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How I Quit Drinking without AA Celeste Yvonne

Every patient in our care receives a personalized treatment plan that takes into account their unique needs. It’s difficult to find statistics on success rates for people who use AA versus those who don’t. For one, Alcoholics Anonymous is, well, anonymous—some members don’t participate for fear of breaking anonymity. Additionally, according to Scott Lilienfeld and Hal Arkowitz writing for The Scientific American, 40% of AA attendees drop out. As a member of the LGBT community, I sometimes have sobriety-related concerns that are difficult to share with my heterosexual friends. That’s exactly where a community like LGBTteetotaler comes in. One of the reasons that some of us don’t really enjoy traditional 12-Step meetings is because of the repeated use of the word “God.” If that resonates with you, you might find LifeRing’s secular recovery helpful. Plus, their website offers resources including a suggested reading list, blog posts, and other articles and essays. The best part of the program is that they help you to empower yourself to overcome your addictions, which, for some, is a welcome change from traditional 12-Step programs.

This percentage increases as recovering alcoholics maintain their sobriety or a low level of drinking. Some individuals suffering from AUD have a moment of clarity. New Directions for Women understands that recovery can be a difficult process. Often, a person with AUD has more questions than answers when they start. But I would rather this happen than return to the life I was living prior to sobriety. Before I got sober, my physical and mental health were questionable. All I wanted to do was be wasted, and I was putting myself in dangerous situations when I drank. We offer 100% confidential substance abuse assessment and treatment placement tailored to your individual needs. What most people don’t know is that there are a lot of alternatives to AA.

Surround yourself with support

But although few people seem to realize it, there are alternatives, including prescription drugs and therapies that aim to help patients learn to drink in moderation. Unlike Alcoholics Anonymous, these methods are based on modern science and have been proved, in randomized, controlled studies, to work. Recovery from alcohol has come a long way, and it’s more than possible to quit drinking without AA in today’s world. Modern alcohol treatment programs should be tailored to the individual because we all come to the table with unique needs, and digital recovery bridges the gap. The ever-evolving views on addiction and how alcohol use can be directly related to societal and personal issues makes a more holistic approach to recovery imperative when it comes to accessibility. The influx of online recovery options that address these issues head-on makes quitting drinking without AA possible for many people. There is a range of digital programs, communities, and online alcohol treatment programs. Communities like Tempest offer a holistic and clinically proven approach to recovery. A Recovery Coach can also help with setting goals and quitting alcohol or cutting back.

Most addiction support groups are peer-run without the guidance of a professional. You might find that group therapy benefits you more if you need the guidance of a therapist for mental health, social, emotional, or relationship issues. While peer support is vital to addiction recovery, you might find other ways to stay sober. You can explore your options for a support group while in addiction treatment.

Should Naltrexone be a Part of Your Recovery Toolbox?

Could the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of coverage prompt us to rethink how we treat alcohol-use disorder? The Department of Health and Human Services, the primary administrator of the act, is currently evaluating treatments. But the legislation does not specify a process for deciding which methods should be approved, so states and insurance Sober House companies are setting their own rules. How they’ll make those decisions is a matter of ongoing discussion. To many, though, the idea of non-abstinent recovery is anathema. Religious fervor, aided by the introduction of public water-filtration systems, helped galvanize the temperance movement, which culminated in 1920 with Prohibition.

Nicole Lee works as a consultant in the alcohol and other drug sector and a psychologist in private practice. She has previously been awarded funding by Australian and state governments, NHMRC and other bodies for evaluation and research into alcohol and other drug prevention and treatment. In 1980, the University of Toronto recruited the couple to conduct research at its prestigious Addiction Research Foundation. “We didn’t set out to challenge tradition,” Mark Sobell told me. “We just set out to do good research.” Not everyone saw it that way.

Build Healthy Relationships

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 became an AA member because I thought it was the default. Everyone’s path to addiction is unique—so must be their recovery. Some people attribute their sobriety to AA and the 12 steps. If you’re seeking a community that’s focused on positive health and behavior change, then Hello Sunday Morning might be right for you. This community supports anyone who wants to change their relationship with alcohol, in whatever form—whether abstaining, taking a break, or just better understanding it. The forums of Sober Recovery are a great place for people with substance use disorder to find assistance and helpful information.

He often started drinking after his first morning court appearance, and he says he would have loved to drink even more, had his schedule allowed it. He defended clients who had been charged with driving while intoxicated, and he bought his own Breathalyzer to avoid landing in court on drunk-driving charges himself. If you are thinking about quitting alcohol but know that AA is not the path for you, don’t let that stop you from doing what’s best for your health, your wellbeing and your family. I only told two people — my husband and mom, neither of whom have struggles with addiction so they could not relate. But putting those words out there… “I am concerned with my drinking and I need to quit” was the accountability check I needed to start on the right foot. Here’s what to know about the three FDA-approved drugs that can help people who have alcohol addiction and their effects. Even if someone doesn’t put it in your treatment plan, Patterson advises people to try a few different options, including CBT and SMART Recovery, at least once if possible. If one AA meeting isn’t working, try attending a different meeting or group altogether. Because it’s so accessible, you likely won’t have problems finding other meetings.

Do not attend social gatherings that involve alcohol

Be honest with yourself about what you need to stay sober. According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse , therelapse ratefor drug andalcoholaddiction is about 40-60%. These medical practices include Workit Health , PLLC, Workit Health , P.C., Workit Health , LLC, Workit Health , LLC, and any other Workit Health professional entity that is established in the future. Rue uses drugs to manage difficult emotions in ‘Euphoria’, but this isn’t true for most people. But dependence (the more technical term for “addiction”) is a gradual process in which your brain and body get used to having a drug regularly. Tough love is acting harshly with the aim of helping a person in the longer term. This might include locking them out of the house if they refuse to go to rehab, refusing money for food if they are still using, or refusing to pick them up if they are intoxicated. The “rock bottom” idea can be dangerous because people may delay treatment until things are really bad.

From this small sample—98 men—Jellinek drew sweeping conclusions about the “phases of alcoholism,” which included an unavoidable succession of binges that led to blackouts, “indefinable fears,” and hitting bottom. Though the paper was filled with caveats about its lack of scientific rigor, it became AA gospel. Of how treatment works elsewhere, I traveled to Finland, a country that shares with the United States a history of prohibition and a culture of heavy drinking. His drinking increased through college and into law school. He could, and occasionally did, pull back, going cold turkey for weeks at a time. But nothing quieted his anxious mind like booze, and when he didn’t drink, he didn’t sleep.

Medication-Assisted Therapy (MAT)

There are sober coaches, counselors, and psychologists out there happy to support you on your recovery journey. If none of these options sound good to you, you can build the recovery community you feel is lacking in the world. Start a group in your area or on a social networking site like Facebook, and watch it grow. Most people use alcohol or other drugs because it makes them feel good and is fun. Most typically use occasionally for a short period in their lives, never experiencing significant problems. During her sessions with him, she talks about troubling memories that she believes helped ratchet up her drinking. Mann was eager to bolster the scientific claims behind AA, and Jellinek wanted to make a name for himself in the growing field of alcohol research. In 1946, Jellinek published the results of a survey mailed to 1,600 AA members. Jellinek and Mann jettisoned 45 that had been improperly completed and another 15 filled out by women, whose responses were so unlike the men’s that they risked complicating the results.

For more information about how to choose treatment options, please click here. Importantly, simply referring patients to 12-step meetings is likely to be less successful than Twelve-Step Facilitation in terms of patients engaging in 12-step programs. (a clinical protocol for linking patients to 12-step programs like AA), containing a total of 10,565 participants, that sought to determine the net effect of AA participation. Cochrane reports are written to highly specified protocols using exacting methods. It is considered the gold standard in medical research and is the international ‘go to’ source for national treatment systems and government clinical decision makers.
SMART Recovery stands for Self-Management and Recovery Training. However, some may be put off by AA due to its emphasis on a higher power or abstinence. About 12% of Native Americans suffer from a drinking problem. Around 60% of individuals who are sober for two years after AUD remain that way. Most of all, I was isolated and lonely, my drinking and poor choices having alienated me from everyone around me. Still, it’s decidedly weird to have taken a shot when you’re over eight years sober, especially after having been indoctrinated by AA.

• These medical practices include Workit Health , PLLC, Workit Health , P.C., Workit Health , LLC, Workit Health , LLC, and any other Workit Health professional entity that is established in the future.
• While 12-step groups are founded in the same guiding principles, the way individual groups are run or the overall feeling at meetings varies depending on who is leading them and who attends.
• Even though AA hasn’t been the route I’ve taken, I agree that it works if you work it.
• Many treatment providers offer suggestions to help you find the best fit for your recovery.

Human beings are biologically programmed to seek pleasure and avoid fear and pain. Eating, drinking, sleeping and fucking bring us pleasure because those activities ensure the survival of the species. 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. We’re here to confirm that AUD is completely treatable. Plus, we have alcoholism recovery statistics on our side to back that up.

Don’t erase all my vigilant efforts to change by calling me a dry drunk just because I get pissed when I get a parking ticket. I quit drinking in 2009 without the help of AA or rehab. There was no intervention, medical crisis or new low that finally spurred me to action. I got sober as I had gotten f-ed up—alone, under my own power. Three weeks into my sobriety, a survey I took at a public health clinic flagged me to an recovery without aa outreach program, Project Link, and they hooked me up with an addiction specialist at Weill Cornell Medical Center. I got myself sober and I alone am ultimately responsible for keeping myself sober. I feel good about my sobriety but I don’t necessarily feel pride about it. As my parents pointed out to me when I was a little kid, you don’t get extra points just because, for once, you did what you were supposed to do.

Some people who are on their way to recovery post positive messages on social media and internet groups. Other people hang powerful quotations around their homes. This may give them the courage to make it through their days without drinking. Others place encouraging words recovery without aa on their phones, desks, and around their workspaces. They do this to provide constant reminders of how wonderful the world can be without alcohol. Women for Sobriety was founded in 1975 by Jean Kirkpatrick, a sociologist who struggled with alcoholism and depression.

Eight years later, this is something I don’t question. From my very first meeting, I learned a lot about addiction and how my addictive nature manifests. I worked with a sponsor and did the Steps, which gave me tons of invaluable insight into myself and my experience. I learned heaps of strategies that help me not drink. Well, I was thinking that the host knew I didn’t drink, as beforehand, he’d asked me if I ate food prepared with alcohol and I told him yes. RehabAdviser.com is a tool for individuals seeking to find a Drug and/or Alcohol Rehab. We provide a list of treatment centers located within the United States that are JHACO or CARF accredited. Individuals can call the centers directly or call our Toll Free number for further assistance.