My health thrives with positivity, empowerment, and true open-mindedness. My mind is becoming calmer once again, through the process of letting go. Letting go of the undesirable, self-defeating aspects of AA. Now, after 20 months in the program, I am once again isolated and miserable.

But a relapse for people who are new to recovery is very prevalent and by no means indicates a failure. About 80% of people who have found long-term sobriety have experienced at least one relapse throughout their recovery process. AA is highly judgmental when it comes to MAT or medication-assisted treatment. They do not believe in using any kind of medication to help you stay sober, even though statistics tell us these drugs do work.

Taking Care of Your Physical and Mental Health

Surround yourself with friends, family, and other loved ones who support you. You may even turn to addiction support groups to meet other people who are in similar positions as you. LifeRing Secular stay sober without aa Recovery is a support group for people to share life experiences and success stories about sobriety. Healthy lifestyle changes and relying on the support of friends and like-minded peers can help.

The program has in-person meetings in the US and Canada and other locations across the world. They also have online meetings for those that don’t want to or can’t attend regular meetings. In some cases, there may be medication that can help with a drug or alcohol problem. In fact, the FDA has approved three drugs for treating alcoholism. The first step of an inpatient program is detoxification. Then behavioral therapy and other services are introduced. This is why it often requires professional addiction treatment. Unfortunately, relapsing is common because getting and staying sober can be extremely difficult.

Do not attend social gatherings that involve alcohol

When we vacation together, Steve smokes pot all the time; I rarely do. I eat mushrooms a couple of times a year; Steve would never think of such a thing. Once in a while, I’ll make a stupid bet with a friend or play cards; Steve has a gambling problem so he won’t bet a nickel or even play solitaire. I get to define my own sobriety because my sobriety means almost nothing to you compared to what it means to me. He and I have pushed against our addictions long enough that we have mapped out the entire floodplain. We have placed the sandbags, we have carried the stones. We know the difference between a harmless trickle of water and the precursor to a flood. And we’ve become experts at differentiating between the two because it’s our own selves that are at risk of being washed away. AA is only of many ways to achieve and maintain sobriety. Addiction treatment professionals peg its average long-term effectiveness at somewhere between 8 and 12 percent.

The more you drink, the more your passions and responsibilities can fall to the wayside. So, if you’re trying to get and stay sober, consider engaging with the things you love again. It’s important to take care of yourself, live a healthy lifestyle, and cut out alcohol if you have a problem. Moderation Management is a program that helps people moderate their drinking in cases where total abstinence is not feasible. At TruHealing Centers across the country, we work with you on an individual basis to find an addiction treatment plan tailored to your needs. If you need help, many of us at Amatus have been where you are, struggling with our own Substance Use Disorders. Visit amatusrecoverycenters.com to learn more about how we can support you. To my mind, therein lies the dilemma of trying to compare the success rates of one approach versus another. The people who find that AA works for them are going to be the people who continue showing up and re-committing to their recovery, even if they relapse. If it hadn’t worked for them, they would have dropped out.

I share my recovery story with people I work with who want to recover but that is the only time I bring it up. Hi my name is David I am a father, husband, a Christian, an artist, I love people, and most of all I love who I am today. I was drinking alcoholically by the age of 20 to the point of D.T’s. The man had suggested strongly and quite mean spirited that I should not attain a specific job position due to factors he felt about me that Sober House were wrong in his eyes. I am happy however to report that I am now clean and sober and very weary of AA and NA meetings. So here is my update 20 months after leaving AA. Sometimes I miss the sense of community of having people to ring to just talk to about your problems, the chance to help others and the easy ability to meet people and go for coffee etc. and get deep quickly. However, I have never looked back from leaving the Cult of AA.

It’s not necessary to pathologize my every move simply because I am an alcoholic. Just because I have been addicted to alcohol, it doesn’t mean my life after alcohol is necessarily just an empty series of dire cravings and desperate injections of pleasure. When I pat your dog, I am not chasing “dog patter’s high,” I am just patting the dog. This online-only community is worldwide, which makes it easy to connect with like-minded women who are friendly, non-judgmental, and helping each other kick the booze and stay sober. AnnaMarie Houlis Content Contributor AnnaMarie’s work as a staff writer for Alcohol Rehab Help spans topics like binge drinking and heavy alcohol use to alcohol use disorder and more. She provides resources on everything from coping with alcohol withdrawal symptoms and supporting a loved one struggling with alcohol use disorder to dangerous drug and alcohol interactions.