If you are committed to succeeding you will.

I've read Allen Carr's book multiple times and I remind myself of the basic premise of his book which is "alcohol is poison"

However, I've been on DS for over a year and the longest stretch I've gone without drinking is 12 days! Today is day 6 for me. You can do the math and figure out how many times I've failed but I know that I will succeed and I feel physically better because I'm not drinking and every day I succeed in not having a drink I feel better about knowing that I can go without it.

Good luck, we're all here for you.

Rich

Amazing that we can know alcohol is poison and yet still crave being drunk so much that we will drink it to get that feeling. And then we pay the price of the hangover and whatever else may have gone down while we were drunk. Seems crazy, but that is what we do. My craving disappeared after a week or so and now I relish in the thought that I am slowly res-erecting myself in another form. It is a better form that I am happier with, and the people around me are happier with. I could never go forward with the chain of alcohol still attached. Either you cast it off or you remain chained. The choice is yours.

Sometimes your willpower alone isn't enough, no matter how often you try. I had two months of sobriety before I finally went to my first AA meeting, and felt foolish that I hadn't gone before. Why did I go? I got scared I couldn't sustain an alcohol-free life on my own and didn't want to lose what I had accomplished.

Observation: most of those relapsing at DS are not actively engage in AA.

Please consider this option. Certainly counseling and rehab are also excellent options if you have the income or ins. coverage for the treatments. But AA is free and you'll have the opportunity to meet others struggling with our addiction and hear how they cope on a day to day basis. Down the road, you might even consider a sponsor to help mentor you though your recovery.

Peace!

Yep.

Recurring theme: other methods than AA, and a continued failure.

AA is a life-changer.

Just keep the plug in the jug
here is a hug....bill

Hello changingpb,

You have proven to yourself that resistance alone is not enough and that experience is going to be of great value to you. Therefore, there is no reason to feel ashamed, providing that you are willing to learn.

Use all of the tools at your disposal, from Alan Carrs book to DS and AA meetings and you will find something that works for you. AA is not the only way to get sober but it does offer many advantages so dont be embarrassed to walk into a meeting.

The Big Book (Alcoholics Anonymous) explains how alcoholism affects people both mentally and physically. The physical part is a craving for more that occurs after the first drink is taken. The real problem, as you have found out, is the thinking that leads up to taking that first drink. The Big Book calls it an obsession for alcohol and what you have been doing is pitting your willpower against the obsession. That approach can work for days, weeks or even for many months but the day will usually come when the obsession is stronger than willpower and the person will drink again.

The shame and feelings of guilt will pass with time and then you will be in danger of repeating it all again unless you learn from the experience and change your thinking.

Men and women drink essentially because they like the effect produced by alcohol. The sensation is so elusive that, while they admit it is injurious, they cannot after a time differentiate the true from the false. To them, their alcoholic life seems the only normal one.

They are restless, irritable and discontented, unless they can again experience the sense of ease and comfort which comes at once by taking a few drinksdrinks which they see others taking with impunity.

After they have succumbed to the desire again, as so many do, and the phenomenon of craving develops, they pass through the well-known stages of a spree, emerging remorseful, with a firm resolution not to drink again.
AA pg xxviii - The Doctor's Opinion

Sound familiar?

I found the power to break this vicious cycle in the rooms of AA.

I wish you the best. You have reminded me I would be back to daily drinking if I quit doing the things I am doing every day.

I drank because it made me not feel me. I have an issue with myself. But th reality is that I like myself more f I'm sober. The self respect almost shocks me. I walked out the door of my meeting and was actually proud of myself today. I'm glad I won't drink today. Tomorrow we'll, if I do the deal I can have a chance.

1is2many

I was on DS for over a month before I went to an AA meeting. I hated the thought of being an alcoholic. It took me a while before I started to see where this group of people had their heads at. Funny thing about it is that I had a lot in common with them and they had my back. You do run into a real prick in the rooms once in a while, but remember you are there for yourself not for them. Got you on my prayer list. Randy

Give AA a try, if AA ends in failure, as it was with me, there are other methods.

There is no shame in relapsing. It is part of the disease. Once you find that path that fits, you will attain long term sobriety.

This reminds me of the time that I had started going to AA meetings.
I wasn't working the steps, but I had a sponser. About 30 days after I began attending regular meetings, I had a huge change in my life.

If you have been around here awhile, I have repeated it many times over....In a nutshell, I lost my job, was drinking like a fish, wife kicked me out of the house, I had nowhere to go so the police took me to detox. I was in there for 4 days and at the time, I was wishing it was a longer stay because I was so ashamed of myself!

I was not allowed caffeinated beverages (Hospital rules) while in detox and was suffering from daily panics! About the 3rd day, I was told of an AA meeting on the same floor which I would be allowed to attend. I knew they had caffienated coffee there so I couldn't wait to go to satisfy that craving!

As fate would have it, my AA sponser showed up at that particular meeting....for some reason....and when he saw me, the first words out of his mouth were, "Have you had enough yet?" And I took a deep breath and I answered, "Yeah!....I've had enough!

That was the beginning of a new life for me....when I reached the point where I was willing to do everything it took to stay sober. I was calling my sponser daily, faithfully doing the steps and attending meetings regularly!

Had I not hit that severe "low", I would either still be drinking, or dead!

So my only question for you is this....."Have you had enough yet?"

God Bless!

You are absolutely correct. It is not enough to try and resist. You need to convince yourself that your life will be better if you never consume alcohol. Once you get there, there is nothing to resist.

And just for the record, statistically (from what I have read) there is no clear evidence that people are more successful at achieving sobriety through AA or other group programs than by doing it on their own. The fact is, some people are followers by nature and some people are self-directed by nature. In my opinion, AA seems most appropriate for followers. The bottom line is, regardless of the method you choose, you need to believe your life will be better if you never drink alcohol.

"Recurring theme: other methods than AA, and a continued failure".

Do you even GET how over-bearing that statement is? I'm going to be completely honest with you - it's attitudes like yours that would PREVENT me from wanting to go back to AA to be honest with you. You are way too pushy with your "message".

And what is this "opinion" based on?? The 10 people that happen to regularly post in this forum that are AA members and have managed to stay sober? What about the THOUSANDS of people in "real life" that attend meetings and relapse all of the time? Many people have managed to stay sober without AA (myself included). The only difference is we aren't judgmentally on here day after day after day condemning other forms of support and being condescending to other people.

Just my 2 cents as I'm getting really tired of the "AA is the only way" mentality that totally dominates this board.
It's not what you say - it's HOW you say it. Keep that in mind.

Golf clap to Forestfreek's post.

I quit on my own without AA, Allen Carr or anything else except DS. I've been happily sober now for 18 months. I don't have cravings and don't give drinking a second thought. I don't need to attend regular gatherings as constant reminders ABOUT drinking, thank you.

If AA worked for you, that's great! Please show some respect for other people's opinions.

Since I have been a member here, on my journey of quitting, it took me more than 1 or 2 tries. I would have nothing for 6 months, then choose to have a beer.
I always ended up with the same result: feeling guilty for drinking. I no longer feel guilty because I don't drink and I don't drink anymore because I have came to realize consuming alcohol is poison and I am not jealous or envious of people consuming a fattening poisoon.
I also have realized that I am not 'missing the party' by choosing not to drink.