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alternatives to 12 steps

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carnal1ty

Greenlighter
Joined
Jul 14, 2015
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Hey guys. I am starting recover for the 2nd time. I have done an inpatient 30 days rehab program before, and attended countless 12 step AA / NA meetings. It worked for a while, but I cant shake the need to be in control of my own life. I am a scientist at heart, and although I believe in a higher energy that creates/ controls the way our reality works, I do not like the idea of " let go and let god" I cannot relate to it, and it doesn't work for me. Therefore, I never made it through step 6. I was wondering if anyone had any information or experience with alternative recovery programs / counselor type situations that are not religious or 12 step based.

Thanks everyone !
 
I definitely know were you are coming from. I had to deal with it for 11 months in the rehab i was forced into. It works, it helps at time but at my core i am thinking.... i am doing this.. i am keeping my self sober not 'God'.

As for as recovery programs.. i am not sure i am curious my self. I would recommend going to the meetings anyway though, as they say listen the the similarities not the differences. They have a lot of good shares at these meetings ,if someone is spouting out God non stop in his share you can just wait for the next person.
 
Online sites can be a good resource. My primary support is soberrecovery.com which is a sobriety forum primarily focused on alcohol addiction. They offer two online chat meetings per week. There is also a "Class of <current month> thread" which people can voluntarily join. It's not a formal program but it's a way for a group of people starting sobriety in any given month to stay connected and share with each other. The forum reminds me quite a bit of the Sober Living part of Bluelight, but it's a high traffic forum so it stays fairly busy 24/7, and you can receive support or responses very quickly when you post.

I would also recommend you check out Rational Recovery and Addictive Voice Recognition Technique (AVRT). A good place to start is by doing the "Crash Course on AVRT" which is located on the Rational Recovery website: rational.org.

I wish you all the best. :-)
 
I like this AVRT program so far. Thank you for recommending it. I can relate to its concepts more than just a religious based recovery!
 
I can second SMART recovery. If you can't get behind 12 step structure, do SMART. There is always SMART bashing in AA and AA bashing in SMART, which is annoying because I do both, but what can you do.
 
^^

Yeah its pretty silly. I do NA primarily but I like SMART as well, I also have no problem recommending it. But people tend to bash everything, just like SOME people in NA bashes AA and vice versa. The longer I stay clean, the more open I am to the many paths to recovery. Shit, I have even started attending an AA meeting once or twice a week, just for a slightly different perspective.

carnal1ty said:
Hey guys. I am starting recover for the 2nd time. I have done an inpatient 30 days rehab program before, and attended countless 12 step AA / NA meetings. It worked for a while, but I cant shake the need to be in control of my own life. I am a scientist at heart, and although I believe in a higher energy that creates/ controls the way our reality works, I do not like the idea of " let go and let god" I cannot relate to it, and it doesn't work for me. Therefore, I never made it through step 6. I was wondering if anyone had any information or experience with alternative recovery programs / counselor type situations that are not religious or 12 step based.

Thanks everyone !
Click to expand...




There are alternatives but just realize two things:

1. The 12 steps do not say you cannot control your life. It states you cannot control your addiction ON YOUR OWN. That is the keyword. Your idea of a HP is more then fine, because its yours. Do I play a major role in me staying clean? Of course I do, but I still need some support in doing so. I need human contact, I need to talk to others about recovery, I need to do service to stay clean. That energy created is basically my higher power. Its not really a deity at all.

2. I don't get caught up in the slogans if I don't like them. "Let go and let god" could easily mean "accept that you struggle with addiction and don't fight the recovery process"

I am pretty secular, liberal and tend to be pretty skeptical but the 12 steps work for me (along with therapy, exercise, diet etc etc etc). When I first got clean I thought it was about rigid application of "the program", but now I realize that it is about creating a program that works for you. There is not right and wrong way.

But there is a thread above that discusses the alternatives.
 
I had almost 2 years clean and sober without meetings. I have been going to some meetings lately (NA) and have been really struggling with staying sober this time around. What really got me focused and kept me clean last time was a serious diet and exercise plan. I got really into it and it helped focus a lot of that energy into something positive I could spend all that extra energy on... I feel like it would be a step in the right direction if I would start a similar program. A lot of literature I have read states that exercise is the best way to relieve stress and keep your mind from wondering into those places that will lead you right back down the same path over and over again. Hope things work out for you and you are able to maintain. If you want to make it a contest and see who can stay clean and sober longer. I have 2 days so far!!!!!
 
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