Alcoholism Support Group
Alcoholism is the continued consumption of alcoholic beverages, even when it is negatively affecting your health, work, relationships and life. If you think alcohol is causing you to lose control, it's time to seek help. Our group is a safe place to vent, check in, get back up if you fall, and reach sobriety.
I don't think i've ever said these words out loud before. I'm thinking of going to an AA meeting tonight but i'm nervous. I struggle to not lean on alcohol when i'm stressed but I just can't seem to break the cycle. I was doing very well, hadn't drank in weeks. In replacement of alcohol i've been using mj, thinking it wasn't as harsh for me. It worked for awhile but of course when I didn't have any and I was stressed out beyond normal I ran to the store and got a pint. Drank a good portion of it before I even got home.
And now I feel horrible about myself....I just want to be clean of it all and rely on myself to get me through hard times.
And now I feel horrible about myself....I just want to be clean of it all and rely on myself to get me through hard times.
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Dick Van Dyke’s path to sobriety was a turning point in his life and career. Here’s what happened:How He Got SoberStruggles and Realization: Van Dyke began drinking as a teenager, largely to cope with shyness and social anxiety. Alcohol made him feel more comfortable in social settings, but over time, his drinking spiraled out of control. By his mid-40s, he recognized that he had an addictive...
I really like going to my group
Today I live happy and free of all that. So can you.
Please go with an open mind, listen for similarities in how alcoholism made people feel rather than the story of their life circumstances and events. The reason I say this is because you don't have to go through DUI or divorce, for example, to get the help you need.
Try a few different meetings and see what your impression is. Please let us know here how you got on!
You have taken an important step towards recovery by admitting that you are an alcoholic. Now you can look at accepting it and doing whatever it takes to fix the problem.
Acceptance means that you cannot drink safely and that if you choose to keep drinking the condition will worsen, probably to the point where you will lose everything, maybe even your life. However, alcoholism is by no means the worst problem that you could have because there are things that you can do in order to be able to live happily without alcohol. Going to an AA meeting is a good start and is one way of getting on the path to recovery.
It is completely natural to be nervous when going to the first meeting so dont worry about that. My suggestion to you is to arrive early, maybe 15-20 minutes before the start of the meeting. This will allow you to familiarise yourself with the place and to talk to other members who will be delighted to see you and will want to help. There will usually be several female members at the meeting and it would be a good idea to stick close to one of them for support.
I was advised to approach AA with an open mind and that was important; I heard many things that I did not agree with at the time but I kept going to meetings anyway. I was also told that I need never drink again and although I thought that was impossible at the time, I certainly do believe it now. Replacing alcohol with other substances is a bad approach and in recent months I have seen how much misery that can cause. It is better to make a clean break even if that is painful at the start because you will avoid big problems down the line.
AA meetings are a good start without a doubt but there is more to AA than the meetings. There is also a programme of recovery that will allow you to change your way of thinking so that you can live happily without alcohol. As you go to different meetings keep listening to women who talk about the Steps and who seem to be happily sober. When the time is right you can ask one of those ladies if she would be your sponsor.
Good luck on your journey and dont forget to post here about how you get on.
However...I did set up an appointment to have my old homebased therapist come to see me next week for a counseling session and have a doctors apppointment today to consult with my physician about my depression and anxiety which I know causes me to want to drink. So I am taking some steps forward :)