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I am sorry to bring up such a sad subject, but I am waking up to the fact that I have a big problem. Is there anyone with experience with a 12step program or other help available in the East Village?
I am in my 40's, white, college educated, so might feel more comfortable in a group with similar types, although this is not essential. Employed so have insurance, but have no idea what they would cover, and don't want my employers to know.
Would love to hear from anyone who's been in the same boat.
There are AA groups all over the City, even based on affinity groups: gay, atheist, Catholic, executive, black, Hispanic, women...you name it. And AA is completely free and completely confidential. You are known only by your first name and you can change that if you choose.
In fact if you don't want to go ALL THE WAY there was a poster here only last week announcing a program at Columbia for help in moderating alcohol consumption.
(Sorry, I tried to find that post about drinking moderation but I cannot find it...maybe a moderator pulled it?)
Last edited by Kefir King; 11-11-2012 at 04:39 PM..
Columbia sure does offer a lot of help with addictions..
What are you exactly asking for OP? If you're asking help on quitting drinking alcohol, or even keeping it at a limit, why not just do that? 12 step programs? Help? Just giving my opinion, I think what you do for yourself will benefit you most
Columbia sure does offer a lot of help with addictions..
What are you exactly asking for OP? If you're asking help on quitting drinking alcohol, or even keeping it at a limit, why not just do that? 12 step programs? Help? Just giving my opinion, I think what you do for yourself will benefit you most
Well, thank you for that advice. I have tried to quit by myself and just wound up failing. I feel like I need some companionship and someone to talk to since I don't have a lot of that, rather than getting to deep into the program or philosophy. I do know that there are A.A. groups around just wondering if anyone could share some first hand experience.
I use self hypnosis and have trained myself into the folllowing system:
ZERO alcohol Jan, Feb, March
Then I alternate months, drinking April, June, August, October and December and teetotallling absolutely 100% in the alternating months.
I do self hypnosis for the week preceding each dry month. I learned the method as an aid to quitting smoking 30 years ago. I works for any habit.
That allows me to give my liver a break but still have something to look forward to in the near future.
I would LIKE to drink even less but I am afraid to screw with the method because it has worked for nearly twenty years but by the end of the drinking months I am putting away more than I would like. There are several "moderation programs" around that I might consider for the future but for now I'll stick with my own and not touch a drop til December 1.
The first 3 or 4 days of the teetotal month I take valium until my nerves settle down. (It also keeps away DT's for those who REALLY go off a super-bender.)
FOR MYSELF, I despise the idea of AA and any of these twelve step programs that yammer about "higher power" and on one hand claim that this habit is a "disease" that can only be cured by pairing yourself with someone else with the SAME "incurable disease." But it works for some or so they say. Again, if someone is fine will AA, good for him. It is just not for me and never will be. I had enough of "higher power" in my childhood to choke a dozen people.
I tried about 5 different means of cutting back and the one I use now seems to work best for me...and I can stick with it which is the important thing.
Last edited by Kefir King; 11-12-2012 at 06:33 AM..
Find an AA meeting and go to it. If you don't like it, go to a different one. If you don't like that one, try another one. AA...AA...AA...Can't stress it enough.
I have a very close friend that used to be a disaster with alcohol, and AA helped him immensely. He was very highly educated (Ivy league) as well and struggled until AA. He is now happily married, kids, and even goes to meetings when he is in other cities or on vacation. Good luck, OP. It's fantastic that you are reaching for help yourself.
I also think that AA is the way to go. I know it may seem extreme to quit drinking entirely, but I think its probably the best method at this point. Alcoholism is a progressive condition, meaning that if you try to moderate it you'll eventually find excuses to drink a little more, then a little more than that. Eventually, you may be back to square one. You can find non-religious AA meetings in NYC if you're not into that aspect of the traditional ones.
Also, if you've been drinking for awhile, your entire social network might be based on drinking, such as meeting at bars, drinking at parties, brunches, drinking at special events etc. You're going to need to restructure your life a bit and may need to make some new friends -- and come up with new interests to replace drinking.
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