[DarlaKat]

He believes I shouldn't go to AA. He's been there (an alcoholic, too, along with my mother) and he said it's a pity fest and that it wouldn't help me. I dont know. I want to go but my father really ruined the motivation. He doesn't approve of it. Hurt my feelings, really, because he knows i crave pills and get drunk all the time. It's almost like he's in denial of it, too. I dont know, maybe I'm totally crazy...

[splitimage]

AA is not for everyone. But lets be objective about this. It has helped millions of people acheive and maintain sobriety, so it must be doing something right. I go to AA, and I've very rarely been to a meeting that could be described as a pity party.

If you abuse alcohol, and think that AA could be right for you, then by all means go - keep an open mind. If you don't like the first meeting you go to, then try another meeting, they all have a slightly different flavour and feel to them.

Your father has his own reasons for not going to AA, and perhaps he has fears of you succeeding when he wasn't able to. Don't let his prejudices back.

If you're female, I'd also urge you to check out Women For Sobriety. They don't have as many live meetings as AA does, but they have a strong on-line presence with 3 on-line meetings a day.

Sobriety is so worth it.

--splitimage

[madisgram]

i so agree with splitimage, darla. perhaps if your dad really tried to help himself in AA he would've reaped the benefits that many of us-most i think-found HOPE by attending. hope that we could stay away from drinking. yes, many people come into AA at first thinking others have wronged them and that's their excuse for drinking, etc. they may feel sorry for themselves-pity pot. AA teaches us to realize that it's not about pointing the finger at those we feel have wronged us but to take a look at our own behaviors that led us to drink. we discourage "pity pot" but suggest a healthier way of thinking. it's the recovery of what we call "stinking thinking".
i am so glad you are possibly willing to give AA a try. keep an open mind and you'll witness many ppl that have gained sobriety and stayed that way by using the 12 steps of recovery AA suggests. the first step is about alcohol ("we admitted we were powerles over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable" (due to drinking), the other 11 steps are about self improvement which helps us stay sober.
hope this helps. i never could have gotten sober by myself. i don't fully know why the AA program works (and don't have to figure that out), but it does!!!