do they (SMART) do the 12 steps? I want that enlightenment they promise in the 12 steps
SMART meetings are an alternative to the 12 step.
1 Like
Check out refuge recovery. Buddhist approach to the 12 steps. Since your so concerned about enlightenment. They have a podcast with guided meditations too.
4 Likes
looks good thanks
Wish I could be like that. 2 or 3 beers and I’m chasing meth or coke too. Could be a dangerous thing to play with in my honest opinion. Alcohol takes away your inhibitors and tends to make you wanna keep feeling better.
1 Like
tbh 2 or 3 beers and i wanna go to sleep mate these days. Has lost it’s appeal getting drunk, and I wasn’t trying to give booze up. But yeah I get that is a problem for a lot of people. For me if I have meth I will end up drinking and taking benzos to take the edge off, but apparently not the other way around.
I’m not craving it. I meant like a normal person. Have 2 or 3 beers and call it quits. However I’m not normal, I kno I can’t. Doesn’t mean I’m craving it tho
I was also just trying to express how dangerous stuff like that is. Trust me, I know I can’t drink and in no way want to drink.
I know man didn’t upset me. I geuss I should said it differently I know alcohol has no positive impact for me. I was just trying to relate to the guy and share my experience of what happens. Thank you
Look into 5HTP and L-Tyrosine for dopamine and serotonin support. Good luck!
1 Like
Also you don’t know what your relationship with other drugs and alcohol are going to look like once you are actually sober. This can look a lot different then before you started using, because your brain is different now. It’s easy to say “well at least I’m not doing meth” because yeah, that’s a big deal.
It’s a long road. The meth won’t even be all the way out of your system for a few days. The same things that make you susceptible to a meth addiction will allow other drugs to take over your life. It will be temping to drink to take the edge off the chemical withdrawal. But you need to be focused on healing your brain and that’s not going to help.
@Luckyredz Recovery Dharma is another Buddhist inspired option. Split from Refuge a while ago. Just mentioning as sometimes there is one nearby and not another.
Rather than 12 steps it focuses on the four noble truths and the eightfold path - but the principles of inquiry (step work), mentor (sponsor) and meetings are similar as far as I can work out.
4 Likes
Maybe the exact words of that first step aren’t for everyone. It didn’t sit right with me for a long time either until I reached a point I was willing to give anything a try.
I have to admit though… the day I said, “I give up. I’m powerless over this thing,” I actually felt huge relief. Like somehow admitting I was done fighting it, that I was just done with it, it lost a lot of its power over me. I could admit touching it meant certain death, but by accepting that, it couldn’t touch me either. And life became simpler.
Then finding new strength through working the rest of the steps and dealing with stuff? Even better. A kind of strength I needed that I’d never really looked for before.
A weird paradox, finding strength through surrender.
Anyway, whatever ya do, I hope you find that relief too. The hamster wheel of addiction sucks.
6 Likes
Even if I am not a fully committed 12 stepper I think the first one is the most important one. That’s why it’s the first, I guess. I was long trying to bargain. I would do everything, everything buuuuuut not admitting that I am powerless over xyz. In the end I knelt on the floor and praying for help, strength to take this path towards sobriety.
I think we can find serenity or enlightenment (which is a bit high for me) with different approaches.
Missing the first step is for me like leaving the back door wide open just in case…
2 Likes
Ok yes I was meaning to ask you about this. I think I will try it out thank you. Didn’t realise there was mentorship which is appealing 
thanks, but yeah am happy to say I’m way beyond that stage but thanks for the reply
If you are largely abstinent anyway, what is the problem?
One thing to be aware of is that once you are addicted to one thing, it is easier to become addicted to another. I never was a drinker, but I am abstinent now because I know I am more likely to become addicted to it.
Same thing with pot.
In NA you say you are powerless over addiction. If you are not addicted, then you are not powerless over it.
But since you are in early recovery, it might be a good idea to cut out drinking and other drugs for a year or so. Your body is going to look for some new addiction, so don’t let it. I did that.
After two years I tried smoking pot…and it had no appeal. For about six months I would have one small scotch with a friend once a week. But then, she moved away and I never had any desire to do it on my own. I probably could, but now I think of it like I think of lolipops—something I used to like but that I am no longer interested in.
That one year reset, really gave me power.
2 Likes