Well that is good to hear. I too found alot of new friends in the rooms. Today I would walk thru fire for some of them.

The thing that helped me most was to know I was not alone in the deal. Also the program gave me something to concentrate on and not just sit around trying to not think about booze.

Keep it up , it was the only thing that has been able to get me 3 yrs.

1is2many

That is great! There is nothing better than sharing your experiences and challenges related to alcohol addiction with other people who have "been there". In my opinion, the more "input" you expose yourself to the better the odds are that you will find an approach to sobriety that works for you.

I am curious, are you feeling any "withdrawal" discomfort at this point? I was surprised at how good I felt after only a few days off the bottle, and so far (20 days) I have not had any cravings or the desire to drink. This is after 45 years of hitting it pretty hard on a regular basis. Seems like my body is saying "thank you, it's about time you quit poisoning me!".

After the first few days...not too bad. But now the cravings are here with a vengeance today for some reason. I think my boday also said"thank you" but at the moment there is a part saying "what the hell?..."

I think part of that craving is related to a physical addiction and part of it is related to your psychological addiction. Allen Carr calls them the "Little Monster" and the "Big Monster" in his book "Stop Drinking Now". It takes a little while to starve the Little Monster to death. And the Big Monster won't die until you are convinced that you are not missing anything good by not drinking. I have heard people in this discussion group say: "I wish I could drink, but I know I can't". I think that is a bad approach because you will forever be thinking you are missing out on something that is enjoyable and natural for some people. I am now convinced that alcohol consumption on any level is neither enjoyable or natural. I like my sober self much better and so does my body (and my wife!).

Hello sofgilead,

That is great news. You have started on a great journey and the rewards are unbelievable if you keep on the sober path.

I had no belief in AA when I went to that first meeting and indeed I despised the very name of Alcoholics Anonymous, without knowing anything at all about what they did. It was the welcome at that first meeting that convinced me to go back and I have not taken a drink since.

When you stop drinking the obsession for alcohol does not automatically go away so you will have that voice telling you that you can drink again. You have now admitted that you have a problem and the next big step forward is to accept it. For me, there was a barrier to progress for a while after I stopped drinking and I did not know the cause. It was that although I had admitted to being an alcoholic, I had not accepted it.

Once you accept the reality that you cannot drink safely you can then start to explore ways of changing your thinking so that you no longer have a desire to drink, regardless of what happens in life.

I am so glad you found the courage to go through that door! I really believe that when you open that door just a crack, your Higher Power opens it up the rest of the way!

I also believe that good things happen to those who stay sober. My AA sponser was the first person to tell me that and it has been proven to me time and time again!

So please stay sober and keep coming back!

God Bless!

This is great to hear. I'm so happy you made it to a meeting, enjoyed it, and gained something from it. It encourages me to try one or something like it. Thanks and congratulations on your sobriety!

Glad to hear that you went to a meeting. It is a brave move. Be sure to use your phone list. My sponsor had me make 2 calls a day if only to say hello. It got me in the habit of reaching out.

And, of course, you can come here at anytime. There is a lot of good sobriety here.

Hugs

You're blessed.

That sounds like a good group. I've been to some group's where they don't even acknowledge you when you're new and walk into the door. Those are bad groups and rarely are you going to hear the true message in those groups. Next I would encourage you to read the big book, for two reasons. First reading the book regularly will allow you to distinguish the message from the illness when people are sharing, and also when you do have the opportunity to choose a sponsor you will be prepared for what he will be planning to guide you through.

I can't tell you how fortunate you are to have every single person give you their phone number. I used to attend a group where on the sign in sheet they passed around not a one person put their phone number, and there was a full page of names on the sheet! Some don't like to give their numbers because the still sick (meaning those who haven't been awaken by the spiritual process called the steps) can and will take advantage of kindness and giving inappropriately. Remember recovery from alcoholism is a "road less traveled" thing, most people don't succeed because the they aren't willing to do the small things that separate the recovered from the still ill.

I do five things daily that prevent me from considering a drink of alcohol, and I am a real alcoholic, I change in a heartbeat as soon as I put it in my body, for me to not drink is a miracle, I am a walking miracle presently. Here are the five things, they are so simple and in the long run you will see that they are a small cost for the amount of love and life you will earn in the long run.

1. I prayer in the morning, if you don't know how just start with the serenity prayer on the back of your desire chip.
2. I then read out of the big book, as little as sometimes a page or two a day. The more I read the more I invest on the education of understanding my illness and more importantly learning the action it takes to stabilize and treat it.
3. I then go to a meeting. I choose to go every day, and the importance of the meeting is well worth the hour or two it takes in a day to accomplish the action. Once you've got to enough meetings you will see that it is not just about stopping drinking but more so about supporting others and ridding yourself of a subtle and some would say sub-conscious selfishness that never is a friend to the alcoholic and always is his or her enemy.
4. I then talk to a sponsor, or mentor, or other people in the society or fellowship. This allows me to open up and associate with others who also have the ailment. Talking to other alcoholics creates a bond of trust and confidence you won't find in the medical community or other forms of therapy.
5. I perform services or doing thing for others throughout the day when the opportunities present themselves.

I call these things the five fundamentals, and in the beginning they are great because they allow you to focus daily on the objective in case life gets a little hectic and your mind tries to persuade you that there is not problem.

Recovery from alcoholism requires a lot of reinforcing, a lot of reminding, a lot of practice and most important the willingness to be humble and grow towards better and often bigger things.

Our ultimate counsel as individuals must be the higher power though, or God as most call it. You as a beginner will hear many opinions and many versions of personal experiences with recovery, some helpful but some equally as harmful. It is wise to refer all suggestions to the higher power, and this is why the prayer is so important because it opens ups a channel for the communication between the alcoholic and the higher power to connect.

You've done well by going to your first meeting, you're going meet people and experience things you could have never created or produced on your own, and it will be worth all the hard work and energy spent in the long run. Remember you primary purpose of being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous is the stop drinking and help others to do the same. I say this to say it is also equally wise to keep everything as simple as possible the first year.

Have a great day and keep up the good work.

And in the interest of balance, you should know that not everyone who participates in this DS discussion group believes in turning yourself over to a "higher power" or that your addiction to alcohol is an "illness" (disease). If those things (12 Steps, Big Book) that form the basis of AA work for you and you are comfortable with that approach, by all means go for it. Just remember, the goal for all of us is abstinence simply because you will feel better and live a much healthier and productive life if you stop ingesting alcohol. The path you take to get there must be something that makes sense to you, or at the very least you must have faith that it will work.

Hi sofgilead,

I am glad you found AA to your liking. AA helped in getting me sober. AA can be helpful in different ways to different people or not at all to some. I found there is no one size approach that works in or out of AA. For me the only measure of success is not drinking and by whatever means it takes...There are things outside myself that help me stay sober, but in my case they are not supernatural...AA worked for me because it put me I touch with other people who were struggling with the same problem. I was helped and I helped others not to drink.

i am staying sober with many tools my faith in God my belief i can and will break the generational curse of alchohol and help myself and others what ever way works i am proud of you,, AA is a supplement for me i do smart recovery some AA faith and prayer and exercise but the main thing that helps is working on my spiritual condition well done keep it up loving yourself is a winner