How to Achieve Sobriety Without AA: 8 Powerful Strategies by John Makohen

Levine proposes that Buddhism is ideally suited to target addiction, since transcending suffering and “nonattachment” are at its core. Levine published the book Refuge Recovery in 2014, and since then groups and meetings have been popping up all over the U.S. as well as in Canada, Denmark, Finland, and the UK. There are also online and phone-in meetings for those who can’t make it to any of the physical locations. Topamax is an anticonvulsant drug traditionally used to prevent seizures and migraine headaches.

Episode 22: Addiction from a Family Members Perspective (Part

However, it is important to realize that the threat of alcohol relapse is always present. For this reason, a recovering alcoholic should stay involved in aftercare options like Alcoholics Anonymous to stay focused on sobriety. The longer an alcoholic stays sober, the better their chances getting sober without aa are for long-term sobriety. Overall, among people sober for five years, the chances of relapsing are less than 15%, according to Psychology Today. One of the challenges of getting sober with AA is about willpower. 12 step philosophy emphasizes surrendering control to higher power.

Can you stay sober without AA?

• There are also online and phone-in meetings for those who can’t make it to any of the physical locations.
• The “Lose Yourself” rapper, 51, celebrated 16 years of sobriety on Saturday, April 20, sharing a photo via Instagram of his hand holding an Alcoholics Anonymous chip to commemorate the milestone.
• Exercise will get your endorphins pumping, reduce cravings, and make you feel better.
• One of the reasons for this is that stress can increase the risk of low mood and anxiety, which in turn are linked to alcohol cravings.

As I stopped using, more people noticed me when I panhandled on the streets. People started to stop and talk to me, engage with me, and bring me books to read, clothes, and home-cooked food during the holidays. While ramping up my therapy sessions, I started to gamify how long I could go without shooting drugs.

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I fought off the temptation to indulge in dope for a couple of years. Until that fateful day, the illicit methadone ran out, so I resorted to quiet corners of upstate New York and copped a bundle of heroin. It wasn’t an immediate return to injecting heroin, mind you.

How to Find Help for Drug or Alcohol Misuse

Use a drink-tracking app, a notebook, or a breathalyzer to record how much you are actually drinking every day. This will keep you honest with yourself and your support system, and help you stick to your goals. One of the strengths of AA is that it provides a community of people facing a similar challenge, and gives you access to others further along in the process. If you prefer not to attend AA, look for other ways to access this kind of community—whether that’s through other groups, a supportive social circle, or through a recovery coach or counselor.

Being open and honest about sobriety also takes a measure of self-awareness, bravery, integrity, and dignity that many people will not understand unless they’ve struggled. That said, here are 4 things I have learned that are useful in getting sober from alcohol without AA. I’ve also witnessed the fantastic potential and empowerment that often emerges by building relationships with people in recovery. Extraordinary magic comes with being in the company of people that are in the process of growing beyond what they knew they could ever be capable of. I know these things are true because I have sat in rooms around the world and listened, for hundreds of hours, to the experiences others have had with alcohol.

The only constant in our lives is that everything will change; nothing will ever stay the same. You will be able to adapt and deal with whatever changes better than you think you can. At some point, you will have cause to regret not making more effort to see your friends.

Can I Quit Alcohol Cold Turkey?

What most people don’t know is that there are a lot of alternatives to AA. If you have a drug or alcohol problem but don’t want to go to AA, keep reading. There are still plenty of ways to get the treatment you need and start the healthy lifestyle you deserve. Rational Recovery is an abstinence-based program based on a method called AVRT—the Addictive Voice Recognition Technique.

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If you need sober friends and don’t do support groups, Meetup has great local activities that will allow you to get out of the bars and meet people in positive environments. For people with severe alcohol use disorder, or who expect intense withdrawal symptoms, some form of medical detox may be necessary. Sudden withdrawal from heavy drinking can be dangerous or even fatal, so it’s best to have a doctor’s supervision.

• The fundamental belief of Alcoholics Anonymous, which is that we shouldn’t drink alcohol 100% of the time, works.
• Therefore it is not personal to me but a simple expression of how they feel at that particular time.
• Related to harm reduction, but also useful for complete sobriety, medications for alcohol use disorder are gaining increased popularity.
• Post-acute withdrawal syndrome (PAWS) involves experiencing withdrawal symptoms that persist past the detox period.
• Write your blog posts, eat your cake, and put yourself on the pedestal for a while.