How to Quit Drinking Without Going to AA

It seems “right sized” in aa means smaller and less than you really are. It’s also helpful to change your environment—for instance, avoid going to bars. Our specialists are skilled in helping people recover from alcohol use disorder over the long term through intensive outpatient programs and outpatient programs. Recovery is about much more than living a drug or alcohol-free life. Traditional Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous meetings have helped millions of people over the past eight decades. With a network that spans the world, AA is almost always the first alcohol recovery program people think of.

• They are not bad people but they are trapped in this limbo of constantly reinforcing ideas that I believe are not really what AA is saying.
• As a prophet and the big book as an infallible text creates a similar dynamic.
• With a decade of experience in the behavioral healthcare and addiction treatment industry, McCarthy is passionate about recovery.
• Letting go of the undesirable, self-defeating aspects of AA.
• It has been driven in to me that I am sick and insane.

I don’t even think it’s possible to love and believe in yourself 100% of the time. This especially may help if people are thinking about taking a drink of alcohol. Ultimately, my realizations led me to leave 12-step fellowships. That was the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my recovery.

Talk With A Therapist Or Counselor

I’ve decided to leave AA after almost 2 years of sobriety. I don’t like the arrogance that AA members have that their way is the ONLY true way to stay sober and everyone else are just dry drunks.

Seeking a support group committed to helping others can be a beneficial and cost-effective way for you to stay sober. You can explore your options for a support group while in addiction treatment. Many treatment providers offer suggestions get sober without aa to help you find the best fit for your recovery. Treatment centers can help to keep you safe from the triggers and stressors in your everyday life. Sober living homes can be the next step after completing a treatment program.

Happy Horse

My life is nothing like it was before I got sober. I am happy and content with my lot most of the time. Feelings of inferiority, anger and confusion at what happens in life, but hell am I really that unique?

Verywell Mind’s content is for informational and educational purposes only. Our website is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. He is a board member of Ahavas Chaim, a non-profit that offers at-risk teenagers crisis intervention and mental health support. He is also a committee member of the organizations Bonei Olam and Chai Lifeline Mid-Atlantic.

The Importance of Friends in Recovery

Recovery is possible, with or without the 12 steps. Unlike NA and AA, there is no spiritual angle to SMART recovery. But some people find that it’s not a good fit for them for different reasons. One of the most common reasons is feeling uncomfortable with religious or spiritual overtones, such as relying on a Higher Power and praying at meetings. The rapper had been open about his former sleeping pill and Vicodin addictions in the past — as well as his relapses. But he remained relatively quiet about his continuing sober journey until April 21, 2018, when he posted a photo of himself on Instagram holding up an Alcoholics Anonymous coin with the Roman numeral X on it. “Celebrated my 10 years yesterday,” he captioned the pic.

The ups and downs of life continue even when someone gets sober. To pretend otherwise is sabotaging, a setup for failure. Then I leave and it’s like “what a bunch of b.s.” My life is pretty good and I’m not that lost, screwed up kid anymore, I’m a successful, reasonably happy adult. But hey, if you have any https://ecosoberhouse.com/ confidence in your abilities or get “too happy” watch out! You’re probably not “working a good program.” I get so sick of the self abasement and self deprecation that seems to be a requirement to be a good aa. At this point in my life, to bad mouth myself that way is as much a lie as being grandiose is.