I have over 19 years in recovery. I used AA the first 2 years , never did like it one bit. I did need help to quit, so I put myself in outpatient rehab. Part of their requirements were to go to those damn meetings. My way is to live with Gratitude. For everything. The bad stuff , the good, all of it that brought me to this moment. I find inspiration through books, guided meditation, walking in nature, being in the moment. And when I get too anxious...rocking out to Suicidal Tendencies! ha! seriously, music and jumping around releases so much bullshit!! I would not rewrite the 12 steps, I do not think steps of any kind are helpful. Each one of us is very different in the dynamics that formed our addictions, each one of us needs to do it our own way. Some people like being inside of a "safe" "solid" format to follow. Some need to be told exactly what to do and how to do it. Not me. I am doing it my own way, as my instincts tell me. I remember the old timers at the meetings shouting with self righteous indignation, that anyone who thinks they can stay sober without god, without AA, is DOOMED !! ha!

yes I think i have already posted this - I was alcoholic and went to my doctor he gave me some yellow tablets and said iI had to take one a day and if I drank alcohol I'd die. I did as he said and found that I was the same person sober as I was when drunk so no need ot drink - It was good learning and early enough in my drinking career to really learn that lesson.

Naltrexone, or a form of it, is also prescribed for weight loss.

I am precribed Naltrexone and Topirimate for alcoholism, and I was really there, everything triggered me. I wouldn;t take anything away from AA, but it's 80 years old, and not always up to date. I haven't had a drink in 6 months or wanted to. It's called the Sinclair method, and only certain psychiatrists in certain cities use it and prescribe these medications for alcoholism. It's sort of like suboxone for alcoholics, only better. Alcohol actually becomes repulsive, I swear. The addictions are brain diseases that can be treated in different ways, and I lived in Minnesota, land of 10,000 rehabs. I'm 59 and was hitting it pretty heavy with hard liquor for about 7 years (vodka), plus mixing benzos. I'm off the booze and weaning off the benzos. The combination is way bad, and can be deadly. I have heavy alcoholism on both sides of my family and I knew I was in a bad situation. The rebound is awful.

The first step
The fourth step
The fifth step
The ninth step
The tenth step
The eleventh step (meditation)
And the twelfth step were all very beneficial steps. I still work 3 of them every day.

So....really going to put myself out here and show all my warts. I was sober for about 4 months 2 years ago. Slipped one evening and was sober for another month before giving up sobriety. I loved going to AA meetings and listening to people’s stories. Loved the support I felt I received in the meetings. However I had a very difficult time finding a sponsor. The Big Book was a joke. I could overlook the serenity prayer at the end of meetings but that damn book was awful. I’m not sure if I’d be sober had I found a sponsor or not. I’m my area, it seems very difficult for women to find a sponsor. A good one anyways. Not sure what I’ll do if I commit to sobriety again. There aren’t any atheist sobriety groups where I live and I do better being with people in real life than online.

Best of luck to you all

I had a nicotine addition -- smoked up to 3 packs a day. My real incentive was that my lknew wifel said that she would leave me if I did not quit. I did not want to lose her. Simply used the gum to break away from the habits associated with smoking, then switcvhed to the patch and got off. It was not easy. Her added incentive made the difference.

During my 1st marriage I did AA to support my husband then went to ALA, ACOA to help myself as a child of alcoholics. I am the teetotaler of my family. Didn't get higher power so dropped all and left my husband. It was a program for "Healing the Inner Child" that helped me personally.

I'll post this again, as I added it on another thread earlier - AA is debunked as bad science: [theatlantic.com]

I saw a study a while back that looked at how well people were able to overcome their addictions using religious rehab centers vs ones that were not religiously motivated and they found that there wasn't a significant difference from one center to the other in how well people were able to recover.

Since there is most likely no god(s), how are you recovering from your addiction with god? God is nothing but a placebo effect. IMHO

Does anything in life needs 12 steps?