Achieving Long-Term Sobriety: Sober Without AA Alternatives

There is no tried-and-true way to determine whether moderation works for you. In other words, try moderation for a short time and see how it goes. With a Reddit account, you can protect your privacy and stay anonymous. Because r/stopdrinking is public, you can read its discussions without commenting or even creating a Reddit account.

Why You Might Benefit From an AA Alternative

It’s important to develop a structured daily and weekly schedule and stick to it. We understand the challenges of this stage of life, and our program is specifically built to serve the mid-life adult in a meaningful and individualized way. At Silver Ridge clients are first and foremost treated with respect, kindness, and compassion. The midlife-specific groups allowed clients to form a bond with one another through shared life experiences. Numerous other support groups, including SMART Recovery groups, LifeRing groups and SOS Alcoholism Program. Remember that everyone’s path to sobriety is unique and it’s important to find what works best for you.

Oar Health Member Stories: I Needed to Curb My Drinking But Didn’t Know How

I’ve said before in other posts that at this point I don’t think about sobriety or “not drinking” that much anymore.
SOS-supported groups are nonprofessional and offer a healthy network of individuals with the similar goal of sobriety.
Now that you are sober, you may have discovered that some of your past relationships were not only unhealthy but downright toxic.
If you’re in denial that you have a drinking problem and don’t fully believe that it’s something that needs to be fixed, nothing in the world is going to change your alcohol addiction.
I was already in a methadone treatment program for 4 years before I started working closely with my counselor.

Alcoholics Anonymous, and many older treatment programs, emphasize total abstinence from drinking as the only solution. However, newer perspectives on treatment now accept moderation, or cutting back, as an acceptable answer to problem drinking. Peer support is a big part of LifeRing recovery programs, as individuals share advice with other members, and offer support and encouragement in recovery. LifeRing focuses mainly on the present – on living a full and positive sober life without dwelling too much on past indiscretions and hurts that may have been the result of problematic drinking. HAMS stands for Harm Reduction, Abstinence, and Moderation Support. As the name suggests, the organization doesn’t dictate either abstinence or moderation, it simply encourages people to be safe and responsible in their attitudes to alcohol.

Practice deep breathing exercises, mindfulness techniques, or journaling to express your feelings and thoughts.
A mental health professional can help you cope with some of the challenges you’ll face on your path to sobriety.
Journaling is also an effective tool to maintain focus during emotionally challenging periods by recording daily reflections, coping strategies, and purposeful gratitude lists.
Women also take responsibility for their own actions, understanding that each person is in control of their own happiness, and each woman is worthwhile and competent.
If you choose to quit drinking without AA, it’s important to consider your current social scene and whether or not you’d like to change that.

What is behind your drinking?

No matter what your sobriety journey looks like, a supportive community can be crucial to sticking with it. It can help to have a trusted confidant or two with whom you can share your struggles, successes, and revelations. Take our short alcohol quiz to learn where https://ecosoberhouse.com/ you fall on the drinking spectrum and if you might benefit from quitting or cutting back on alcohol. In summary, if AA doesn’t feel like the right fit for you, there are many options and many effective paths to choose from to better match your needs and beliefs.

The Importance of Transparency During the Rehab Process

Just be sure that your rewards don’t involve drugs or alcohol. Instead, focus on things, experiences, and activities that will support your new, healthy lifestyle. If you don’t want to quit alcohol completely, or have had too much trouble staying 100% sober in the past, harm reduction might be a helpful approach for you.

AA and Standard 12-Step Approaches

SOS-supported groups are nonprofessional and offer a healthy network of individuals with the similar goal of sobriety. Women also take responsibility for their own actions, understanding that each person is in control of their own happiness, and each woman is worthwhile and competent. The group works on developing techniques to enhance this version of self instead of the addict self who has previously been in control of all decisions and led to destruction in life. Each person is encouraged to find their own method of encouraging their sober self within a LifeRing program. SMART Recovery programs offer both local in-person meetings and online support through a 24/7 chat board and daily online meetings.

Can you stay sober without AA?

In these programs, it’s customary to receive plastic chips as you progress to the one-year mark, at which time you receive a bronze coin.
Need help developing your own support system, working through year one focuses or working through year two suggestions?
Strictly speaking, sobriety is the state of being sober—not being under the influence of alcohol or drugs.
Meetings are closed by joining hands and reciting the WFS motto of competency, strength, and group support.

It emphasizes the importance of maintaining an optimistic outlook, reaching out to support networks, prioritizing self-care, and continually refining strategies based on previous experiences. Aside from support groups, there are many other ways to get help for your alcohol use. But if you don’t want to put your life on pause, there are also outpatient centers and telehealth programs that can fit within your schedule. And for those who don’t want getting sober without aa to quit completely (as AA requires), harm-reduction and moderation-based approaches might be a good fit. With a bustling online community and local meetings throughout the United States, LifeRing Secular Recovery is an alternative to traditional, spiritually based, 12-Step programs such as AA. LifeRing believes that each individual holds their own key to recovery, and it is not necessary to then place control in the hands of a spiritual being.

Some of the immediate changes you will need to make will be obvious—like not hanging around the people that you used with or obtained drugs from. After all, you can’t hang around your drug dealer or old drinking buddies and expect to remain sober for very long. Our staff are highly trained with dual mental health and substance use licensing. Our medical staff includes an ASAM certified addiction psychiatrist & an addiction-trained primary care physician. Our holistic approach supports your physical, mental, and spiritual health through a range of evidence-based treatment modalities. Sharing personal experiences with addiction recovery can be a powerful tool for inspiring and supporting others on their own recovery journey.