I completely agree with you. That is partially why I am not in AA. I would get so depressed after meetings that I would go out and get drunk after the meeting!!!! It just did not work for me. I have not completely ruled it out in the future though. Hugs

I am living a semi "normal" life and developing new hobbies and interests.

citychick......Yea,replacing bad habit with healthy habits...I have nothing against AA,but it is not my kind of thing:-)

Tis good if it works. As wildly different as we are, the idea that one size fits all is yet another piece of crazy I'd rather not pick up. Continue enjoying what life offers up to you...

Hugs,
Dennis

Thanks Dennis....Have good one.

LOL love that Dennis. I'd rather not pick up anymore crazy either;-)

So glad to hear you are sober. For me its kind of the opposite. Remembering I'm alcoholic, on a daily basis, has so far allowed me to live a rich, full, free life. I am an alcoholic. When I used to live dellusionally about that, I'd hold open the hope that I could and woudl drink normally again one day. I know now that's not the case.
Doesnt mean I don't live each day to the fullest...I do. I just need to live in surrender and acceptance. That's just me.

I understand why you feel that way and, depending on various factors, what you are doing may well suffice. What you are doing would not work for me because I tried that and drank again.

For myself I actually like being reminded of where I've come from. It's the fastest shake up any current grumble can have. AA and recovery is so much more than reminders in meetings.

The 12 Step programme gave me a spiritual rebirth, being sponsored and then sponsoring others, learning and striving to live by spiritual principles in all areas of my life brings harmony in unexpected ways.

I am perfectly at peace with being an alcoholic and grateful for my recovery. I have been very ill but have recovered. My life is no longer all about me. To the contrary, the more I get out of "self" the better my life gets.

I don't see my alcoholism as an addiction. I have the physical allergy, there is an obvious genetic link in my family, I have had the strange mental twists of this illness and I have the proof of the progressive nature of it. I am recovered from the drink problem, that is God's grace, but my spiritual growth needs to carry on for my lifetime.

Dealing with it and getting on with life Euro and that's something I try to do with each hurdle. I don't tend to give alcoholism too much thought power. There's more of living life to focus on. You're right in never forgetting and there's plenty of positives about living sober that gives me time to reflect on how grateful I am today.

I remeber that I am an alcoholic only when I think of drinking or offered a drink. Announcing every day isn't my coup of tea.

AA is base on the Christian revival paradigm. That's where they get up on the stage and tell everyone what a sinner they have been telling the gory details. My past is the past. I don't live in the past. On the other hand some guys and gals do great with this.

Crikey imp, if I encountered what you speak of in AA I would hightail it out of there and find another meeting. Not my experience of what AA is about.

The meetings I go to carry the message, not the mess. We take personal problems privately to God and to our sponsors and solve them with the spiritual tools we have been given. If we feel okay to share what is/has been going on with us in a general way in the meeting we say how we used our programme to deal with those issues. There are newcomers at meetings and that is our primary purpose - to carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

There were many there for me when I came into AA and I want to be sure I am one of those there for all those newcomers who follow. The AA Responsibility Statement reminds me of this and it helps me too!

At about two years sober I checked out AA (again), not because I was thinking about drinking, but because I wanted to make sure I was doing whatever I needed to stay sober.

I quickly realized that going to AA was not be helpful to me. I don't need to be around people talking about it or remind myself on a daily basis what my life was like.

I don't think -- "I am an alcoholic so I can't drink."

I don't think about it much at all, unless someone offers me a drink or I have a thought that a drink might be nice. Then I think -- "I am a non drinker and I do not drink and I do not want to drink." I feel great that I am a non drinker, not scared that I am an alcoholic in danger of drinking again.

I have hit a few times that were challenging and I made it through them. I do not see how going to AA meetings would have made it easier for me at all. (I also know that the 12 steps is not for me as well, but that is for different reasons.)

For me saying that I'm an alcoholic is not a big deal anymore. It's part of who I am. So what? It was actually a relief to admit it and move on. I missed a lot because of my drinking -- no social skills, inappropriate behavior, twisted perceptions -- which is why I liked the meetings. They helped me catch up and figure out how to live and have fun without alcohol.

I don't think -- I'm an alcoholic, so I can't drink, as if I really wanted to, and had make the effort to stop myself every time it's offered. For me it's -- I don't drink because I'm an alcoholic. I know what the consequences will be if I try to act like that's not true for me anymore. Maybe a subtle, hairsplitting difference in thinking, but it helps me stay clear.

ExJ, I admire the fact that you were able to stay sober on your own, and I completely respect that AA is not for you, but I have to ask...are you saying that if you think of yourself as an alcoholic, you are putting yourself in a position where you are always scared and in danger of drinking? Because that's not how I feel about it all.

@13

"...are you saying that if you think of yourself as an alcoholic, you are putting yourself in a position where you are always scared and in danger of drinking?"

Not at all... that is not what I said.

Always scared? I would assume that most alcoholics with any sobriety are living a pretty good life, not one of constant fear!

I don't think to myself that I am an alcoholic so I cannot drink. And if I could drink "normally" then I would. Or that I need to remind myself what happens if I drink. Or that I have to be vigilant. Or I shouldn't put myself in situations where others are drinking. Or that being around other alcoholics helps keep me sober.

I am not saying that all alcoholics say those things to themselves either, I am just trying to make the distinction as I see it for me.

To net it out -- in my first months of sobriety I viewed myself as an alcoholic -- I did not drink because I could not drink (without really crappy consequences...)

After I was sober for a time I shifted my self view to that of non drinker -- I do not drink because I do not drink.

Do you see the difference?

Never forget where I came from and will always be alcoholic but don't live in fear of it either. It just is and move on with living life as it should be..

"I don't think -- "I am an alcoholic so I can't drink." Pretty confusing statement. but hey whatever works.

Mind set and balance is key from me.