Another Alternative....

[Wanda Full]

Hi Everybody, I found myself with an alcohol problem, but rather than the usual therapist suggested AA, I found Moderation Management at https://moderation.org/. They believe that you can control your alcohol intake and lead a good life, without the guilt and degradation of AA. Don't get me wrong, AA is just what some people need, but I didn't think it was for me. They have meeting 7 days  week, and I attend 6-7 a week, it has helped me immensely. Check it out, tell them Wanda sent you...

[Delcina B]

Thanks Wanda! It sounds like a wonderful solution for the problem drinker.

 

Hugs!

Delcina

[Charlize]

That is wonderful for you Wanda.  Fortunately i never found either guilt or degradation in AA.  Instead i found love and acceptance but if this works for you great.  I'm happy to leave alcohol to those who somehow leave a half glass of wine on the table.  If i'm honest with myself i know i will never be that person.

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[Maevia]

Thanks for the resource, I've heard a lot of horror stories about AA and how they also try and force Christianity down your throat... Which isn't ideal if you have other religious views or don't want any, and the humiliation they put people through as well. Nice to see groups that don't do that!

[Charlize]

As a person in recovery in AA i have found that Christianity has never been forced down my throat.  It was suggested that i find a higher power.  I'm still in looking 15 years later but that search never took me to Christianity. It has helped me accept\, know and love myself and others.   Some may well take the path of Christianity  but there is certainly no requirement to do so. "The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking"

 

Hugs,

 

Charlize

[awkward-yet-sweet]

That looks interesting.  I might show it to my partners.  I've got a couple of current/former/struggling alcohol users in my bunch.  Abstinence was a total no-go, which is AA's only method. 

[Heather Nicole]

I tried AA and didn't find it "horrible" or anything and I also didn't feel pressured into christianity. And it was clear to me that your own "higher power" didn't even have to be any "God" or deity or anything like that if that isn't what works for you. I did get the impression that AA seemed (at least to me) to be modeled very closely after christianity, or at least drew a lot of inspiration from it. Ultimately, for both that, and a variety of other reasons, I felt that AA just wasn't the best match for me, personally. (Although I can definitely see how it's certainly very good for a lot of people.)

 

I've actually joined in several of Moderation Management's Zoom meetings (albeit in guy mode) and was very happy with it. For me, at least, it's been a very good fit. And they do have an abstinence group too, if you're going for that rather than just trying to moderate.

 

[Lydia_R]

Moderation is an interesting subject.  In the 90's, I had very little control over my addictions.  I got to the point in 1998 that I was just totally fed up with getting drunk.  Ever since then I've been drinking occasionally.  I often go years without drinking at all.  Perhaps I just know my limits now.  For me now, it just comes down to not wanting to get dizzy and throw up and have a bad night's sleep.  I can get a little buzz drinking a drink or two, but I'm so cautious with it that it is hardly worth the effort.

 

And the same goes with smoking.  I simply don't want to hurt my lungs!  So I don't inhale much when I smoke.  And I've only smoked a couple puffs in the last 7 years.  I have no idea why, but it seems that all drugs are damaging.  I like being in an altered state, but it always comes with a price that I'm not willing to pay anymore.

 

So I get my pleasure out of being productive now.  I'm not overly financially successful, but I'm a decent engineer and artist.  And I spend a lot of time cooking, exercising and just trying to be healthy.  Not really perfect, but on the healthy side.

 

But you know, there is this goody two shoes side of abstinence.  I'm certainly grateful that I got to experience altered states in my life!  It's good to get a different perspective on things.

 

I think AA is more agnostic than religious.  For me a higher power is simply that there are things outside of me.  Things out of my control.  I wasn't the one who made drugs damaging!  I can't change it.

 

Using substances less is definitely less damaging.  There is a spectrum to recovery.  Good luck with your jouney Wanda Full!  Live long and prosper!