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AA

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

19:39 / 18.04.03

ok, so after 2 weeks of binge drinking and being mean to my friends as well as violent towards myself i have decided i am no longer drinking.

has anyone on the lith had any experience with AA? I'm a bit turned off by the god thing, i dont feel i need a supremem power on my side to kick addiction.

Who's your Tzaddi?

20:41 / 18.04.03

See, the secret of the A∴A∴ is in their connection to the OTO -

oops.

This isn't the Magick forum!

STOATIE LIEKS CHOCOLATE MILK

20:46 / 18.04.03

I've always gone for alcohol counselling rather than AA- as you say, the whole god thing is kind of scary (although the counselling hasn't changed my drinking habits at all). Having said that, I recently bumped into an old drinking buddy for whom AA seemed to have done the world of good. He was sober, he was happy, he'd got his shit together. It was quite humbling to see. And he wasn't in the slightest bit preachy, even when I was actually asking him about how AA had helped.

Still scared of 'em meself, but thought that might be of interest.

13:12 / 19.04.03

I've never been, but someone told me you don't actually have to use the g-word these days, you can substitute whatever it is you believe in (e.g. just a humanist sense of right and wrong, which you obviously have) as long as you word it right. So maybe it's worth checking out.

13:31 / 20.04.03

Yeah, I thought it required an acknowledgement of a "Higher Power"? This is an odd coincidence, for I too am back in the realms of the totally clean (except nicotine substitutes). I am already depressed, and busily alienating people I care about. Keep us posted on how it goes for you...

16:28 / 20.04.03

Is A.A. a religious organization?
No. Nor is it allied with any religious organization.

There’s a lot of talk about God, though, isn’t there?
The majority of A.A. members believe that we have found the solution to our drinking problem not through individual willpower, but through a power greater than ourselves. However, everyone defines this power as he or she wishes. Many people call it God, others think it is the A.A. group, still others don’t believe in it at all. There is room in A.A. for people of all shades of belief and nonbelief.

What advice do you give new members?
In our experience, the people who recover in A.A. are those who: (a) stay away from the first drink; (b) attend A.A. meetings regularly; (c) seek out the people in A.A. who have successfully stayed sober for some time; (d) try to put into practice the A.A. program of recovery.

How do I join A.A.?
You are an A.A. member if and when you say so. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking, and many of us were not very wholehearted about that when we first approached A.A.
(From www.aa.org)

Elijah, Freelance Rabbi

20:08 / 20.04.03

thank you icon, i actually was at the page yesterday at work and found the same information.

I still have yet to decide if it is the place for me, i am going to try and avoid my hard drinking pals for a while and see how that works out.

Thank you everyone for your feedback, i appreciate it

20:15 / 20.04.03

i am going to try and avoid my hard drinking pals for a while and see how that works out.

I would try this sort of thing first. When your only social outlet is through drinking, you tend to drink - it makes sense. On the other hand, you need not just to avoid people, but find another outlet. Films are a good one... avoid cinemas with bars... at the most, afterwards, you've got time for a couple of pints while discussing the finer points.

I tend to drink because I'm bored, but the ideal solution to that is to find something else to do with your time.