Help with alcohol

I’m new here. Starting sobriety today. Any advice will help.

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Hi and welcome to the community!

I can say this page has been very helpful to me. I also live by the fact that I decide each day not to drink. I never focus beyond today when it comes to whether I’ll drink or not. I had heard one day at a time forever, but didn’t really get it, but now it’s how work my sobriety. I’ve also discovered how much better I feel by not drinking, which adds a positive element as it keeps getting better as time goes on. Thus far, giving up alcohol has been the best decision I’ve made yet. One day at a time (ODAAT) you’ve got this!

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Welcome! I would say your first step needs to be: be active here. Overly active. Read everything you can, post and participate.

You will find tons of advice, success stories, cautionary tales of those who have not made it, and even a lot of fun and friendship.

Those you are active here tend to have a better chance at making it.

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Maybe try ameeting might help wish you well

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There are a variety of options for Groups/Meetings online and F2F including but not limited to AA. Here’s a post someone here shared with me at my beginning and I found my Group through poking around:

There are so many helpful resources available to us on our sober journeys. I wanted to share this list for those who are interested in non traditional resources.

Original post by @SassyRocks. Please note: I created this with alcohol recovery in mind and it is U.S. based as well. As a straight white past middle age woman, it is based on what resonated and helped me in my journey. Over time, I have added in resources for some other addictions (found at the end of this post), but it is heavy with resources for alcohol recovery for women. Books and memoirs are ones I have read.

A link to a variety of resources

This article contains links to many different types of communities and resources, it is a very helpful resource:

(AA Alternatives: 25 Sober Communities Beyond Alcoholics Anonymous )

Her work changed my life and helped push my journey forward…

This Naked Mind

Hip Sobriety/Tempest are full of resources and information…

Tempest

Hip Sobriety

Stories from women changing and healing their lives…

Stories by women

Holistic therapies

Physical activity (walking is a great place to start)
Vitamin therapy
Yoga
Meditation (try guided to begin and/or guided sleep meditations)
Mindfulness (suggested 1st reading: you are here by Thich Nhat Hanh)
Acupuncture/acupressure
Reiki
Breathwork
Nutritional therapy
Essential oils
Sounds therapy (sound baths)
Somatic therapy
Talk therapy
Crystal healing therapy
Creating nurturing rituals (warm baths)

Keeping a list of why you no longer drink, and reading it often

Podcasts

This Naked Mind
Live Awake
HOME
High Sobriety
The Ultimate List of Recovery Podcasts 2022
A good list of female recovery podcasts… 21 Women-Led Recovery Podcasts to Listen to When You Need Hope

Medications

Acamprosate / Campral
Naltrexone / Revia / Vivitrol
Disulfiram / Antabuse
Topiramate / Topimax
Ondansetron / Zofran

Books / Memoirs

#1 pick: Quit Like A Woman: The Radical Choice to Not Drink in a Culture Obsessed With Alcohol by Holly Whitaker

#2 pick: This Naked Mind by Annie Grace

Others, in no particular order…
We Are The Luckiest by Laura McKowen
The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray
A Girl Walks out of a Bar by Lisa Smith
The Recovering by Leslie Jamison
Blackout: Remembering the things I drank to forget by Sarah Hepola
Last Call by Nancy Carr
Parched by Heather King
Drinking, A Love Story
Unwasted, My Lush Sobriety
Blackout, Remembering the things I drank to forget
Hopeful Healing by Mackenzie Phillips
Saturation by Jennifer Place
A Happier Hour by Rebecca Weller
High on Arrival by Mackenzie Phillips
Under the Influence by Joyce Maynard
On Writing by Stephen King
Long Time Gone by David Crosby
Drink: The Intimate Relationship between Women and Alcohol
Dry by Augusten Burroughs
A Drinking Life by Pete Hamill
Many Roads, One Journey: Moving Beyond the 12 Steps by Charlotte Davis Kasl
you are here by Thich Nhat Hahn
The Easy Way to Stop Drinking by Allen Carr
The Body Is Not an Apology: The Power of Radical Self-Love by Sonya Renee Taylor
The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma by Bessel van der Kolk

Extensive list of quit lit / recovery / memoirs I have read

Support Groups / Community

Of course, my #1 choice for community is Talking Sober, right here. :heart:

Holistic approach/Seek Healing
(Https://www.seekhealing.org )

7cups (listeners for emotional support)
https://www.7cups.com/

The Alcohol Experiment (30 day free challenge from Annie Grace, This Naked Mind)

The Alcohol Experiment

Women for Sobriety WFS

Buddhist Recovery

Refuge Recovery (A Buddhist inspired path to recovery)

Recovery Dharma (Another Buddhist inspired path to recovery)

SMART Recovery SMART

Secular Organizations for Sobriety SOS

AA/12 Step AA

Narcotics Anonymous
http://m.na.org/

Indepth thread of online meeting resources

Online Meeting Resources

Behaviour-focused recovery groups

Self-Abuse Finally Ends (S.A.F.E. Alternatives) (treatment for self-harm behaviour) (also includes a list of useful hotlines / text lines)
www.selfinjury.com

Sexaholics Anonymous
www.sa.org

Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous
www.slaafws.org

Gamblers Anonymous
www.gamblersanonymous.org

Emotions Anonymous (for those with a desire to improve emotional wellbeing)
https://emotionsanonymous.org/ - USA
https://www.emotionsanonymous.org.uk/ - UK

Groups for partners and family of people in recovery

Sober Families (Community Reinforcement and Family Training approach to help get loved ones into treatment) (https://soberfamilies.com/)

Al-Anon / Alateen (family & friends of people in recovery from alcohol)
Al-Anon Family Groups

Nar-Anon (family & friends of people in recovery from narcotics)
Nar-Anon Family Groups

Gam-Anon (for family and friends of people with a gambling addiction)
www.gam-anon.org

S-Anon (family & friends of people in recovery from sex addiction)
www.sanon.org

Locating treatment programs

Find specific services, mental health and substance use disorder treatment
(Https://findtreatment.gov/ )

Atlas Treatment locator
(Https://treatmentatlas.org)

Hotlines & text lines

US Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

The Lifeline provides 24/7, free and confidential support for people in distress, prevention and crisis resources for you or your loved ones, and best practices for professionals in the United States. Website also offers an immediate chat box.

US Crisis Text Line

Crisis Text Line is the free, 24/7, confidential text message service for people in crisis. Text HOME to 741741 in the United States.

Hotlines & text lines for USA & International, for many different crises (grief, self-harm, suicide, abuse, assault, and many others)

www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help/immediate-help

Self-Abuse Finally Ends (S.A.F.E. Alternatives) (treatment for self-harm behaviour) (also includes a list of useful hotlines / text lines)
www.selfinjury.com

Samaritans UK - Call 116 123 any time, whatever you’re going through.
(Also see Other sources of help | Samaritans for a list of other organisations offering specialist support)

Welcome!
-Keira

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