Is it possible to stop drinking without AA if your an alcoholic?
Question by Bonzi24: Is it possible to stop drinking without AA if your an alcoholic?
Has it been done and have there been somewhat promising results or is it hopeless… Ive recently stopped on my own and have been talking to a lot of people and didnt drink today… It was pretty uncomfortable, but I made it through it and just dont want to do it anymore. My sleep has been severely disrupted and just cant drink at night like I have been, like a bottle of wine before bed. I might go to a meeting tommorow.
Best answer:
Answer by Dropfallen
Of course it has been done.
Add your own answer in the comments!
June 27th, 2010 at 9:28 pm
i stopped on my own was motivated by ulcer that was time to stop. I had surgery can drink now but rarely do though mom’s illness has been rough thought about so far have resisted though did take some pills. She is in Nursin Home and I visit her daily and dont want to make her feel worse by smellin booze on me. The day she was put in the home i went to er cause i was so upset was afraid i would drink several bottles and kill myself
June 27th, 2010 at 10:06 pm
It is definitely possible to stop without AA. But many people find that the support of others going through the same situation as you gives them additional strengh and willpower to quit and stay sober. Then again, everyone is different. You just need to find what works for you.. sounds like you are going in the right direction.
June 27th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
It is possible yes. But it might be a little easier talking to others who are or have been in the same or similar situation as you. And it can’t hurt to make some sober acquaintances & attend sober gatherings.
GOOD LUCK!! It’s hard work!
June 27th, 2010 at 10:47 pm
The only person I have ever heard do it without AA was James Frey and it turned out he was a pathological liar.
June 27th, 2010 at 11:25 pm
True story. I went to AA for a year straight. Sometimes 2 or 3 meetings a day. I knew all of the literature. I knew many many people in the program. But for some reason I always felt like drinking after meetings because people talked about alcohol so much at the meetings. And I did drink every night when I was in the program. I drank less than I used to before, but I did drink. I quit the program 40 days ago and haven’t drank since. The longest I have ever gone before that without a drink was about 6 days. 40 days and still counting. So far, so good.
June 28th, 2010 at 12:11 am
yes WILL POWER!!! i know its hard but every time u go to reach for a drink try doing something else like grabbing a bottle of water or juice…. i know its hard but u can do it…
June 28th, 2010 at 12:39 am
Try RR (Rational Recovery). Its a good option for people who don’t like the religious aspect of AA. Worked for me.
http://www.rational.org
June 28th, 2010 at 1:38 am
Wow I am proud of you Bonz! While it is good to connect with other people you can relate to, it is still up to you to make the choice every day not to drink! It is not being in the actual meeting that makes you stop drinking. AA is not some magic pill to make you stop drinking!
I started smoking when I was 10 years old and decided I wanted to quit when I was 24. I had tried to quit before this and found that I failed every attempt. This time when I actually quit I noticed something different about this attempt….I made up my mind to quit and asked God to forgive me for hurting my body and Him and asked him to take the desire away!
From that day forward I never even had a withdraw and I never worried about having a smoke! Then I moved on with my life instead of dwelling on the fact that I would never have a smoke again!
Remember the World don’t stop because you do, you have the power of choice! Good luck! This too shall pass!
June 28th, 2010 at 2:07 am
Yes, I have done a lot of things a person is not supposed to do ( weed,coke(needles), pills ,acid and I quit with out rehab or therapy but the hardest thing for me to do is to stop smoking.
June 28th, 2010 at 2:32 am
i think its possible.
but i also think that aa helps.
its a support system !
June 28th, 2010 at 2:59 am
AA is not all it’s cracked up to be. Lots of people quit without it.
June 28th, 2010 at 3:06 am
Absolutely, yes; in fact AA members have no higher success rate than do people who quit drinking on their own. Google “orange papers”…there’s a very well-researched section there about the effectiveness of AA.
This is not to say that a support group might not be helpful to you, but there are several options that, unlike AA, do not require you to spend your life in endless “recovery”. My own favorite is Smart Recovery.
June 28th, 2010 at 3:43 am
smartrecovery.org