Helllpppp advise needed!

Emotional Support
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Hey guys! For people who have not done AA meetings but have been able to maintain a good amount of sobriety how did you do it? I’ve gone to a hand full of meetings & I like them & am opposed to going I am just so busy between working full time, being a mom & also have a puppy. Every Aa meeting I’ve gone to I’ve heard them say In order to feel how they feel you have to work the program & do the steps. I just don’t get it like I do everything you the book tells me then I’ll be happy? I’m 42 days sober & some days are better then others but more recently the booze has been calling my name & the depression has gotten the best of me :sob::sob:

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AA isn’t the only sobriety community. I also do The Luckiest Club. Their zoom meetings are fantastic. Huge part of my recovery.

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Hey there…coming up to 5 years clean and sober without AA. My recovery program is a mix of meditation, journaling, sobriety literature, coming on here daily (mostly to read, sometimes to respond), volunteer work, being of service to others and talking to other sober people. I do know that when I hit rock bottom and decided to get sober

  1. I recognized that I had a PROBLEM. I was able to let go of romanticizing drinking and really realize that I was DONE with it

  2. Sobriety became my full time job. I was on here constantly. Every audible/podcast/book/article I read was about getting and staying sober. It wasn’t “hoping I didn’t drink” it was waking up every day and putting in the work not to drink.

  3. I was on here all the time and was journaling about my wary sobriety a lot.

  4. I completely changed where I went/what I did and who I hung around so that I wouldn’t pick up.

  5. I wrote my last hangover in as much detail as I could come up with…it was over two pages. I also wrote out every reason I could think of I wanted to get sober. If I ever had a craving. I read both of these over…and over.

  6. I promised myself that if I ever relapsed or caught myself slipping, I would go to AA.

  7. I started a consistent mediation practice and cognitive behavioral therapy journaling

This has (so far) been a working program for me. That being said, I know a lot of fine folks on here who have gotten and STAYED sober using AA. AND….they can pretty much attest to what you wrote above. There is a power, serenity and efficacy to handing over the reigns of your need to control. They do the work, they go to the meetings, they put one 24 hour next to another……and….despite all reasoning and understanding……it works. And it keeps working. And just like that, they are looking back at a number of years sober and they genuinely ARE happier.

So, while I have yet to go to AA, and while I sure I can’t understand it, I don’t really understand how “The cloud” works….or acupuncture, or even really how a microwave is warming my food to a deep degree…but that doesn’t mean that they’re not working all the same. Maybe it’s ok to not understand. Wishing you well tonight❤️

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Well to be honest, life will still be completely shit every now and then ! You’ll just have learned to accept that shit more easily :joy:

There are many roads to sobriety.
Have a look at this topic :

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I have found that in over four years of sobriety the following actions lead to success:

Take personal accountability for your sobriety and don’t blame your problems or abuse of alcohol on others.

Seek outside support for your sobriety via a means that engages you. If AA isn’t working for you look something else.

Remember that alcohol should never again be in the equation of your life. It isn’t your friend and never was.

Address triggers like poor mental health, stress management and remove toxic enablers from your life.

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