[Mara Mountain]

Hi everyone. I went 6 years sober and I thought I would be ok to start drinking lightly last summer. Since last summer my drinking went from a couple of sips to...well 750 ml of wine a day. (Normally one bottle). It's affected my work and I am still in denial I think that I am headed towards AA. I've lost friends and my job is now in danger because I feel the need to have wine with my breakfast instead of coffee. Can anyone speak on the benefits of AA or even recommend subsitutes for drinking? I had an earlier post about my stuggles and I did well for 4 days then fell into my alcoholic slump again. It seems like I've gone too far away from the strong person i once was and it may be too late...

Hey Mara, I haven't drank alcohol in forty eight days, but I have been substituting weed for it. Now I'm getting off the weed and I'm a little worried to go back to completely sober. Maintenance phase of sobriety is where all the hard work is. Best of success Mara, you are not alone.

[Leed]

All I can tell you is AA saved my life. I was a HEAVY drinker for 20 years -- and in about 4 months, I'll have 20 years sober!!! And it's all because of AA.

They gave me the support and the tools & knowledge to keep me sober. Before AA, I'd fallen into such despair that I felt I'd lost my soul. I drank to ease the pain, and that only depressed me more. It was a vicious circle that I couldn't get out of. I finally called AA and they gave me HOPE, which I hadn't had in years! There was finally some light.

Please give AA a try. You don't have to necessarily believe everything -- just take what you like and leave the rest. But AA has gotten more people sober and KEPT them sober than any other support group. Give them a call please.

I don't want you to die! God bless and please take care! Hugs, Lee

[Kendyll]

AA Saved my life. I was drinking just about every day and on the verge of losing my job and my relationship, as well as what little sanity I had. I didn't like the whole "God" thing and didn't want anything to do with "those people", but it all worked out. The 12-step program is just a framework for self-analysis and self-improvement. The whole "God" thing? Well, am I really the most powerful being in the whole universe or not? OK, I could get my head around that. Here was a group of people who were living without drinking and were happy about it! They were a lot more powerful than I was!

AA gave me a way to sort through a lot of the wreckage in my past and in my head, and it gave me a great support group. I haven't had a drink in over 12 years now and I wouldn't change any of it. It's always easier to make big changes when you have support.

Besides. What I WAS doing was NOT working for me. What did I have to lose by trying it the AA way for a few months?

[yoslos12]

Well, I decided to stop drinking when I got arrested for public intoxication. I stopped for a whole 2 days. So yeah, it's hard. It really just comes down to making the choice and you're well on your way because you've already realized that it's affecting your life. Keep it up!

[layla11]

Hi Mara, my drinking days were over when I decided to quit drinking. Dont wait till you lose everything. Your job and your health, once you lose these things your in a world of hurt. Speaking for myself, people wont help you if you lose thes things because they are busy with their own lives. I had to look out for myself and quit. Its been over two years for me and not easy. My health is just starting to get better, have seen a phyciatrist for many years and finally Im getting better. I had to realize that drinking wasnt any fun at all. Now looking back, I acted like such a idiot, hung around lossers and had no friends. After two years, I think completely different than I did. Its a true gift to yourself.

[Mara Mountain]

Thank you all for your advice. I think the hardest part for me is stepping into the first meeting. I feel like going would be admitting it is a problem and almost feeling like I failed. But since you've said that it saves lives and can really help, I guess I have nothing to lose.

[layla11]

Hi Mara, you can go to your first meeting and just listen to others talk. You dont have to admit anything, if your not ready to talk. I think to continue with drinking is going to cause a lot more trouble then just feeling like a failure. It could be your life, nobody thinks its going to happen to them but people die all the time from drinking, my neighbor next door drank himself to death at 34. Part of the alcholism is not being able to see the forest for the trees so to speak, we arn't able to work our way out of the drinking problem and need help to do this.

[Kendyll]

Every single person at any AA meeting knows that it's NOT a failure.
In my mind, the failure was my continuing the struggle with alcohol long after I knew there was a problem. I understand I didn't want to be a failure by quitting, but I was really failing every day that I continued to drink. I kept screwing up more and more of my life and my relationships. When I finally did decide to quit drinking, sign into I.O.P. and go to AA, I began to succeed. I had a lot to learn and a lot of damage to repair, but at least I quit digging myself in any deeper!

And my sanity level has much improved since i gave up intoxication. It's much easier to keep my head clear when I'm not clouding it with alcohol.