We know that ______ anonymous works for a lot of people but of course not for everyone. Have you done it without the group? If so, what do you think has helped you, to get where you are now?
For myself it has been the desire to get through it for just one day at a time and also enjoy my daughter now before she is gone from me and in college or moves out. I don’t know if I’ll have tomorrow but I do have now.
I haven’t gone to a meeting…yet, but I have promised myself and everyone to whom I hold myself accountable that I will if I ever drink again.
I have a very supportive wife and family. Those who I call “friend” are real and true friends. I do other things that support my sobriety, like martial arts classes and training, study and practice stoicism, and most of all, I’ve come here every single one of my 1257 days.
Thank you for sharing. I started with an IOP program and I keep in touch with a few people but all do some type of anonymous group and it is a little hard to relate because I’m the only one that doesn’t and they keep wanting me to do AA. I’ve always felt different but to hear your stories makes me feel better.
I second @Yoda-Stevie on this one. No structured meetings for me…yet, but I have made the same promise to myself. A meditation and breathing practice, Cognitive Behavioral Therapy style journaling, being of service to others, Talking Sober, lots of reading on recovery, a solid support structure of friends and family, the gift of desperation!
All of this has been instrumental in getting and keeping me sober for the last 1227 ( I think) days.
No group for me either. I used a lot of different types of support, including relying very heavily on reading here daily during early sobriety. I was on here CONSTANTLY.
Prior to finding this forum, I tried other apps, but many didn’t have a community aspect or they weren’t for me. Also prior to this app I found a lot of sustenance from the message boards for Women for Sobriety (WFS) and also Soberistas (UK based, tho I am in the States).
I utilized yoga, meditation, healthy eating, physical activity and a hell of a lot of distraction and sweets. Plus I read FOR YEARS…books on getting sober, mostly memoirs …TONS of them and really got a lot from them. Annie Grace’s book, This Naked Mind, was huge for me, as was Quit Like A Woman by Holly Whitaker.
I also tried Naltrexone for awhile.
I recently celebrated 4 years of sobriety.
More on my journey here, including my list…which has been instrumental in my recovery…I love that list…keeps me sober…
There are so many different resources available now. I did compile a resources for recovery list for others…
Anyway…we achieve sobriety with what works for us individually. Keep doing you!! 
Edited to add…I am a big believer as well in today being the only day we have. That also keeps me sane and sober. Be here, now.
I haven’t used a group. The “not drinking right now” promise. Posting, podcasts and some educational books on tape helped in the first tough months. Also lots of self care and long over due projects to keep me busy and productive.
I don’t use any type of group meetings, but I would consider all the sobriety groups I’ve started following on Instagram super helpful, especially live Q & A interviews with fellow non-drinkers about what is working for them. I made my big move to sobriety after reading The Naked Mind by Annie Grace and The Unexpected Joy of Being Sober by Catherine Gray. I was a blackout binge drinking, but could go for a week without drinking. Just that when I started drinking, I didn’t want to stop. So aside from the books and the inspiration/education I’ve been seeking on Instagram, I’ve got my husband and friends cheering me on. I find the more I put my sobriety out there, the easier it gets. That’s both because I don’t want to let others down, and it also avoids awkwardness socially when more people know not to even bother asking me why I’m not drinking. This website and journaling nightly are also big helpers. I am on my 25th day and can’t believe how amazing this feels! Hope this all helps.
Great book!!! And HUGE congrats on your 25 days!!!
I’m an AA member but it has not kept me sober in the past and it would not be at fault if I drink in the future, My desire for a better way of life is what keeps me sober with a little help from prayer. AA is just another tool to be used when you’ve tried everything else and failed. But TBH I’m all out of ideas so it’s the AA way or drink, it’s not a difficult decision once you get into the swing of things.
Incredible insight Paul, I could not have said it better myself.
I went through my first two + years with this forum as my only recovery network (recently started Recovery Dharma to make some in person/ local recovery connections post-lockdown). I have learned a lot from people here who do go to AA, so I don’t think I could say I’ve 100℅ done it without that group.
A lot of the principles of AA are pretty common across the recovery community and general mental health stuff. Maybe I would say a lot of the common principles of recovery and wellbeing are the foundation of AA and other recovery groups. Being present, finding acceptance, building connection, being kind to yourself and others, etc. These are the things that have helped me 
Plus seeing alcohol for what it truly was for me - a destructive influence on my life.
