I'm new to this forum, and I came across this post today. I have been going to aa for the last 5-6 years. I've been sober for 7 years. My program was very flawed, mostly because I was an extreme introvert. Now I'm starting to go on the right track. My program was flawed because my 1st sponsor was not good. My second sponsor, I did not connect with. So I am in the search for a 3rd sponsor in my home group, and I am going to ask someone, who has 2 years....but she is older than me and most likely more wiser. I connect with her great. She is going through a lot now, so I'm going to ask her maybe next week. But my home group was different from my first and second sponsor, which was not a good idea. Also, I was too afraid to ask people for phone numbers in my home group, so I only talked to my sponsors, who went to other meetings. They made a book of phone numbers with me, but I didn't call anyone continually like I should have. I gave up on the people I didn't connect with. Then I gave up contacting people all in general. But I should have kept on making new friends and tried to contact them, but I didn't and that stunted my growth.

How do I deal with negative emotions that trigger me in meetings? I talk one on one with my therapist about it , or even my sponsor or someone in the program.

How many meetings do I go to a week? Now I go to at least 3. When i first went to aa, I went to about 5. But I had a year and a half sober when I first started going to aa. I was a miserable dry drunk until I found aa.

But they say keep on coming back. Just drink and don't go to meetings. That's what I did. Now I'm growing and it's going great. I needed that outside support. Call at least 2-3 people continually to see how they are doing. I love aa. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me.