As one
member sees it.
I
sobered up before there was SOS. I went to AA
not because it helped me stay sober but because
I was told over and over this was the only way
that I could remain sober/drug free. What I got
most from AA was that "I made it a place where I
practiced speaking" in discussion meetings. I
learned to over come my shyness. I meet some
really great people there. Made friends and
found that I enjoyed the parts between the
meeting best.
In
using AA I never did the steps. When asked what
step I was on I would say I was still working on
the first one. I never did get through it.
I would
never recite the lords prayer. For me religion
was and still is a private matter.
The
idea of a sponsor was not to my liking. It was
foreign to all of my beliefs. Why would I put my
life in the hands of a drunk or a dope fiend? I
may have had problems with alcohol/drugs that
didn't mean that I was crazy. If I need someone
to tell me how to live my life I will go to a
professional. Our I will make my own mistakes
and learn from them.
I was criticized
for how I was doing my recovery. I was told over
and over what I was doing was wrong. Why wasn't
I encouraged to continue with what was working?
This is a support group isn't it?
The longer I
stayed clean & sober the more criticism I got.
I finely left AA
and continued on with my recovery.
When I found SOS
I really liked the way they embraced the fact
that we are each different. Our recovery is
different for each of us. Our religious and
political views are separate from our recovery.
I have
encouraged many of our members to go to AA for
support. There are SOS members who use both SOS
& AA.
The problem that
I have had "in my opinion" is that the group
doesn’t take a stand about members criticizing
another members way of recovery. If it works it
works. The group in "my opinion" has a duty to
let its members know that there is no such thing
as one way.
With all this
said I would still suggest that SOS members go
to AA for support.
Seek out
supportive people. Know that you have a "Safe
Place" to come back to. If a member of SOS jumps
on you and says that your recovery plain is
wrong, most of us at SOS will jump to our feet
and defend you & your right to be different. If
what you are doing is working and you are
alcohol/drug free then you must be doing some
thing right.
I would like to
reach out to AA members. Please do no harm. If
someone can't make it in AA send him or her to
other groups so they may have a chance of
finding recovery. Care about the person first
the group comes second.
In SOS using
other support groups in no way will affect your
standing in SOS. We are each unique. There is no
such thing a "one way".
This is Duaine
M. from Dallas here.
Hi Duaine :-)
I checked out
the addition to the site, and think it's
great! And you stated a lot of my own
feelings about/between SOS and AA.
I initially got sober through AA, but have
realized that a lot of what AA promotes and
"suggests" its members do and believe, I
didn't and couldn't believe, or at least to
the extent of having my sobriety depend on
it. Some of the points you made in
what you wrote on the site hit them on the
head. Thank you!
I've been
in/around recovery for 8 years now, through
AA, and I'm realizing that some of the
tenets of AA are what may even be what are
contributing to my inability to stay sober.
The biggest
two that come to mind are powerlessness, and
HAVING to "work the program" exactly as
everybody else does, with no room for me to
do any thinking for myself. As you
mentioned...turning my life over to another
drunk (sponsor) to teach me how to stay
sober. I just couldn't get around
those...and there are more, but I don't want
to get into it all right now
BUT, AA does
have a lot to offer, and to tell you the
truth, I don't know if I could have been
able to get any grasp of what sobriety is
supposed to be about, if I hadn't been
introduced to AA and had the initial support
that helped pull me through those first
months of sobriety that
I'd ever had in
my adult life.
Anyway, I did
want to say also that I've been having a
hard time "jumping in" and getting involved
with the group, but I'd really like to!
So this is my first attempt...but I hope not
my last one :-)
Smiles,
Susan B.
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