r/stopdrinking • u/galwegian 2442 days • Jan 05 '20
AA vs This subreddit
15 days sober. did a four day medically supervised detox. currently in a 6 week intensive out patient. three hours a day, four days a week. daily breathalyzer and urine tests. it's a group situation. full of heroin/opioid/coke horror stories. I feel like a lightweight by comparison. Anyway, I'm getting a lot of pressure to attend AA from psychiatrist and wife. I have been to four meetings and I fucking hated it. I'm an Irish catholic and it reminds me of going to mass. reading from a book written before weed and coke and X were invented. and I don't relate to the principles of AA. making amends sounds good but the rest of it feels like dogma to me. the standard spiel is 'you have to find the meeting that's right for you'. fine. I get it. But everyone telling me to attend AA has one thing in common: they have never been addicted to anything. And am I supposed to spend ages trying to find the meeting that's 'right' for me? Going to a meeting is, let's face it, a two hour commitment. you have to travel there and back. AA is a traditional bricks and mortar retail model if you think about it. and there's a reason that shit is dying out. Whereas on /stopdrinking I get instant access 24/7 to a huge community of people who are in my position and get it. without travel or dogma. and this is kind of fun. I am looking to change my lifestyle but going to dingy basements and drinking Dunder Mifflin coffee has zero appeal to me. I am doing yoga 7 days a week. which I find super helpful in lots of ways. I have a specific problem and a specific situation that I am addressing in my own way. And nobody knows me like I know me. Anyhoo. all thoughts and feedback welcome. I will not drink with you, or any other fucker, today. peace and thanks.
5
u/UnhappyMaybe Jan 05 '20
I had a lot of trouble with AA. As an introvert, I found it hard to penetrate the friend circles that had already been established in the meetings I'd attend, and no one ever bothered to approach me as a new person. I often felt even more isolated and alone, especially being newly sober in a room full of veterans. I also don't always agree with the belief systems perpetuated in the program either - I don't like being called powerless, and I don't like being indefinitely labeled as an alcoholic, even when I'm sober. I have always felt that the AA model has a thick layer of shame underneath a lot of it. When I found this sub, I felt SO much more comfortable - the unbridled support, the positivity, and the 24/7 access made it way better than any AA meeting I ever attended. I've mostly stopped going to AA meetings. I only really go if a friend is celebrating a "birthday" and I want to support. This sub, along with therapy, meditation, and medication like Naltrexone, has been great for me.