View Full Version : Has an AA group enabled you to make progress towards achieving recovery from alcoholism ?
"The moment 12th Step work forms a group, a discovery is made - that
most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group"
(Extract from page 9 "As Bill Sees it)
I went to my first AA meeting in 1994 after my doctor had suggested
that I might find such meetings helpful. I went to only one because I
took offence to something someone said to me afterwards and this led
me to decide to not have anything more to do "those people".
When I went to that meeting, I had previously sought help to quit
drinking for good from doctors, a councillor from our local alcohol
and drug rehabilitation service and a community psychiatric nurse.
When I turned my back on AA I decided that if I exercised my willpower
at all times that I desired a drink, then I'd be able to not drink
again. By doing this I was for several years able to not drink.
During those years, I did not appreciate that recovery from alcoholism
is not achieved while the minds of those who suffer from it remain
capable of allowing them to believe that it's OK for them to drink:
"The main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind
................) (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 23)
In 2002, I began to think that having not had a drink for almost 8
years, I had proved myself able to control my drinking and therefore
if I drank again I'd find it easy to stay in control of it. It did
not take me long to find out that that thinking was wrong thinking.
In June 2003, I again decided to quit drinking and to again seek help
to stay off booze. Within a few weeks, I became willing to go back to
AA meetings. When I discovered that the group I had left 10 years ago
was still going, I chose as my first meeting one of its. There I saw
people who had been at the meeting I had attended 10 years earlier.
From them and others I heard many recovery-related messages that gave
me hope that one day I could find myself with a life that alcohol
played no part in, that was infinitely better than the life I was used
to living. Now, I've been to that group's meetings almost every week
for over a year.
I do not know if it is true that "most individuals cannot recover
(from alcoholism) unless there is a group". However, I know that my
AA group has enabled me to make progress towards achieving this. Has
yours done the same for you ?
Dan McGown
10-17-2004, 09:30 AM
> I do not know if it is true that "most individuals cannot recover
> (from alcoholism) unless there is a group". However, I know that my
> AA group has enabled me to make progress towards achieving this. Has
> yours done the same for you ?
JB,
I have a lot of mixed feelings about meetings but they do help
me when I feel that "old feeling." I heard my first lead while a guest of
the county, so the ambience wasn't all warm and fuzzy. I hadn't really
thought about it like this until I was reading your post, but on further
thought I find that my feelings about meetings are still utilitarian.
When I first stopped drinking I went to a lot of meetings
because when I was at a meeting I wasn't at a bar. Now I go to my home
group meeting more or less to remind myself where it could go if I drank
again and I drop in on meetings when I am under stress or when for some
other reason I think that I might have the first one.
Meetings have not (or at least not yet, perhaps) had that
"coming home" feeling for me that I have heard some others describe.
Mostly, I just enjoy the freedom in all of the rest of my life that I have
from being liberated from drinking. The meetings, like working the steps
and reading the Big Book, are the tools available to me to keep that
freedom.
On balance, I spend a lot less time going to meetings, working
the steps and reading the BB than I spent drinking, and I own the rest of
the time for myself. I'm alive and awake and in possession of my faculties
instead of dulled out and hiding from the world. It's worth it and meetings
are part of the overhead, at least for me.
Dan
Sounds a bit like my story. I quit drinking in my early thirties and stayed
sober for 6 years. This was done with pure willpower. However, the pain of
my drinking days dimmed and I started drinking again. I recovered from my
bender and I now go to AA. It's difficult to say if AA is having any effect
on me. I feel as though I'm just exercising the same willpower as I did in
my previous sobriety. I suppose that going to meetings, I can let my
feelings out and listen to the experiences of others. I think I need to be
constantly reminded what alcoholism is about, and will hopefully prevent me
from relapsing.
--
J
JB wrote:
> "The moment 12th Step work forms a group, a discovery is made - that
> most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group"
>
> (Extract from page 9 "As Bill Sees it)
>
> I went to my first AA meeting in 1994 after my doctor had suggested
> that I might find such meetings helpful. I went to only one because I
> took offence to something someone said to me afterwards and this led
> me to decide to not have anything more to do "those people".
>
> When I went to that meeting, I had previously sought help to quit
> drinking for good from doctors, a councillor from our local alcohol
> and drug rehabilitation service and a community psychiatric nurse.
> When I turned my back on AA I decided that if I exercised my willpower
> at all times that I desired a drink, then I'd be able to not drink
> again. By doing this I was for several years able to not drink.
> During those years, I did not appreciate that recovery from alcoholism
> is not achieved while the minds of those who suffer from it remain
> capable of allowing them to believe that it's OK for them to drink:
>
> "The main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind
> ...............) (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 23)
>
> In 2002, I began to think that having not had a drink for almost 8
> years, I had proved myself able to control my drinking and therefore
> if I drank again I'd find it easy to stay in control of it. It did
> not take me long to find out that that thinking was wrong thinking.
>
> In June 2003, I again decided to quit drinking and to again seek help
> to stay off booze. Within a few weeks, I became willing to go back to
> AA meetings. When I discovered that the group I had left 10 years ago
> was still going, I chose as my first meeting one of its. There I saw
> people who had been at the meeting I had attended 10 years earlier.
> From them and others I heard many recovery-related messages that gave
> me hope that one day I could find myself with a life that alcohol
> played no part in, that was infinitely better than the life I was used
> to living. Now, I've been to that group's meetings almost every week
> for over a year.
>
> I do not know if it is true that "most individuals cannot recover
> (from alcoholism) unless there is a group". However, I know that my
> AA group has enabled me to make progress towards achieving this. Has
> yours done the same for you ?
Fred Exley
10-17-2004, 01:21 PM
"Dan McGown" <dmcgown@adelphia.net> wrote in message
news:mtWdnSp0v_Fp7u_cRVn-hg@adelphia.com...
>> I do not know if it is true that "most individuals cannot recover
>> (from alcoholism) unless there is a group". However, I know that my
>> AA group has enabled me to make progress towards achieving this. Has
>> yours done the same for you ?
>
> JB,
>
> I have a lot of mixed feelings about meetings but they do help
> me when I feel that "old feeling." I heard my first lead while a guest of
> the county, so the ambience wasn't all warm and fuzzy. I hadn't really
> thought about it like this until I was reading your post, but on further
> thought I find that my feelings about meetings are still utilitarian.
>
> When I first stopped drinking I went to a lot of meetings
> because when I was at a meeting I wasn't at a bar. Now I go to my home
> group meeting more or less to remind myself where it could go if I drank
> again and I drop in on meetings when I am under stress or when for some
> other reason I think that I might have the first one.
>
> Meetings have not (or at least not yet, perhaps) had that
> "coming home" feeling for me that I have heard some others describe.
> Mostly, I just enjoy the freedom in all of the rest of my life that I have
> from being liberated from drinking. The meetings, like working the steps
> and reading the Big Book, are the tools available to me to keep that
> freedom.
>
> On balance, I spend a lot less time going to meetings, working
> the steps and reading the BB than I spent drinking, and I own the rest of
> the time for myself. I'm alive and awake and in possession of my
> faculties instead of dulled out and hiding from the world. It's worth it
> and meetings are part of the overhead, at least for me.
>
> Dan
Yours is pretty much my m.o. too Dan. What's working most for me now is
keeping focused on what I can do now, and doing it, rather than looking back
or down.
-Fred
"J" <welshalky@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4172cbb0@news.greennet.net...
<snip>
>I feel as though I'm just exercising the same willpower as I did in
> my previous sobriety.
<snip>
> J
>
Hi J,
Even though I'm happy to accept AA teachings about what alcoholism is
and what can be done to recover from it, if I wanted to drink again, I
would. In AA I have heard nothing that has caused me to believe that
I no longer have the ability to make choices.
ATB
JB
Sure, I'm learning quite a bit about alcoholism from the meetings. It's good
to know I'm not alone, although there's not too many of use here in mid
Wales :)
--
J
JB wrote:
> "J" <welshalky@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4172cbb0@news.greennet.net...
> <snip>
>
>> I feel as though I'm just exercising the same willpower as I did in
>> my previous sobriety.
> <snip>
>
>> J
>>
> Hi J,
>
> Even though I'm happy to accept AA teachings about what alcoholism is
> and what can be done to recover from it, if I wanted to drink again, I
> would. In AA I have heard nothing that has caused me to believe that
> I no longer have the ability to make choices.
>
> ATB
>
> JB
Cool, that'd be great. Thanks. You can send to my hotmail address.
--
J
JB wrote:
> "J" <welshalky@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4172ef3d@news.greennet.net...
>> Sure, I'm learning quite a bit about alcoholism from the meetings.
>> It's good to know I'm not alone, although there's not too many of
>> use here in mid Wales :)
>>
>> --
>> J
>
> J,
>
> If you would like the addresses of some internet AA groups that I've
> first hand experience of, may I send them to you via a private email ?
>
> JB
"J" <welshalky@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:4172ef3d@news.greennet.net...
> Sure, I'm learning quite a bit about alcoholism from the meetings.
It's good
> to know I'm not alone, although there's not too many of use here in
mid
> Wales :)
>
> --
> J
J,
If you would like the addresses of some internet AA groups that I've
first hand experience of, may I send them to you via a private email ?
JB
On 2004-10-17 05:26:12 -0500, "JB" <JBCatRB@coldman.com> said:
> "The moment 12th Step work forms a group, a discovery is made - that
> most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group"
>
> (Extract from page 9 "As Bill Sees it)
>
> I went to my first AA meeting in 1994 after my doctor had suggested
> that I might find such meetings helpful. I went to only one because I
> took offence to something someone said to me afterwards and this led
> me to decide to not have anything more to do "those people".
>
> When I went to that meeting, I had previously sought help to quit
> drinking for good from doctors, a councillor from our local alcohol
> and drug rehabilitation service and a community psychiatric nurse.
> When I turned my back on AA I decided that if I exercised my willpower
> at all times that I desired a drink, then I'd be able to not drink
> again. By doing this I was for several years able to not drink.
> During those years, I did not appreciate that recovery from alcoholism
> is not achieved while the minds of those who suffer from it remain
> capable of allowing them to believe that it's OK for them to drink:
>
> "The main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind
> ...............) (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 23)
>
> In 2002, I began to think that having not had a drink for almost 8
> years, I had proved myself able to control my drinking and therefore
> if I drank again I'd find it easy to stay in control of it. It did
> not take me long to find out that that thinking was wrong thinking.
>
> In June 2003, I again decided to quit drinking and to again seek help
> to stay off booze. Within a few weeks, I became willing to go back to
> AA meetings. When I discovered that the group I had left 10 years ago
> was still going, I chose as my first meeting one of its. There I saw
> people who had been at the meeting I had attended 10 years earlier.
> From them and others I heard many recovery-related messages that gave
> me hope that one day I could find myself with a life that alcohol
> played no part in, that was infinitely better than the life I was used
> to living. Now, I've been to that group's meetings almost every week
> for over a year.
>
> I do not know if it is true that "most individuals cannot recover
> (from alcoholism) unless there is a group". However, I know that my
> AA group has enabled me to make progress towards achieving this. Has
> yours done the same for you ?
JB- I attended my first AA mtg. in 1979. I attended a few and found
many reasons I needed to not like them. So I never went back. Besides,
I had stopped drinking and I just wouldn't drink again. And my plan
worked...for nine years. But after nine years and living a 'new' life
where no one knew my drinking history, I came to believe I could drink
again. Of course I believed it would be different this time; an
occasional glass of wine with dinner, a beer with friends...you know
the rest...it wasn't long at all before my life was the hell it had
been so many years before.
Thankfully my situation deteriorated to a point where I could no longer
exist without booze and I couldn't stop drinking on my own. Juggling
the few pieces of my life finally ended. It was then that I crawled
back to AA.
I know today that doing it 'Steve's way' will never work for me. Today
I go to meetings so I will never ever forget this.
-Steve
rosie readandpost
10-17-2004, 08:49 PM
--
http://filmstripinternational.com/
http://www.buzzflash.com/contributors/04/10/con04426.html
"[[]]" <[[]]@[[]].com> wrote in message
news:200410171815554127%@com...
:................. I attended my first AA mtg. in 1979. I attended a
few and found
: many reasons I needed to not like them. So I never went back.
Besides,
: I had stopped drinking and I just wouldn't drink again. And my
plan
: worked...for nine years. But after nine years and living a 'new'
life
: where no one knew my drinking history, I came to believe I could
drink
: again. Of course I believed it would be different this time; an
: occasional glass of wine with dinner, a beer with friends...you
know
: the rest...it wasn't long at all before my life was the hell it
had
: been so many years before.
:
: Thankfully my situation deteriorated to a point where I could no
longer
: exist without booze and I couldn't stop drinking on my own.
Juggling
: the few pieces of my life finally ended. It was then that I
crawled
: back to AA.
:
: I know today that doing it 'Steve's way' will never work for me.
Today
: I go to meetings so I will never ever forget this.
:
: -Steve
:
:
AMEN to that steve...................regular attendance at meetings,
and working with other alcoholics ODAAT has kept me sober and
serene for sometime now!
rosie
Robert McGregor
10-17-2004, 10:01 PM
Yes, after they kicked me out, I recovered.
Bob.
"I found that I had to exert every ounce of will and action to cut
off these faulty emotional dependencies upon people, upon AA, indeed,
upon any set of circumstances whatsoever. Then only could I be
free" - Bill Wilson AA Grapevine, January 1958
Robert McGregor
10-17-2004, 10:04 PM
" rosie readandpost" <readandpost@yahooORhotmail.com> wrote in
message news:uqEcd.14250$mR.11144@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> ...................regular attendance at meetings,
> and working with other alcoholics ODAAT has kept me sober and
> serene for sometime now!
hahahaha, your way has kept you so serene you pop pills to cope with
all that joy;-)
Bob
From: "rosie readandpost" <readandpost@REMOVETHISyahoo.com>
Message-ID: < wkHa.22568$fe.447991@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com>
>YES, whatever works!
>i belong to the "old school" of counting sobriety from the LAST
>drink/drug,
From: "rosie@readandpost" <readandpost@yahoo.com>
http://tinyurl.com/2w5cs
>i am thinking about asking my pdoc to increase my celexa to
>60mg..........anyone else in here have good results with that
>dosage?
>my 40mg seems to be "pooping out"...........
"rosie readandpost" <readandpost@REMOVETHISyahoo.com> wrote in
message
news:A98Ka.109221$Xl.2092045@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
>
> i will never be recovered..............................
My name is Mias and I am an alcoholic
I did not realize that there was a way not to drink until I went to AA. I
had relapse upon relapse before going there. It is now 15 years since my
last drink and I try to go to my local AA group on a weekly basis. When
there is newcomers and I see myself again in them it brings me back to
earth. It is also nice to see them grow and what they do to recover. I never
realised how little I knew about living until I stopped drinking and
following the steps helped me to learn about living. Yesterday my wife gave
a talk on alcoholism and drugs at our local church for teenagers. I was so
grateful that the message could be brought to them and that perhaps a few
might not suffer as much as I did because of that message. We could not say
that we are members of Alcoholics Anonymous but that did not stop a very
strong message from getting over. I sat at the back and cried silently, from
gratitude, for this big change in my hometown. It is a glorious walk this
walk of ours and I remain eternally grateful to AA and God as I understand
him that I can be sober today and carry the message that there is hope and
life after the death of alcoholism.
Kind regards
Mias
"JB" <JBCatRB@coldman.com> wrote in message
news:cktfqe$82v$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
> "The moment 12th Step work forms a group, a discovery is made - that
> most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group"
>
> (Extract from page 9 "As Bill Sees it)
>
> I went to my first AA meeting in 1994 after my doctor had suggested
> that I might find such meetings helpful. I went to only one because I
> took offence to something someone said to me afterwards and this led
> me to decide to not have anything more to do "those people".
>
> When I went to that meeting, I had previously sought help to quit
> drinking for good from doctors, a councillor from our local alcohol
> and drug rehabilitation service and a community psychiatric nurse.
> When I turned my back on AA I decided that if I exercised my willpower
> at all times that I desired a drink, then I'd be able to not drink
> again. By doing this I was for several years able to not drink.
> During those years, I did not appreciate that recovery from alcoholism
> is not achieved while the minds of those who suffer from it remain
> capable of allowing them to believe that it's OK for them to drink:
>
> "The main problem of the alcoholic centers in his mind
> ...............) (Alcoholics Anonymous, page 23)
>
> In 2002, I began to think that having not had a drink for almost 8
> years, I had proved myself able to control my drinking and therefore
> if I drank again I'd find it easy to stay in control of it. It did
> not take me long to find out that that thinking was wrong thinking.
>
> In June 2003, I again decided to quit drinking and to again seek help
> to stay off booze. Within a few weeks, I became willing to go back to
> AA meetings. When I discovered that the group I had left 10 years ago
> was still going, I chose as my first meeting one of its. There I saw
> people who had been at the meeting I had attended 10 years earlier.
> From them and others I heard many recovery-related messages that gave
> me hope that one day I could find myself with a life that alcohol
> played no part in, that was infinitely better than the life I was used
> to living. Now, I've been to that group's meetings almost every week
> for over a year.
>
> I do not know if it is true that "most individuals cannot recover
> (from alcoholism) unless there is a group". However, I know that my
> AA group has enabled me to make progress towards achieving this. Has
> yours done the same for you ?
>
>
>
"Fred Exley" <fexly221@msn.com> wrote in message
news:10n5aglrpqq88d2@corp.supernews.com...
>
> "Dan McGown" <dmcgown@adelphia.net> wrote in message
> news:mtWdnSp0v_Fp7u_cRVn-hg@adelphia.com...
> >> I do not know if it is true that "most individuals cannot recover
> >> (from alcoholism) unless there is a group". However, I know that
my
> >> AA group has enabled me to make progress towards achieving this.
Has
> >> yours done the same for you ?
> >
> > JB,
> >
> > I have a lot of mixed feelings about meetings but they
do help
> > me when I feel that "old feeling."
<snip>
> > Meetings have not (or at least not yet, perhaps) had that
> > "coming home" feeling for me that I have heard some others
describe.
> > Mostly, I just enjoy the freedom in all of the rest of my life
that I have
> > from being liberated from drinking. The meetings, like working
the steps
> > and reading the Big Book, are the tools available to me to keep
that
> > freedom.
<snip>
> > Dan
>
> Yours is pretty much my m.o. too Dan. What's working most for me
now is
> keeping focused on what I can do now, and doing it, rather than
looking back
> or down.
>
> -Fred
Many years ago, Dr Silkworth, who worked as a doctor who tried to help
problem drinkers overcome their problem, said for "chronic
alcoholics":
"Frothy emotional appeal seldom suffices. The message which can
interest and hold these alcoholic people must have depth and weight".
(Alcoholics Anonymous, 3rd ed, page xxvi)
I believe there is truth in what he said.
JB
* Chronic alcoholics are people who are unable to stay in control of
their drinking once they've consumed alcohol.
rosie readandpost
10-18-2004, 08:59 AM
mias,
thank you for getting my day started with such
gratitude....................you are a wonderful addition to this
little newsgroup of ours!
rosie
"Mias" <emiasno@spamnetactive.co.za> wrote in message
news:ckveja$m42$1@ctb-nnrp2.saix.net...
: My name is Mias and I am an alcoholic
: I did not realize that there was a way not to drink until I went
to AA. I
: had relapse upon relapse before going there. It is now 15 years
since my
: last drink and I try to go to my local AA group on a weekly basis.
When
: there is newcomers and I see myself again in them it brings me
back to
: earth. It is also nice to see them grow and what they do to
recover. I never
: realised how little I knew about living until I stopped drinking
and
: following the steps helped me to learn about living. Yesterday my
wife gave
: a talk on alcoholism and drugs at our local church for teenagers.
I was so
: grateful that the message could be brought to them and that
perhaps a few
: might not suffer as much as I did because of that message. We
could not say
: that we are members of Alcoholics Anonymous but that did not stop
a very
: strong message from getting over. I sat at the back and cried
silently, from
: gratitude, for this big change in my hometown. It is a glorious
walk this
: walk of ours and I remain eternally grateful to AA and God as I
understand
: him that I can be sober today and carry the message that there is
hope and
: life after the death of alcoholism.
: Kind regards
: Mias
:
cOlOnEl pOlYpS
10-18-2004, 10:49 AM
"JB" <JBCatRB@coldman.com> wrote in message
news:cktfqe$82v$1@newsg3.svr.pol.co.uk...
> "The moment 12th Step work forms a group, a discovery is made - that
> most individuals cannot recover unless there is a group"
>
> (Extract from page 9 "As Bill Sees it)
Bill Wilson did acid.
Peaceful gatherings are illegal. AA groups are violent corrupt groups
only gathering to obtain wealth and power.
Only with the legalization of cannabis will there begin to be a
diminishment of the sufferings of alcoholism the christian jew cop
government has imposed on the police states.
Exterminate the christian jew cop supreme court.
Sanity Returns
10-18-2004, 08:23 PM
JB wrote:
> "J" <welshalky@hotmail.com> wrote in message
> news:4172cbb0@news.greennet.net...
> <snip>
>
>>I feel as though I'm just exercising the same willpower as I did in
>>my previous sobriety.
>
> <snip>
>
>>J
>>
>
> Hi J,
>
> Even though I'm happy to accept AA teachings about what alcoholism is
> and what can be done to recover from it, if I wanted to drink again, I
> would. In AA I have heard nothing that has caused me to believe that
> I no longer have the ability to make choices.
>
> ATB
>
> JB
Then go and try having a few drinks and stopping. Try it a few times.
You will soon find out if you have a choice.
coyote
10-18-2004, 11:19 PM
Bob, are you saying that AA did you no good? Would you not recommend it? I
am new here, in need of help. thank you.
"Robert McGregor" <robert_mcgregor@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
news:2tgmh0F1us7gbU1@uni-berlin.de...
> Yes, after they kicked me out, I recovered.
>
> Bob.
>
> "I found that I had to exert every ounce of will and action to cut
> off these faulty emotional dependencies upon people, upon AA, indeed,
> upon any set of circumstances whatsoever. Then only could I be
> free" - Bill Wilson AA Grapevine, January 1958
>
>
Robert McGregor
10-19-2004, 01:36 AM
"coyote" <koyoteee@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:q6udnYRXTIqOFencRVn-oA@rogers.com...
> Bob, are you saying that AA did you no good? Would you not
> recommend it? I
> am new here, in need of help. thank you.
Coyote, often, in retrospect, I feel I got sober despite app four
years of AA attendance. They do have a pathetic track record, but so
did I. At least AA meetings, then coffee shops after the meetings,
were a social alternative to bars, until I learned how to live.
However, one thing I am sure of is how specific actions involved in
taking the 12 steps http://anonpress.org/bb/Page_59.htm altered my
psyche to the point I recovered, to live comfortably through success,
and adversity, without any further need at all of the alcohol that
was, for almost half a century, both my lover, and my tormenter.
Bob
cOlOnEl pOlYpS
10-19-2004, 05:43 AM
AA is the cuase of most of the misery in the police states.
I can only hope for a civil war so I can legally kill the alcoholic bums
who betray the US constituttion and the Bill of Rights.
Exterminate the Jew Government
"coyote" <koyoteee@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:q6udnYRXTIqOFencRVn-oA@rogers.com...
> Bob, are you saying that AA did you no good? Would you not recommend
it? I
> am new here, in need of help. thank you.
>
> "Robert McGregor" <robert_mcgregor@yahoo.com.au> wrote in message
> news:2tgmh0F1us7gbU1@uni-berlin.de...
> > Yes, after they kicked me out, I recovered.
> >
> > Bob.
> >
> > "I found that I had to exert every ounce of will and action to cut
> > off these faulty emotional dependencies upon people, upon AA,
indeed,
> > upon any set of circumstances whatsoever. Then only could I be
> > free" - Bill Wilson AA Grapevine, January 1958
> >
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