I’m so glad I found this group chat stuff. I’m agnostic and I’m in this rehab where they constantly telling me to give myself to god n shit. I’m not knowing anyone’s belief but we really do need something that’s for people like atheist and agnostic
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Welcome! I hope you find what you need.
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Hi! I’m so happy you are here 
Also, I can relate to that feeling of just wanting that safe space and I hope we can make that for each other here on this forum
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Brother, you are welcome here (especiallyif you think you might be an atheist looking to help others talk about how you’ve successfully stayed sober 
), but as with all delicate/nuanced topics it’s very easy to come across as aggressive (especially in text). I feel like when we come across as agressive though it’s much harder to connect in a positive way and really help.
I’m three years sober, an atheist and growing every day.
Be well
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Absolutely. We can achieve being our better selves without giving that power to something else.
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@anon42928441 and @emi, have you read Quit Like A Woman? Parts of it really resonated for me…you may find bits and pieces of interest regarding atheism.
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I completely agree I would love to hear about the things you do to keep your sobriety. I’m 30+ days in and so this is somewhat new to me
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I dont see how I was off topic. I explained how this atheist found loopholes in the word god.
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Yes We are more than capable of doing it on our own. It all comes down to us wanting to be a better person
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I’m so happy to have been able to support you and I do feel like this is a great way to start our support system We got this!
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Part of it is semantics. I do believe I can’t do it alone and I do believe I need my peers. I need my sober friends to stay sober myself. I just don’t want to call it anything else than just that. Because I don’t believe there is a god or, for that matter, a higher power.
I am an atheist but I prefer to call myself a humanist. Like was mentioned before atheism is the lack of something, in this case the lack of believing there is a god. I rather turn it around and say I believe in humans (although that’s not easy at times). It’s more positive to me. Personally.
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I think if it like practice,
Like you said atheists often get pigeon holed, shunned or dismissed that you can’t do it.
I just saw your sober date is 3 days after mine, so whatever it is your doing it’s been working for almost 2 years.
I think of it as practice, a lot of people here know I’m a musician I practice daily, I have hundreds of exercises music scores ideas music theory things to choose from, I take what resonates with me leave the rest,
I look at it as, if I went to a guitar instructor and he started handed me jazz homework. To improve my skills it doesn’t fit it won’t work and I won’t be interested, while I know some basic jazz concepts, it doesn’t fit me, I’ll struggle get discouraged and not want to do it
By practicing what works for me I stay sober, I keep practicing it and it keeps me going, so if it’s not broke why try and fix it? Eventually you will fail? All of us have that eventually you will fail written in us, we only have now. We don’t know the future
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Ah, yes to that !
And that’s what binds us all I guess. We all strive to be our best selves.
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I’m atheist and on day 150 today! I also have no interest in aa and my childhood trauma kicks in with the word “submit”.
Here is what has helped me a lot:
Reading about the brain science around addiction
Reading about the strategies people use to get past their addiction
Reading and employing cognitive processes to make the decision that alcohol is not for me.
Holding myself accountable by making the decision and sharing my decision with people close to me.
Getting the wine out of the house
Substituting other activities that I enjoy and committing to them. (Excercise, journaling, reading)
Joining a few online groups to support celebrating freedom from alcohol. Checking in regularly here.
Reading the struggles people have in relapses so that I stay committed to my decision.
Celebrating and enjoying the healthy benefits of being free of alcohol. Mornings without hangovers are amazing. Saving money and reducing stress is so great. Being able to improve my fitness has been rewarding. Enjoying better mental health has been lovely.
Drinking an occasional NA beer has been nice .
Drinking delicious teas has been great.
None of these have involved a relationship with a higher power. And none of them have involved being told how to believe.
I am reading a bit of Buddhist teachings these days, but that is not something I consider to be about a higher power. I’m studying and thinking on it from a philosophical or cognitive approach.
There are plenty of atheists in this foxhole!
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Happy to have you! I love how you listed all the things that are achievable without a higher power because it is possible! Recognizing that you do not want to be the person you are with alcohol should be a big enough reason to stop without “finding religion” or “submitting yourself”. That is another thing that is one of my triggers. I come from a very crazy religious background to the point of brainwashing. I’m proud of who I am today and how I believe 
without all the mess of religion.
So glad to find more people that share my views!
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I have found the longer I am sober, I feel more power full, rather than power less. I attribute that to the self confidence and self esteem I feel now that I have built some solid sober time. Mindfulness, yoga, this community and physical activity really helped me gain some confidence and keep my anxiety laden brain more calm. And as a woman, having an inflated ego just never resonated with my experience of being female.
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I absolutely agree with you about being more powerful and self assured. We are able to obtain that power from our vices and contribute them to the things that bring us happiness or peace. It’s a great feeling
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Certainly feels better than that hole of despair and alcohol I was drowning in…talk about a soul suck…man!
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Exactly! I was in a really vicious cycle and just getting deeper and deeper into. So happy I found a way out and chose myself and my happiness
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