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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If you are a woman, AA may not be the right approach for you. Read “Quit Like A Woman” and get yourself into a good rehab program. [/quote]

This is OP and I believe AA is unsafe for women, based on my experiences.  It frustrates me too that this is considered to be the gold standard in addiction management when (a) people who quit on their own have higher success rates than those in AA, (b) the program totally disempowers people and continually attending (until death?) is an expectation, and (c) the founders of the program weren’t all that great.

All of that aside, I am not acutely at risk/experiencing delirium tremens or anything like that.  It’s just that when I try to moderate my alcohol intake, it just doesn’t work.  While I might manage one or two drinks a day for a while, I will always end up binging.  I brought up Naltrexone with my PCP in the spring and she referred me to a psychologist instead (which I haven’t explored - I had an AMAZING psychologist who retired a couple of years ago, hesitant to start this process again but probably need to.)

I’ve read different books, tried different approaches - the only thing that seems to work is complete abstinence. But the idea of never ever having an alcoholic drink again is overwhelming.  I’m just lost. Thanks all.[/quote]
Complete abstinence is what works. It is what you need to do.

I got sober through AA but stopped going after a few years. It does work and you don't have to become a weird AA person. Take what you like and leave the rest. Go to women's only meetings. Go to meetings where the people are similar to you in your socio-economic-education level. You will relate more to what they talk about. I've been sober for over 30 years and I don't attend but it helped at first and got me going. I try to use the steps as a way of acting in life. It can help.

But people quit all the time without AA or rehab or any other method. They just do. So if you don't want to do a program or anything else, just stop for a day and then just keep going the next day. Focus only on the day and stop for just that day. Focus on other things and take up new activities. That helps. Change is hard. What AA can help with is that other people know it's hard. They can relate. But as I said, I've known several people who just stopped without a program or anything. So you really can.

I also agree that Naltraxone sounds very helpful. It seems to remove the obsession. [/quote]

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