Thread: Quitting alcohol without AA

Hi all,
New here. I was wondering if anybody has or is quitting without AA or AA based philosophy. Perhaps you would like to correspond about your experiences and support each other....
Calico11:wave:

Not quite what you're looking for, but somewhat similar, I quit using opiates without the help of the 12 steps(AA philosophy) and was successfully clean and sober for over 5 years. I did end up using opiates again after being hit by a car, but I can hardly blame this on my method of staying clean.

Contrary to most of the AA/NA people I have talked to, it IS possible to live a clean & sober life(and be HAPPY doing it too!) without following the steps.

Most of what helped keep me clean was keeping my life structured, just generally not having much idle time, and of course, not associating with people who use or promote using(or drinking in your case).

Penn & Teller have a series on showtime called "B*llsh*t". They once did an episode where they investigated AA and their claimed success rate, the results were interesting to say the least.

For the first time Im happy..and sober..the 12 steps WORK! Theyrejust simple, life things nothing special... trust me it works and for so many I know...xxxxx

Hi Calico,

I've been to AA a few times, but I've really just never jumped into the program. I'm not sure that I would say I'm successfully sober yet because it's only been a month, but at the least, I have been able to go from drinking 3x a week to only once every month or two. It's really been a battle just getting to this point. I didn't want to quit drinking even though it was causing me a lot of problems, but I was going to lose my boyfriend if I didn't. Now that I've managed to stay sober, I actually want to be sober for myself.

It's taken a lot of life changes to get to this point. I've pretty much changed who I hung out with because I could not stay sober around some of these people (probably other alcoholics). After much trial and mostly error, I've also learned that I can NOT go to parties... even if the people there are only having a couple of casual drinks. I do not do "casual" drinking. The biggest thing for me, which is also a big thing in AA, has been with denial. I have come up with every reason in the world why I can't be an alcoholic, but none of those reasons have every kept me from getting too drunk and blacking out. I still struggle with it sometimes, but the few times that I have drank recently have been really scary because of my lack of control... I think I'm finally beginning to accept it. I have tried EVERYTHING to drink normally. I've actually tried mimicking the speed at which others drink... I've tried drinking other types of alcohol... but nothing ever actually works.

Overall, the most helpful things for me have been having someone to talk about it and someone to call when I feel like I'm going to drink (boyfriend). Maybe not a positive thing, but the guilt I feel when I do drink is also one of the biggest things that keep me from drinking. Changing where and who you hang out with is also a huge thing. Hanging out with my old drinking buddies would almost always trigger me into drinking as well.

Well how about you, what is/has been keeping you sober. What made you realize that you had a problem and that you really wanted to or needed to stay sober??

-Nicci

ehuntley;

Thanks....the point you made about always being structured and busy is what works best for me. I guess the problem occurs when I let my guard down! Always have to be diligent. Hope your well now.