the soulution is the steps! New people do not know what the solution is! they are not yet clear about what recovery is.

The solution to my alcoholism wasn't just stopping drinking. There needed to be more. It was the action I took towards freedom from my own self-imposed prison. The solution was the steps I took that has led me to utter contentment and living a life of joy. And it's the steps I continue to take to bring inner peace. Into Action!!

Good mornin Olive, it's too early for such a question, but with one eye open and my 1st cup of coffee, I'll give it a shot.

For me, the solution is addressing all my crap. All the ickys in my life. The fact that I was often angry & had to have conflict at all times. The fact that I would lie at the drop of a hat to cover my ass. The fact that I had to look out for me first and foremost and as long as my needs were met, everyone else's needs took a backseat.

The fact that I was searching, nothing made me truly happy except my dear friend Mr. Vodka and even he ceased to make me happy. I was lonely, did I mention angry? and always wanted too much of everything.

Moderation was never a word in my vocabulary. Cause if something felt good, quadruple of it would feel better right?

I had no idea that the main source of my frustration was me trying to make everyone do exactly as I wanted them to do. I could not accept that some things are out of my control, in fact most all things are out of my control. I stopped fighting a neverending battle of trying to control everything and everyone.

I mean, who the hell am I to try to force folks to do my bidding? I was my own higher power in that respect and acted as though I was everyone else's by trying to get them to do as I wanted.

The solution for me is not trying to be in charge, forgiving myself for the horrid things I've done and the horrid way I treated people, apologizing when I do something wrong and learn from my mistakes.

FEELING MY FEELINGs and accept them rather than drown them with vodka to make them go away makes for a much more serene life.

Asking for guidance and accepting what is suggested even if it feels yucky & sux ass! I never did things I didnt' want to do before, so purposely pulling out all my ickies was foreign to me.

But I wanted the serenity that I saw in so many and was desperate enough to do as they did. I listened & didn't believe at first, but started to believe as things started happening to me. That began a snowball effect, this time a good one.....rolling and growing bigger up hill taking me to the mountain tops....I'm the king of the wooooooorld!!! whooooooohoooooooo!!! Okay yes, I'm a dork...hee hee..

Beats the downward spiral & avalanche that ends in disaster doesn't it? Would you rather go up & stand on the mountain top with a smile, arms waving in the air as the cool crisp air blows your lovely locks in the breeze? Or would you rather lay buried under 500 pounds of snow gasping for breath & freezing until you draw your last breath?

There is a solution! lol! I'm a dork! I'm a dork! and now I'm late for work! Thanks Olive! Jeez!! hee hee..

Hope I made a little sense with my warped little mind... love ya lady! Have a good day! :)

oh and the short version that was forein to me early on was "the steps, that's the solution" but my interpretation makes more sense to meeee..... I'm simple minded. :)

For me, the solution was to keep my seat . Alcoholism is characterized by the inability to put it down and leave it alone. That I know is brought about thru patience and understanding. Like books, the first chapter gives you the main characters normally , but as the plot thickens , you get to see the dynamics and the twist and turns of the story. I like long well thought out stories. And never read from the back to the front Lo!!! I just enjoy them chapter by chapter.
Billy

I AM a newcomer and am also pretty clear on what the solution is for me. It is AA, living the steps, going to meetings, talking to other sober alcoholics and first and foremost, turning my will and my life over to my Higher Power that I choose to call God. I try to got to a meeting every day and usually succeed, have been twice a day at times and call my sponsor daily. Yes, I have a long way to go, but feel I am working hard and that this is my solution.

IMO - the solution for me was to change my body, my mind and my soul.

Peace!

hi anna,

For me the solution was the spiritual experience I had through working the steps.

Tall order for me. I had no use for any "God' when I got here. I heard people talk about "God" and thought "oh great, I'm screwed". I wasn't stupid ya know. I grew up in a house where Mom talked about God and all I ever saw were cop cars. God was irrelevant.

I went to the meetings and listened like my life depended on it. Got a sponsor, followed (a few, lol) her suggestions and as I went through the steps, the spirituality began to infiltrate my life. I got here with 2 days wanting 10 yrs because I was so damned uncomfortable in my skin. No shortcuts, lol.

I was a non-AAer once and could not find a solution. At that time my problem was that I liked drinking so much that counselling, group counselling, family therapy, sports, classical music, higher education, my girlfriend leaving me, having to sell my house, my van breaking down, my grandfather trying to disown me (which is not legally possible by the way) my family telling me not to call, and finally, suicidal thinking, could not get me to quit drinking.

To me the Solution is in Step 3. FAITH. It doesn't have to be God. It's Faith in understanding the idea of Step 1 and powerlessness (over a lot of things) and the inability to get your act together (unmanageable). That your thinking is all screwed up (Step 2) and needs to be untwisted and alone we don't know how. Step 3 is the Step out and make a decision in FAITH that alone your lost. That to put yourself in someones/somethings care simply means that a healing is going to begin and you've become willing to follow directions. Everything after that is icing on the cake. Without Faith no other Step will work. No program in and of itself will work unless one accepts it in Faith and puts in to action.

Okay. I am not in AA, I don't even really know what the steps are, so I am not following them.

I have been sober over three weeks.

The solution for me was to stop drinking.

I did have a real epiphany that made it easier to stop drinking -- I woke up one morning and realized that alcohol was poisoning me, just like it did my sister who died last fall. And I realized I wasn't enjoying it and it was running me and ruining my life. Some days I think about it a lot, and want a drink, and there have been days where I have gone to bed and said to myself -- "hey, I forgot to worry about drinking."

I am happier, my relationships are better, and all-in-all I'm feeling pretty good.

I think it is fantastic that the steps help so many people, but I think I've found a different path to sobriety.

Whatever works!!!!!

I think it started with addressing my denial. To continue thinking that I could drink and stay in control when ALL evidence pointed to the contrary. (step one for me).

Once I removed the alcohol, I was forced to look at myself and the things that I thought were important in life and to reevaluate them. Working to make God sovereign was part of that, and it was impossible with alcohol in the way.

One step at a time HowTo- you don't figure this stuff out all at once.

what is the solution you ask , learning to live with out drinking every single day /minute recovering to become a better person for your self then watch your life change in so many ways you will part off not apart from . WHY NOT TRY IT .

42

18 months ago I got faith.

12 months ago I started working the steps and clearing the wreckage of my past and started to discover inner peace.

Today, the solution for me is HP, program and talking and reflecting daily. It is about continual work, willingness and very much being honest with others, and myself, about what is going on.

It is about living, not escaping.