How many methods are there to recover?

[clean42day]

I was involved in another thread on another forum - and all kinds of people wrote in.

most people are familiar with 12 step recovery......

but it seems there are a zillion ways to recover.....and many of them do work.

Beleive it or not - some people do stop drinking and druging "without" a program too.

just wondering what your thoughts are and how many different methods are being used today.

I have run into people who say 12 step didn't work for them........rather than trying to convince them that it does....it would be nice to be able to suggest "other" methods they might want to try instead of leaving them hanging on the edge of a cliff........................

So far I have heard about:
medical recovery
cognitive therapy
behavioral remodification
rational recovry
SOS (Secular Organizations for Sobriety)
faith-based life skills pograms
court based intervention programs
SMART recovery
Lifering recovery
Holistic recovery
ect............

have you heard of any other "programs"?

What are your thoughts on this?

is there only "one way" to recover?

Thanks for participating..................

Gail

[BIG AL]

I remember a while back there was a lady who had a tapper off program.She died of alcholism.We would be totally aroggant to say AA is the only way.It is what works for me.The big book does say we do not have the monopoly on sobriety.My sister went to Teen Challenge.If you never heard of that its a treatment center through the assembly of god church.I believe Dave Wilkerson started it.They have a really high success rate actually.Oh ya I saw A advertizement fot a book on how to stop drinkking in 30 days.I also believe that Alcholcoach has some great ideas on revorery.The problem I think with some of these programs is they are all about money and they kill people really looking for help.So for me its AA the 12 steps.

[shrubbery]

At one time people also reffered to a program called rational recovery now referred to as AVRT (Addictive Voice Recognition Technique) was started by Jack Trimpey. This was the program that I used prior to joining in AA and NA. And if I had the daily skills that I have received through the 12 steps of the above two mentioned fellowships at work in those days I might have made a successful recovery with that program (which at the time 15 years ago) was incorrectly referred to as rational Recovery.

The website for rational Recovery and AVRT is http://:www.rational.org. I do have the textbooks of this Mr Trimpey, and I do believe that it can show some people a method of recovery, it is just not the one that has proven itself for me... the fellowships of NA and its predecessor AA.

I only mention this alternate form of recovery because my sponsor is on me lately to be more open minded and willing to listen to alternate forms of thought and alternate approaches to solutions to daily problems. Also that some things that seem to be daily problems; are really defects of character --and need worked on with my sponsor, HP, and a prayerful loving self.

OMG, yeah and I almost forgot my deceased wife was also a member of Women For Sobriety along with NA and AA when she suicided 15 years ago. So I can not give that group a positive or negative rating since 1) I am not a woman, 2) She died, 3) She did not stay sober as a result of that fellowship 4) She used it in conjunction with AA and NA but still never really got longer than 3 day unless she was hospitalized or institutionalized.

Peace

[alcoholrehabcoach]

Great topic, Gail

There are two things I know people want:

They want to feel certain.
They want to be happy.

Ultimately, each of us must find our own way to have those feelings, so I'd say there as many different roads to recovery, as there are individuals who are looking to recover.

[Camel]

Like Big AL said quoting the big book. We do not have a monopoly on sobriety. I just know its a dang miracle that I am sober, and had it not been for AA I am certain i would be dead today. IMO I am sure their are other ways that work. All I know is that the 12 steps worked for me, and if someone asked me how to get sober, I could only show them the AA program.

I know my sister(drug addict) got clean threw the challenge program, so she is all filled with the Holly Spirit. However she seems to be ok with having a few drinks every now and then. Alcohol is a drug, idk.. but its her choice, and my hat is off to her.

[Starlight]

I quit with no program, no support group & no reading material. I made up my mind that it was time to quit, and that I only had the energy to do it once so I'd better do it right.

[paulm]

is there only "one way" to recover?



Good topic.
No there are as many ways as we can think of.
Mike's7 steps for instance..
aa/na are not the only way. in fact once we start the recovery process in one fellowship, we may be inclined to try it alone.
some just get sick of sobering up and stop drinking without the 12 step programs. and are successful at it too. I know a few who have, i think the support system we have in a fellowship is helpful. and the growth experienced in going through the steps is valuable. either way you try it, at the end of the day, a day drink/drug free is all the same.
I know some people don't really revover, when i see people 25 years sober and in 5-7 meetings a week, I question whether this program really works. my counter-parts who go it alone, their approach seems more realistic.

[Stogi]

In the early days of my sobriety AA was a integral part of my staying clean and sober, but, by no means the only thing. Like most of use , I had allot of practice quiting but failed miserably at staying clean. Putting my faith in , relying on my Higher Power and being determined I wasn't going down in the hole again became my program. But without the tools I got from AA/NA I don't think I would have been as successful.

[clean42day]

I have to say that AA the first time around didn't work for me. or more accuratley the "beliefe" system I brought to the program with me didn't help either. For the most part - I am one of those people who 'had" grave emotional disorders...and quite simply AA did not go deep enough to uncover them. years later NA came a little closer to uncovering some of the deeper issues because it mainly focuses on addiction and not on the specific chemical being used, and I was just as much of an adrenaline junkie as I was a chemical junkie. When I was not using drugs - then I was using "people" or living on the edge of life and death to fix me....and that brought me to codependents anonymous....which led to adult children of Alcoholics ....... and all of the knowledge I gained in each and every program still didn't fully prepare me for deeper work. I surrendered to the fact that I needed professional help to uncover deeper issues and then people who knew how to help me back up out of them to rebuild a whole new perception of self and the world around me.

of course the whole time - each time I relapsed my addiction drove me deeper into desperation of wanting something - ANYTHING - to work for me.

The last time I entered treatment - I not only worked a 12 step program - I also recieved personal therapy, cognitive behavioral remodification, went deeper into inner child therapy, and got one on one counseling from a sexual recovery survivors therapist. I also hooked up with people in the field of mental health - and then surrounded myself with a network of winners.

All in all - my journey this last time was a holistic one.....and I needed each and every aspect and each and every tool they all gave me.

Today I mostly maintenance my recovery with 12 step work.....but I know who to call today when steps, God, and principals are not enough. I also have no problem reaching out and saying "HELP" ! I love all of the programs - but sometimes well meaning people will tell a newcomer - AA or NA is all they need. It is detrimental that we pass an accurate message of our own recovery along and say what worked for us.

Well meaning members tried to convince me - that I was just not working "hard" enough in 12 step to sufficiently reap the rewards of the promises like other members seem to so freely find. That whole process drove me deeper into shame and the belief that I was REALLY DEFECTIVE and would never "get it".

my own sponsor had the presence of mind to say - Gail some of your issues are out of the realm of my experience and you should seek help in those areas from people who "KNOW" what they are doing.

not all recovery is good recovery but any kind of recovery is a start -and if someone finds something that works for them - the proof usually is in the example of how they live thier life. it is a rare person who can cut right through the layers and go straight to a persons core issues.....I thank each and everyone on my jouney for giving me little pieces of the puzzle - until I could get them together and in place for a plan that worked for me.

I just thought it would be helpful - to be able to give people choices and bring a new awareness to the topic.

thanks for participating.............

light and love

Gail

[Tom1]

I appreciated this thread. I am also new to recovery. I had been going to aa for a year but found myself only cutting down. It seemed if I wouldn't pick up the phone, I didn't have any tools myself to use.Yes, I believe in God, but i don't completely trust that I deserve his grace, a struggle I have. If he allowed Job, the most righteous man of his time, to lose his wealth, family, and health, why should I expect better (yes, I know it was later restored).I have a hard time surrendering because I think I am not going to like what I get in return.That being said, I just started looking at SMART recovery this week. I like the fact that there are tools available when you won't reach out. I do NOT agree with their leaving God completely out of this (although I have been to some pretty weird AA meetings that definitely were New Age, which is as bad.) I also found their message board to be full of relapses, so either their clients are more honest or the program doesn't work. I go to Celebrate recovery and like the fact that they deal with the source of addiction but it seems to move too quickly, moving from step to step every week with compltetion goal of 12 weeks, and again, that sponsor thing I am hung up about. Anyway, for now I guess I will try to take what I can from all of them and hopefully God will meet me halfway, I do think I at least have the faith of a mustard seed, just not much more. Thanks all.

[paulm]

Tom,
I appreciate your honesty. I have heard that the faith of a mustard seed is all that is necessary. your faith in HP will grow as you do. I don't have any experience with all the other programs you named, I am sure those programs help many people, just as the step programs do.

I also don't agree with leaving God completely out, this is the program, as you can see, the steps steers us to having a deeper relationship with God.
it's the focus of our steps,
1) gain acceptance of our disease and make a decision to have a relationship with God
2) recognize our wrong doings, share with another human, strengthen our realtionship with God.
3) clear the wreckage of our past, do what we can to not recreate damage in our lives or the lives of others, then develop a deeper relationship with God.
4) carry the message
It keeps coming back to G.O.D. Good Orderly Direction.
- Peace

[Chewi]

Since we are all individuals, we are probably all going to adapt each program a bit to fit us. It is, however, many times the similarities and the shared experiences that help us to relate and sympathize and get built up and help encourage others. As addicts, we know that just about anything that keeps us sober is better than remaining addicted. A huge part of staying sober is learning how to "live and let live," taking care of the log in our own eye before we point to the cinder in our brothers eye. So I think we can support just about anything or anyone that helps keep us sober. That being said, we wouldn't really want to be kept sober by a cult or by someone holding us in a prison. So I believe we do need to seek the true God and the truth to make spiritual progress. That does not mean I judge others on what they or doing or what place they are at now.

On the huge plus side for AA: the experience around us proves it has worked for many; it is available just about anywhere, anyplace, by phone and online. AA has the advantage of being so widespread, that someone in need can call someone now, and can almost always find a meeting in 24 hours or less. That is a great advantage. I had been interested in trying Celebrate Recovery and maybe some other programs, but they are just not available. I am one of the ones who believe AA was divinely inspired. And though some would disagree, I think you take what you need and leave the rest. This is because we are all still human, individual and there will always be differences of opinion.
For an addict, a difference of opinion can easily lead to another drink, use. AA teaches how to live in a world of differing opinions without being stoned out of ones mind!
The ultimate truth of the matter is that we are all better off sober and should go to any lenght to achieve that!
I enjoyed reading the topic and putting my two cents in! May you and me all stay sober and joyful today!

[fxstsrider]

I'm sure there are many ways to quit but for now AA is all that is working for me. When I quit originally I did just that - nothing else. The problem as I see it today is that I was a dry drunk for 23 years. I never worked on any of my poor charactersitics. I was the same old a$$. I'm struggling with the steps and I can see how and why someone might not want to do any of them. For me, right now I need the support to start to correct all the crap that I do to others. I'm only seeing it now for the first time.

[clean42day]

found a resource page = published within the PBS website.....it is a recource manual for the many faces of addiction and recovery. Gives links to all kinds of resources from specific to general support groups for recovery. make sure you scroll all the way through to the bottom - it gives short descriptions of each method and resource - very cool - all in one place.

check it out:

http://www.facesandvoicesofrecovery.org/resources/support_home.php