Probably not.Since AAs goal is complete abstinence from alcohol. Social drinking on the other hand Should pose no reason for concern. Its when alcohhol becomes a negative force in your life that AA would be of any benefit to you.It does make me wonder though is why are you here?You must feel that your alcohol consumption is not doing you any favors. If you feel you need to quit by all means quit. If you want to quit but cant then you've crossed that invisable line
we call alcoholic drinking.
Greg

Thanks, I guess with complete abstinence as the criteria, I'd need to look elsewhere.

Why am I here? I figured I can't be the only person like me and maybe I'd hear from others like me. Would you suggest another area on this site for someone like me? Sure, there are times that alcohol is a negative force but then again, a bowl of ice cream and cheesecake are also negative forces (lactose intolerant).

give it a chance at abstaining...your avoiding that if your drinking a couple glasses of vino...I think for healthy living a little alcohol could get to be too much if your drinking it for escape from living life as a human when problems arise...why are you laid off work? I hope it was not because of booze but for us it very easily could be...but are you one of us? Read this below..first 164 pages is hope for those with problems of alcoholism...not that you are alcoholic but perhaps you can relate to some of this stuff here as I think it is a design for everyone wishing a better life...

http://www.whytehouse.com/big_book_search/

Hi Billw

Thanks for the note. I was laid off along with many other folks as part of a corporate downsizing. So no, it wasn't due to drinking.

I do try to use positive choices when confronted with life problems (prayer, exercise, friendships, community) but will admit that not all my drinking is limited to a couple glasses. I like what you had to say about "it is a design for everyone wishing a better life"

Hello iacceptme,

Greg and Bill have pretty well answered your questions and I would agree with what they have said. Unless you actually want to stop drinking and find it difficult or impossible to do so on your own then AA is not the place to go.

What I think is that with being off work that you may have fallen into a rut as can easily happen. You lose the structure and discipline that comes with working and it becomes easy to drift along or let things go. Bringing alcohol into that mix can soon lead to problems. I am of course only guessing here but if that is where you are at you may need to find some ways to challenge the mind and keep busy. As for the drinking, if you are not addicted to it, you can cut back on the amount and the frequency without too much effort. Why not add up the money that you save by not drinking and treat yourself to something you wanted but thought you could not afford.

Although many people with a drinking problem go to AA for the meetings, the real business of AA is the Twelve Step programme. It is the programme which offers a new way of dealing with life and not drinking is just one of many benefits. Other people in the community have recognised this approach and have adapted the AA Twelve Steps to suit their own needs, with over 200 groups worldwide that are completely unrelated to AA now using their own Twelve Step programmes. If you live in or close to a large town there may be such a group in your area and if there is I would suggest checking them out. In that way you can get the benefits of what is on offer in AA without meeting the AA membership criteria.

thanks PJ. Your advice is really appreciated! I'm hopefully going to finalize on a job opportunity this week. After reading your post I see some other programs in my area as well as a neat opportunity to join a group. Of course, these are not as prevalent but could be just what I need. thanks again!

I guess that the question about drinking in moderation would be - can you drink in moderation? If you can then you can.

If you cant then the question would then become do you want to stop drinking altogether? And can you do that on your own?