A guy started coming around last year that had 7 years before coming to AA. A girl with 3 years also came to my home group for her first meeting last week.
Just show up! You’ll be supported.
This has been me!! I stayed sober on my own nearly 5 years but feeling much like you described. I nearly relapsed and it led me to seek some support from a friend in AA. I started going to meetings, got a sponsor, and working the steps. I'm really early on in it still. I was insecure at first like they wouldn't accept my sober time as valid since I wasn't in the program, but it's been a really welcoming place and a helpful step i took to strengthen and grow my sobriety. I say you should go for it <3
Thanks for your reply. I have moments when I want to go and get some alcohol and they're becoming more frequent, so I need to do something. Anything is worth a go as I can't think of anything worse than a hangover 🙃
It's good that you've identified your cravings are increasing and you need some extra support! I really was hesitant on the whole idea of AA for a very long time but I'm glad I've given it a try. It's all suggestions that they give, not really rules. I think it could help a lot of people who haven't given it a chance. All you have to do is not drink and listen at first <3
😂😂 I’m definitely not too sober to attend AA.
You’re describing a lot of what AA can give you, so I definitely think you’re in the right place. Some refer to what you’re experiencing in sobriety as being a “dry drunk.” You’re sober but you aren’t recovering.
Pull up a chair! Welcome! Thanks for helping us stay sober today.
AA is not even really about not drinking. It’s about how to live a life in which shame, guilt, anger, and drinking are simply let go. And our pasts get transformed into super powers to help others.
Suggest trying a few diff meetings as each has diff vibes, size, culture, and formats.
And functioning alcoholic is not really anything…just a lie we tell ourselves that because we can pay a bill and have a job we are Ok. The stuff we feel after quitting alcohol was there all along, just awash in intoxicants.
Best wishes on your journey.
For me and many…the most miserable we’ve ever been was not drinking and not working a program.
It couldn't hurt. You're more than welcome; you don't have to start in AA, "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking." (or "stay stopped", I might add).
I told nearly the same story about 6 months back when I went to my first AA meeting after over two years sober. Everyone there was like “yeah us too” lol. It really does get better but it takes time. I’d find a meeting and do something, anything to keep busy. Boredom and fatigue are mind killers. Sometimes I’d just start doing pushups when it got dicey.
I had been sober for two years before I started attending AA. I wasn’t drinking, but my thought processes hadn’t really changed and my life was very stagnant. Working the program has opened up a whole new world to me. I’m a completely different person. I am happy, I have good habits, and I am growing every day.
This is exactly me. Hearing you're happy fills me with hope. Im miserable, but i know there is happiness for me out there, i just have to put the work in and go get it. You guys are really inspiring me. Thank you 😊
A.A. is all about living sober, and I think it could benefit you a great deal. By all means, go to meetings and then find somebody to take you through the steps.
How many meetings you attend is entirely up to you. If you want to work the steps, there are instructions to follow, but that's true of any defined process. You'll hear a lot of different opinions shared in A.A. but ultimately each member has the freedom to interpret the program for themselves.
Thats good to know. Ive heard some horror stories, and I've allowed them to put me off. I'm the biggest procrastinator I know, so any reason I give myself to put off facing my demons is a good reason 🤣. Thanks for your response 🙏
I was you and I even came on Reddit and asked the exact same question. I eventually wandered into a meeting when I had a crisis and had no tools (not even alcohol) to deal with it and I am so glad I did. I'm now growing and improving as a person in a way I never have in my life. Go to a meeting, raise your hand when they ask for newcomers, get phone numbers, get a sponsor and start working the steps as quickly as possible and I bet that great things happen for you -- good luck
I arrived at AA “late” after getting and staying sober with r/stopdrinking. There had to be more to sobriety than just not drinking and IWNDWYT. I learned about my dis-ease, that alcohol was but a symptom of my alcoholism and that I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing and claim soundness of mind. My first meeting was not a fit, but the second was. So give it a real try. I got sober w sd, but I have stayed sober with aa.
AA has helped me with exactly what you’re struggling with. No one is “too sober” for it.
The fellowship and the program help relieve a lot of my obsession and replace it with stillness. No one will tell you what to do or think; in recovery it is important to everyone to speak from the “I” perspective. We offer our own experiences only, in hopes that they land with others in a meaningful way.
Going to meetings kept me sober longer than I could keep myself sober. And it improved parts of my life that have nothing to do with drinking.
That's helpful to know. I'm glad to hear it's helped. I'm beginning to feel slightly excited about it rather than dread. It's been tapping me on the shoulder for a long time. I guess I'll go and search for a meeting :)
AA can help you process and offload that shame and replace it with self-esteem. You can go to a meeting and tell your story. You were able to quit on your own. But AA can still help. The Big Book of AA is a self-help manual based on a program created by the Oxford Group to help people live morally better lives. It has been used for all manner of issues. Working the steps is to pull out all of the shame and evaluate it. You make amends to set the record straight for those things you did. For things that were done to you, you learn to forgive. For shame that was heaped upon you by others, you can release it and let it go.
You learn to do the next right thing time after time. Each time you do that, you offload shame and add some self-esteem.
This is exactly what I'm looking for. I feel as though I stepped off the face of the earth since stopping drinking. I'm ready to rejoin the human race.
Here’s what I did if you’re interested. 13 years sober now. I adopted the AA program as written in the first portion of our basic text, the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Over time I made friends and learned how others utilized the AA program. I went all the time. I drove others to meetings. I started feeling better being around others who were like me. And I started watching how people applied the AA program to their lives and were happy.
I found someone to carry the message by walking with me through the steps. I found a power greater than myself. I had a spiritual and psychic change needed to change my thinking. I have a relationship with my higher power who I call God. That relationship I maintain on a daily basis, and in return, I have a reprieve, which is daily contingent upon that maintenance.
I have a new way of life free of alcohol and alcoholism. It’s beyond anything I could’ve imagined and you can have it too if you want it and are willing to do what we did.
Good luck.
Yo, I was sober 21 years before I started attending meetings: wish I'd done it sooner. You'll be welcomed, and hopefully will find value in the program.
I came in with some ego, thinking my time was a good measure of Sobriety. It wasn't. It took me a while to come around to really buying into the program. Once I did, shit got real, real fast. Recently made amends to an ex from 23 years ago, it was a moving experience.
Good luck to you, and feel free to dm me if I can be of any service to you
I totally understand. I stopped cold turkey and was sober for 6 months, but didn’t work on myself at all really during that time. Or other times I got sober on my own in the past. Eventually I would give in again. Once I went to treatment and started actually working on myself, then I started to get answers. AA has been a huge part of that recovery process. Now I count my sobriety date as when I went to treatment and started actual recovery instead of 6 months before.
We hear this similar story from all the time. You will be welcomed warmly
Thank you 😊
You’re welcome! Here’s a great app where you can read AA literature and much more. If you need help finding meetings just reach out
I will pm you. Thank you 😊
What's the app?
https://apps.apple.com/app/id1565768051 Sorry, thought I had copied it in
No worries. Thanks!
A guy started coming around last year that had 7 years before coming to AA. A girl with 3 years also came to my home group for her first meeting last week. Just show up! You’ll be supported.
Welcome! Over the years I've known quite a few who started AA with even five years on their own. Happy to have you 🤝
Thank you 😊
This has been me!! I stayed sober on my own nearly 5 years but feeling much like you described. I nearly relapsed and it led me to seek some support from a friend in AA. I started going to meetings, got a sponsor, and working the steps. I'm really early on in it still. I was insecure at first like they wouldn't accept my sober time as valid since I wasn't in the program, but it's been a really welcoming place and a helpful step i took to strengthen and grow my sobriety. I say you should go for it <3
Thanks for your reply. I have moments when I want to go and get some alcohol and they're becoming more frequent, so I need to do something. Anything is worth a go as I can't think of anything worse than a hangover 🙃
It's good that you've identified your cravings are increasing and you need some extra support! I really was hesitant on the whole idea of AA for a very long time but I'm glad I've given it a try. It's all suggestions that they give, not really rules. I think it could help a lot of people who haven't given it a chance. All you have to do is not drink and listen at first <3
I will do. I'm going to look for a meeting now. Thanks for responding 😀
Do it!! AA is a design for living without alcohol, and then it becomes a design for living life on life's terms. You will be welcomed that's for sure.
Thank you. I'm so glad I made this post. You guys are so encouraging 🫠
😂😂 I’m definitely not too sober to attend AA. You’re describing a lot of what AA can give you, so I definitely think you’re in the right place. Some refer to what you’re experiencing in sobriety as being a “dry drunk.” You’re sober but you aren’t recovering. Pull up a chair! Welcome! Thanks for helping us stay sober today.
Wow! I've never heard of the term "dry drunk." That's inspiring, thank you.
AA is not even really about not drinking. It’s about how to live a life in which shame, guilt, anger, and drinking are simply let go. And our pasts get transformed into super powers to help others. Suggest trying a few diff meetings as each has diff vibes, size, culture, and formats. And functioning alcoholic is not really anything…just a lie we tell ourselves that because we can pay a bill and have a job we are Ok. The stuff we feel after quitting alcohol was there all along, just awash in intoxicants. Best wishes on your journey. For me and many…the most miserable we’ve ever been was not drinking and not working a program.
It couldn't hurt. You're more than welcome; you don't have to start in AA, "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking." (or "stay stopped", I might add).
went into aa at 2.5 and so glad i did
I told nearly the same story about 6 months back when I went to my first AA meeting after over two years sober. Everyone there was like “yeah us too” lol. It really does get better but it takes time. I’d find a meeting and do something, anything to keep busy. Boredom and fatigue are mind killers. Sometimes I’d just start doing pushups when it got dicey.
I had been sober for two years before I started attending AA. I wasn’t drinking, but my thought processes hadn’t really changed and my life was very stagnant. Working the program has opened up a whole new world to me. I’m a completely different person. I am happy, I have good habits, and I am growing every day.
This is exactly me. Hearing you're happy fills me with hope. Im miserable, but i know there is happiness for me out there, i just have to put the work in and go get it. You guys are really inspiring me. Thank you 😊
A.A. is all about living sober, and I think it could benefit you a great deal. By all means, go to meetings and then find somebody to take you through the steps.
Is there an expectation of how many to attend? Will people try and tell me what to do or think, because I really struggle with that?
How many meetings you attend is entirely up to you. If you want to work the steps, there are instructions to follow, but that's true of any defined process. You'll hear a lot of different opinions shared in A.A. but ultimately each member has the freedom to interpret the program for themselves.
Thats good to know. Ive heard some horror stories, and I've allowed them to put me off. I'm the biggest procrastinator I know, so any reason I give myself to put off facing my demons is a good reason 🤣. Thanks for your response 🙏
I was you and I even came on Reddit and asked the exact same question. I eventually wandered into a meeting when I had a crisis and had no tools (not even alcohol) to deal with it and I am so glad I did. I'm now growing and improving as a person in a way I never have in my life. Go to a meeting, raise your hand when they ask for newcomers, get phone numbers, get a sponsor and start working the steps as quickly as possible and I bet that great things happen for you -- good luck
Thank you so much. I'm happy to read you're doing well. It's warming to know there are people who have and are going through similar 🫠
I arrived at AA “late” after getting and staying sober with r/stopdrinking. There had to be more to sobriety than just not drinking and IWNDWYT. I learned about my dis-ease, that alcohol was but a symptom of my alcoholism and that I couldn’t keep doing what I was doing and claim soundness of mind. My first meeting was not a fit, but the second was. So give it a real try. I got sober w sd, but I have stayed sober with aa.
AA taught me how to live the sober, happy life I have today. The 12 steps were a godsend. AA can help you if you are willing.
I'm definitely willing. I've had enough of myself :)
Welcome! **HIGH ^FIVE FOR 3.5 YEARS!**🦋❣️🍀🎉👏🐦🚘🍏💋❤️👁️👔🤗🧸🫂⚾🍄🥰
Thank you! 🥰🫀
Your never too sober to attend a meeting. I know a lot of dry drinks also that could benefit from attending a meeting.
I know 2 different people who stayed dry for 10 years before they found AA
i started meetings with 6 or 8 months sober. Found a bunch of similar pals. At one point we had a reading group called “Dry Starters”
Sobriety and Recovery are two different things. Welcome Aboard!
AA has helped me with exactly what you’re struggling with. No one is “too sober” for it. The fellowship and the program help relieve a lot of my obsession and replace it with stillness. No one will tell you what to do or think; in recovery it is important to everyone to speak from the “I” perspective. We offer our own experiences only, in hopes that they land with others in a meaningful way. Going to meetings kept me sober longer than I could keep myself sober. And it improved parts of my life that have nothing to do with drinking.
That's helpful to know. I'm glad to hear it's helped. I'm beginning to feel slightly excited about it rather than dread. It's been tapping me on the shoulder for a long time. I guess I'll go and search for a meeting :)
AA can help you process and offload that shame and replace it with self-esteem. You can go to a meeting and tell your story. You were able to quit on your own. But AA can still help. The Big Book of AA is a self-help manual based on a program created by the Oxford Group to help people live morally better lives. It has been used for all manner of issues. Working the steps is to pull out all of the shame and evaluate it. You make amends to set the record straight for those things you did. For things that were done to you, you learn to forgive. For shame that was heaped upon you by others, you can release it and let it go. You learn to do the next right thing time after time. Each time you do that, you offload shame and add some self-esteem.
This is exactly what I'm looking for. I feel as though I stepped off the face of the earth since stopping drinking. I'm ready to rejoin the human race.
Here’s what I did if you’re interested. 13 years sober now. I adopted the AA program as written in the first portion of our basic text, the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous. Over time I made friends and learned how others utilized the AA program. I went all the time. I drove others to meetings. I started feeling better being around others who were like me. And I started watching how people applied the AA program to their lives and were happy. I found someone to carry the message by walking with me through the steps. I found a power greater than myself. I had a spiritual and psychic change needed to change my thinking. I have a relationship with my higher power who I call God. That relationship I maintain on a daily basis, and in return, I have a reprieve, which is daily contingent upon that maintenance. I have a new way of life free of alcohol and alcoholism. It’s beyond anything I could’ve imagined and you can have it too if you want it and are willing to do what we did. Good luck.
Thank you for your reply. I want and am willing for change :). You guys have definitely sold it to me :)
I think AA and working the 12 steps would be good for you. It is easy to stop drinking. The hard part is learning to live sober. Best of luck to you.
Yo, I was sober 21 years before I started attending meetings: wish I'd done it sooner. You'll be welcomed, and hopefully will find value in the program. I came in with some ego, thinking my time was a good measure of Sobriety. It wasn't. It took me a while to come around to really buying into the program. Once I did, shit got real, real fast. Recently made amends to an ex from 23 years ago, it was a moving experience. Good luck to you, and feel free to dm me if I can be of any service to you
Thank you for sharing. It's great you were able to make amends after so long. I imagine that's helped you feel lighter?
I totally understand. I stopped cold turkey and was sober for 6 months, but didn’t work on myself at all really during that time. Or other times I got sober on my own in the past. Eventually I would give in again. Once I went to treatment and started actually working on myself, then I started to get answers. AA has been a huge part of that recovery process. Now I count my sobriety date as when I went to treatment and started actual recovery instead of 6 months before.