I am not following the steps directly on purpose, but it may be happening naturally like that anyway....

I did the first 3 and then sort of decided that I could do this on my own. Then after just being miserable and wondering why, somebody told me that the steps offer relief. Hmmm.... but I like to be miesrablE!!!!!

So just yesterday I met with my sponsor again and began to work on step 4. To be honest the worry and anxiety i experienced all day were for naught and the 30 min meeting was basically all good.

I needed to get back into action. I feel like a prize fighter and when I am engaged and leaning forward I have a better chance, when i am just standing there, or even leaning back, the disease can come and knock me out.

Today I engage my disease,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhlPAj38rHc

1is2many

i do a take what you like a leave the rest approach,,,, but as a rape survivor i replace words to fit my situation i am powerless over some things but i am not powerless it is a personal choice going to AA or smart recovery or ones one version celebrate recovery the true confessional well i have a hard time doing that one but i have gone to confessional at church we all do it in what ever way that works i find aa a bit dated sexist and cultish for my own personal journey but i am sober 15 mos and am doing better every day i am able to heal the trauma because i am not medicating my pain,, 12 steps are similar to the bible to me and being a believer i do thing moral inventory is important i do believe in sharing my strength and hope i do pray for strength to overcome i say if it works for a person then go for it, to each their own path some do yoga and other things like women for sobriety being GLBT i go to mostly gay meetings that works for me

I have not followed the twelve steps. The answer seemed much simpler to me once I immersed myself in better understanding addictions such as alcohol. I just feel better more often and I am generally happier when I don't drink. I am also more productive and that makes me feel good too. That is enough for me.

Hello BurningMan,

I cannot offer you advice but I can relate a story of a journey from a dark and hopeless place to a life of peace and serenity, for the most part.

I enjoyed drinking too much for several decades. I rarely got into trouble except for a few narrow escapes from the law while driving home from the pub and I never became abusive or violent after drinking. I was always a glass half full type of person if youll pardon the pun. However, unknown to myself I slipped into alcoholism, slowly at first and then like a Dow Jones correction following a China stock market crises. In a short time, all hope for the future was lost and the dark clouds that had beaten me down through the teenage years and longer were beginning to re-emerge. By nature I like to rely on my own resources and ability and so I set out to fix the problem. Despite my best efforts, I failed completely alcoholism had me beaten.

At that point I reluctantly went to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. Now there were dozens of AA meetings that I could have chosen from and I did not have a clue about any of them but I ended up at a particular type of meeting. Today I believe that I was somehow guided to that meeting, where the emphasis is on recovery from alcoholism rather than the drinking stories that form the basis of so many meetings.

I was intrigued by the whole AA experience from the start and wanted to learn more. One of the things that I remember from those early meetings was the suggestion that I keep an open mind. Obviously, a person who thinks that he knows everything can never learn anything. I also liked the fact that there were no bosses in AA and not one person told me to do anything well except for one lady who made a forceful suggestion about getting a sponsor and doing the Steps. I eventually followed the wise ladys suggestion.

For me, discovering the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous was a bit like the prospector who just struck that rich gold claim that many dream about but few have found. At this point I must point out that my practice of the suggested principles is far from perfect but nevertheless, the rewards have been amazing. My whole outlook on life has changed and I am doing things that I never thought would have been possible. When I was drinking I made many fine plans but rarely achieved anything. Now I try, sometimes with success and sometimes without but there is always a willingness to try.

I have had the privilege of being able to pass on to other people what was freely given to me. Again, sometimes with success and sometimes not. However, I realize today that I am but the messenger and the results are in the hands of God. I have watched other peoples journey through the Steps and it is interesting to analyse how some derive great benefit from the programme while others find it of little or no use. There is so much misinformation and wrong interpretation of the Steps that are laid out in precise detail in the Big Book and that may be part of the reason for some peoples lack of success. A bigger reason I think is the failure to look at the programme of recovery as a living, ongoing thing. As the Big Book states, it is a journey of progress, not perfection. One thing about life is that nothing stays the same so therefore, if you are not progressing with something, you are falling back. Likewise with the Steps unless the suggested principles are put into practice, old thinking is likely to return.

That is my story of darkness into light. It saddens me that there are so many others who could derive the same benefit from this toolkit for living but they miss out for a variety of reasons. Some never get the message and sadly, others are put off by the opinions of those who display contempt prior to investigation. I said that I cannot offer you advice but my suggestion to you is to keep an open mind and rule nothing out.

The spiritual path of the 12 steps has brought me a happiness, I never thought possible!

I have no advice, just a suggestion....try it because what worked for me, may work for you also!

God Bless!

Burning Man,

Here are some tapes from a BBSS meeting, this is the type of meetings I did step work with. Just so you know almost any non traditional step group you are going to attend is going to insist their style is how it was intended.. So my advice Is a little diddy I heard early on " I hear there is a secret behind the steps Whats the secret Just Do them and not get to caught up in the semantics associated with any group or members opinions!! Recovery is a state of mind a commitment to understanding yourself...Plain and Simple:)))

Good luck,
Billy


http://bbstepstudy.org/?Speaker_Tapes
http://ncflbbss.org/index.html
http://bbssnewington.org/

Billy

I live a life of contented happiness now; I am a contributing member of society; I don't live if fear, resentment or frustration anymore; I live with a peace of mind, soul and body I have never experienced before.

And it's been a helluva long time since I wanted to kill myself.

All thanks to the 12 step program of recovery suggested by Alcoholics Anonymous.

So the journey of 12 steps will start soon. Today is a trial day. Typically, my binges start on Friday & extend through today. So far, so good, but booze brain is taunting me. The best response is to stay here on the problem while not going down that path of deceitful denial.

I admit that I am powerless over alcohol -- my life has become unmanageable.

I got some good advice about getting sober early on

Get your as to a meeting everyday unless your as falls off, if that happens, pick ur as up and take it to a meeting...

1-2

The steps are basically a way to learn how to live life without booze. I needed to work on my head so I didn't have to keep drowning myself

Burning Man, so glad you have decided to start your journey to recovery. My advice is to attend AA meetings (but be aware that all meetings have the own "personality" - keep visiting different groups/meetings until you find that one that "fits"). In meetings, listen for the similarities; don't get stuck on the differences between you and the other members - we are all there for the same reason - to achieve lasting sobriety, anew and better lifestyle. Find someone who "has what you want" - someone who lives the type of sobriety and quality of life that you want - ask that person to show you how they attained that.

After years of drinking, several "in and outs" in AA, I finally achieved my lasting sobriety when I completed all 12 steps, in order. Not just the steps I felt comfortable working. I had done that before and always fell back into drinking.

I know there are many other ways to achieve sobriety, believe me, I tried many of them, but it was the 12 Step program of recovery suggested by AA that changed my life for the better. I hope it changes your life also.

Callie