Can You Get Sober Without AA? Alcohol Addiction Treatment

AA If you like the accountability and community of regular meetings, SMART Recovery may be a good option for you. Practically every person in recovery has people, places, and experiences that bring up the urge to drink. Part of the art of staying sober (or moderate) long-term is knowing what these triggers are, and how to manage them.

My experiment was driven by personal curiosity, not scientific inquiry. But it certainly felt as if I were unlearning something—the pleasure of that first glass? Humphreys noted that the findings were consistent whether the study participants were young, elderly, male, female, veterans or civilians; the studies in the review were also conducted in five different countries.

How to Quit Drinking Without Going to AA

If you don’t think AA is the right choice for you, don’t worry. Your sponsor must be a member is good standing and who has already completed the steps. AA gives out chips for varying periods of sobriety, for example, thirty days, six months, a year and so on. What is important to remember here is that recovery is fluid. Our needs change, so our need for various support systems and interventions evolve as well. For those who are able to maintain one pathway to foster their recovery, that’s great.

If you recently had surgery or an injury, your doctor will be careful with the pain medication they give you, because some of those drugs can make you more likely to relapse. Ask your doctor about nonmedical ways to manage your pain, like massage or acupuncture. Have some sober friends you can invite as your plus-one to a social event like a party or wedding. And stay in touch with your sponsor and call them if you’re feeling anxious or uncomfortable.

Get Naltrexone Online to Stop Drinking

Check with your health insurance provider, ask friends for referrals, or browse therapy directories like Psychology Today and GoodTherapy. If you are able to maintain moderate drinking, it may work for you. But if you find yourself falling into previous unhealthy drinking habits, abstinence may be your better option.

• Ask for words of encouragement by scheduling regular check-ins to discuss progress and challenges.
• In AA specifically, meeting people who have lived through relapse and recovery cycles is common.
• To answer this question, we’ll share some benefits that AA offers the recovering alcoholic.
• It is common for people to feel like they need to replace one habit with another, like swapping out drinking for some other random thing to fill the space and time.

When you walk through the doors of an AA meeting, the warm welcome everyone receives is because of this common bond. Even though you do not have to join any group or pay any dues, the common struggle of like-minded alcoholics is priceless. There is a big difference between Alcoholics Anonymous and rehab programs, and it’s important to find a program that fits your needs and meets your expectations. Here are a few other things you can look into, if you are finding that AA is not fulfilling your needs.

Drug and Alcohol Treatment

When looking for a way to stay sober without AA, it is important to consider outpatient drug treatment. This helps people recover from substance use disorder without inpatient care. You don’t need to go through an organization or any other formal channels to find this type of community. It can be as simple as your existing friend group who checks in on each other through text, or commiserating with online strangers on a sobriety memes account on social media.

• Instead, MM focuses on helping people to manage problematic drinking and behaviors that are destructive, aiding in encouraging positive lifestyle changes.
• But researchers have debunked central tenets of AA doctrine and found dozens of other treatments more effective.
• There are plenty of other ways to develop coping strategies, identify triggers, and manage a sober lifestyle.
• You can explore different types of support groups that might help you in your long-term sobriety.
• When I decided I would get sober on August 1st, 2015, I knew I would do so without Alcoholics Anonymous.
• In fact, many opioid addicts cannot feel normal without them.
• Triggers can be anything from people, places, or activities that lead to the urge to drink.

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. AA is highly judgmental when it comes to MAT or medication-assisted treatment. They do not believe in using any kind of medication to help you stay sober, even though statistics tell us these drugs do work. In fact, many opioid addicts cannot feel normal without them. This is probably due to permanent changes in their brains that occurred as a result of long-term exposure to powerful opioids.

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” Maybe your family drinks to celebrate the holidays, or your high school friends want to meet at a bar over winter break. Staying sober during triggering events, like parties, weddings, holidays, vacations, and when out with friends who drink, can be tough. You will find that long-term sobriety is possible when https://ecosoberhouse.com/ you focus on the daily process instead of the long-term end goal. With the many types of groups available besides alcoholics and narcotics anonymous, you can look into what kind of program will help you or a loved one. During group therapy, you get the benefits of support while getting professional help.

If left unchecked, anger can have a negative impact on your health and your lasting sobriety. Now that you are sober, you may have discovered that some of your past relationships were not stay sober without aa only unhealthy but downright toxic. It’s not just your drinking buddies and drug dealers who can get you into trouble—sometimes those who are closest to you can contribute to a relapse.

Celebrate Your Successes

As alcoholism is not dependent on AA for its diagnosis, neither is sobriety. I describe myself as sober because I don’t drink alcohol and I am habitually abstinent from drugs. But he is a devout Catholic so several times a year, he drinks a mouthful of wine as part of religious services. I don’t do the steps; Steve puts a great amount of faith and effort into them.

Many recovering addicts now find that they have more time to fill without drugs and alcohol consuming their thoughts and actions. Seeking a support group committed to helping others can be a beneficial and cost-effective way for you to stay sober. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) remains one of the most common support groups for long-term sobriety.