Adam,

I have been involved in a few different programs eg. acoa, al-anon, oa, celebrate recovery and now looking like attending aa meetings if we move to town.  I'ld hate to think where I'ld be without them all.  With each of them I've learned different ways to live.  In acoa I learned that I am a product of my parents and extended families history.  All in all I never learned healthy ways to cope with life.  I was just going along following what I saw, copying everyone else.  That all changed when I started down this path.  My family still don't understand what has happened to me.  All they know is that I have changed.  

Tracey 

I've batted the "trade one addiction for another" thought from time to time, and I come to the conclusion that if that's the case, well, my new addiction won't put me in jail, give me cuts and bruises, make me act like a raging psychopath, or give me a hangover.

 

 

Alcoholism is a disease and we are the carriers...Alcoholics are made different...we are not normal and therefore cannot drink like "normal" people do.  Our disease is a fatal one...unless arrested by total abstinence we go insane and die progressively.  People who are not alcoholic and don't attend AA do not understand...thank God they are not built like us and thank God that people built like us have a chance with AA.  You don't have to JADE   Justify...Argue...Defend...Explain...Ruby's response is a good one...don't get hooked into a discussion with someone without Experience and awareness about what alcoholism has done with Adam's life...they are not informed in the least and are at a disadvantage about staying alive with a life threatening disease.   Also many of those who tout that AA isn't everything in life are not giving back to the program which saved theirs.  Do Service.   (((((Hugs))))) 

If it is trading addictions, then it is trading an addiction that distroys my life for one that makes it better. Seems like a good trade to me.

Howzat for an efficient office .

Got an email back allready to say there is 35 meetigs a week , within 2-3 miles from the

hotel I will be staying at . Now I can look up google maps &    Plan  my meetings .

You see , as I said before on another post , these are the guys from the shipwreck that

I got my medal for bravery . Now we need each other - because you were not there to

know what it was like . Sound familiar . No , I don't have to live in AA . BUT I Chose to

Live AA. To visually show my Gratitude , because some older sober members stayed

around to SHOW me , how it got better . Mate , I can talk th legs off a chair & talk

underwater for half an hour with a mouthfull of marbles & it's all about Me .

Regular meetings kep me grounded & importantly they keep me Humble .

Also they remind me where I come from , because I might forget . Like .

Four months before I got here . Sat afternoon I talked my way into a Psych hospital .

Monday morning , I talked my way out of it , too many crazies , & that was in th

admissions ward . My girlfriend said she would pick me up at th front gate of th

hospital . After an hour she finally found me . She said "I feel like a drink".

I repliedu can have ONE , I am giving booze away". she looked at me . I said ,

"If booze was the reason I was in there(th psych hospital) I don't want to go back there".

40minutes later , I was having one for the road . That is how QUICK I Forgot .

Swapping one addiction for another? I suppose it's a valid point of view in some circumstances but it's hard to see it as harmful, as others have already said. But it is important to understand that there are really two AAs. The fellowship and the programme.

Jung talked about "the protective wall of human community" in the context of the fellowship. There are many in AA that seem to be able to stay sober just on this basis, meetings, meetings and more meetings and that's no bad thing. It's hard to argue that they are worse off than when they were drinking.

But it doesn't look very attractive to me. What I find most off putting is when a member of considerable length of sobriety shares that they can't go more that two or three days without a meeting before their life begins to fall apart. Their thinking goes off, they have difficulty in relationships, things become unmanageable very quickly. From where I sit this doesn't look like happy joyous and free.

Then there are those who talke the exhortation "put AA first" to mean practice AA principles in all their affairs. They are also part of the fellowship but they take the AA programme into all areas of their lives and having taken all 12 steps, seem to have a relationship with their Higher power that allows them considerable freedom. They have their regular meetings, maybe two or three each week, but they also comfortably manage their family, work and social lives. They sponsor and work with others, hold service positions, but also are a big part of their family's lives. They can take major life problems in their stride and be useful and helpful in times of crisis, and they don't fall apart if they miss a few meetings. They are truly happy joyous and free. This is what the combination of the two AAs can bring, as distinct from the fellowship alone.

God bless,
MikeH

Ya know ... ... ... I don't see that AA is a 'crutch' at all for me anymore, it's just that I feel AA needs me now ... you know, to sustain it's principles to help the alcoholics that still suffer ... if I went to the meetings, got well and left, what would be the point ??? ... ... ... AA saved my life, and the least I can do is to repay the favor to some poor soul that is ready to give up ... ... ...

Do I still need AA ? ... Well, don't get your panties in a wad, but No ... as long as I stay in fit spiritual condition ... However, in order for me to stay in fit spiritual condition, I need to go to meetings and help the new-comers, cause that is what my spirituality means to me ... ... ... kind of like 'You can't keep it unless you give it away' type of thing ...

I still have to get some to give some... but I'm okay with where I'm at today : ) Thanks guys