty co tradictory, if you ask me. And I know not every meeting does this, but still.
 
That was one of the things I had and have a particularly hard time with. Makes me feel incredibly uncomfortable for a number of reasons, and I can't help but think that there are soooooooo many others even more effective possible ways of closing a meeting, why do they need to say a prayer? It one of those really telling things about 12 step groups, particularly AA and NA, demonstrating how significant parts of their programme are little more than hold overs from an earlier time when addiction was approached by the medical, lay and using communities in drastically different ways than it is today.
 
I def hear and agree with what's been said. The meetings I attend for most part end with serenity prayer. I was part of a group who started a meeting awhile back and it didn't last but we agreed t end the meeting with the responsibility statement; "When anyone, anywhere reaches out for help we want the hand of AA to be there and for that, we are responsible." It's perfect. It's not a prayer and it sums up AA perfectly. Helping the newcomer is the program once you work the steps and get yourself straight. I've been going for 10 years and have left over anything and everything but now I just remember that in order for the progra to work you have to be desperate and be ready to go to any lengths to stay sober so the Lord's Prayer always has bugged me too but I just lump it into going to any lengths and don't let it bother me. I think it's a bad idea cause Lord's Prayer scares away newcomers and I'm shocked so many groups across the country have adopted this. But, I look at all AA has done for me over the years and it's not a big deal. I'm getting more good shit than bad shit. I kinda laugh at people who come into AA and nitpick at shit that's wrong with it. The shit has worked for 77 years and I never relized the scope till I went to the national convention in San Antonio and saw 100's almost 1000's of people all there and sober. That's when I myself stopped nitpicking. Nothing is perfect. 12 step programs are def flawed in areas like anything else. It's just really about trusting the God of your understanding, cleaning your house, and helping others. Very simple but very hard to do but I know the people who make it really do go to any lengths to stay sober bc their desperate. That's all I got but I do agree about the Lord's Prayer for sure.
 
nuttynutskin said:
So if you're completely against tapering yet know that withdrawal can kill you what would you suggest to someone that's been drinking heavily for a long time? Your statement is totally contradictory because some people HAVE to taper unless they want to run the risk of seizures or even death. I'm not out to be insulting but I swear a lot of people in the AA crowd sound like misinformed cult members. After my last binge tapering with 2 pints of beer a day for a little less than a week saved me from a lot of grief and I pretty much felt normal while I was tapering and also after I went dry.
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You don't have to taper, you can do a medical detox with medication like phenobarbital. I feel like tapering just prolongs the process. Granted drugs like phenobarbital make you feel pretty out of it and drugged but it's usually just for a week or so.
 
What's the problem with the prayer? Everyone is acting as though they're physically allergic or something. Wtf?:/ I myself am an agnostic and if the people that are bothered by theology or a deity, just don't worry about it like a true atheist. Ya know? Owwww... My feels... Discomfort...
And every meeting that I have ever been to, ends with a serenity prayer not a Lord's Prayer.
I don't go to meetings cause I don't seem to be able to devote myself to sobriety but the shit about the prayer sounds like excuses.
Fucking everybody here probably did way more "uncomfortable " shit to get high or drunk then getting through such "uncomfortable" experience like a prayer.
man up. The "feels" shit is ridiculous.
Not you Glitter, you obviously can't:p:)
(Man up[nice to see you])
 
Every meeting it seems like people are trying to find a way resoun to drink i just got tired of it im going to drink a vodka orange and cut off the hangover. Why is it i never get tired a headache but I spend a whole day sweating out alcohol
 
Glitter, I haven't sweated booze in a while, that usually happens when I'm really hungover and it's hot. Now it's cold here. ;)
I don't really get the sweats otherwise, except in the nigh time when I go on the wagon.
My hangovers are a little more than sweats. I literally would not be able to talk. ...until I got a drink.
Enjoy your sour. But try to be careful. TTYL. :)
 
I will say for those mentioning being uncomfortable with the prayer, I find a lot of focus being put on God in most meetings and not very thinly veiled as your higher power, you can tell very well they're talking about the Christian God. And for the record I'm not making excuses as I have two years sobriety and am religious I just don't always see Gods connection with my drinking or my sobriety and think he's much more preoccupied with peace in the Middle East or curing childhood cancer than whether I get drunk. I don't understand why he would go to all this trouble to "remove my defects of character" and let a child grow up in a war zone. I'm small potatoes.
AA as a whole really just wasn't right for me but I do recognize why it works so well for certain types. Although I think some people turn their addiction to the program and that's unhealthy.
 
Me too Captain.Heroin. Its def one min at a time sometimes one second. Cant have meetings all day and im alone a lot cause im on disability. To me the serenity prayer and 3rd step prayer ate powerful wepons against the disease. Mmp85, i totally agree with what you said. There is so much strife in the world, God doesnt care whether i get drunk or not. These things i have to put in my bag i call it. My bag of shit i either dont agree with or hate about AA. These issues have got me to leave and get drunk dozens of times in the last 10 years. I finally decided i have to put these qualms aside if im gonna stay sober. Ive left meetings and went to bars and even went to a couple of meetings drunk. I was just a mess. My current spinser got me straight cause he had the same problems. He said he puts them in a bag. I liked it so i stuck with that. For me, i can overcomplecate a cu of coffee so my spinser and i keep things very simple. I cant mindfuck the program, it doesnt work for me then. Just one day at a time and help others and im good and sober and clean. Lately my problem has been what we call in AA outside issues. But i think its all the same. Sobriety from any substance is sobriety and addiction encompasses everything. Anyway, im bot sure i have a real point but def that serenity prayer is a great way to start the day!!
 
And honestly the serenity prayer can be truly secular if you take the word God out and then it just sounds like something Benjamin Franklin may have said.
 
I admitted that I have an alcohol problem to my shrink today. Didn't really disclose the full amounts because I am kinda scared he would hold back on some of the prescriptions but I think he is a good enough doctor to realize that that would only make everything astronomically worse. Not that I can't get my own sleeping pills and benzos but I try to keep them prescribed by my doctor so as just to have an outside party involved if only to bounce ideas off of (and basically we work together suggesting things as I am in the field as well.) He prescribed me NueDexta, which is a kind of interesting drug, DXM and quinidine in combination (quinidine effects DXM metabolism), it is for treating pseudobulbar affect, but apparently there is off label use in alcohol issues. That was a new one to me. We discussed naltrexone (oral) but he doesn't want to do that and says if it's that bad I need to start seeing an addictionologist, I used to see one for Suboxone but he was a croak and a half (valium? scribble. dexedrine? scribble. temazepam? scribble. anything else?) Also recommends AA of which I am not a fan. I may go to a meeting just to see, but yeah, not a fan.

Still under a fifth of hard liquor a day but doing more impulsive day drinking lately. But it's 7:30 pm on my day off work, ordinarily I'd probably have put a six pack away already but instead I went out into the city to do some street/subway photography, actually getting outside and being active doing something I like, it was really helpful for my mood and to keep my mind off the demon rum. My hand tremors made taking some of the longer exposure shots a bit of a challenge but I had my tripod with me. I will probably drink later as I probably can't sleep without it and the 24 hour mark could make for some nastiness, haven't been 24 hours off alcohol in about a year, and that was only for 2 days.

We shall see.

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Seeing a therapist who specializes in addiction is a great option for those who aren't into AA. Granted it can be cost prohibitive if you don't have good insurance or if your area isn't well staffed with mental health professionals of any kind.
 
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