LINK What Is SMART Recovery? | History, vs. 12-Step, Find Meetings
Many years ago I started going to Secular addiction help meetings of a group called Rational Recovery (RR) and found them to be a great help overcoming my problem drinking, but RR changed formats and no longer does group help meetings, but a spin off of RR called SMART Recovery has restarted Secular addiction help meetings across the country. If you have drug or alcohol problems and you don't like 12 step groups, give this Secular group a try.
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.SMART is 25 years old. We have about 50 meetings/week online. Free and funded by donations.
I've been an online facilitator there for about a years now. Peer support works for many people.
CallMeDave
Level 8
Feb 16, 2021
1
I was just listening to an interview with Keith Richards while scrolling here. He said that getting clean from addiction is not hard. Keith spoke of heroin addiction. Three days of climbing the walls and you're through. He said to Ed Bradley, he can speak on it with confidence, because he has done it many times ( 7 times) You just have to want it more than the drug.
Simple!
It also helps to be locked in a room, watched by real friends, and provided with lots of water and a bucket.
Spinliesel
Level 9
Feb 14, 2021
0
Dropping the substance is a great first steps. Many individuals then struggle with the emotions, anxiety or trauma that led them to substance abuse as a fix. For many people, the process goes on long past physical withdrawals.
One must do what works for them. Every person is different. I cleaned myself up from both heavy drinking and drug abuse (Cocaine, Mescaline, Mushrooms were my faves) as well as being a 3 pack a day cigarette smoker over a period of almost 2 years. But this approach will not work for everyone.
One has to first admit they have a problem. You need to have exceptional willpower also. Asking for help if you have an addiction is no different than asking for a hearing aid if you have trouble hearing or asking for a cane if you have difficulty walking.
CuddyCruiser
Level 8
Feb 14, 2021
2
Willow's right, faith based treatments have a poor success rate. With regard to alcohol, abstinence based systems also have a worse outcome than controlled drinking systems. This is unique to alcohol because abstinence is far.more difficult with alcohol compared to other drugs because of the social reinforcement to drink.
Cyklone
Level 7
Feb 14, 2021
4
Moreover the 12 step thing won’t work for everyone.
@CuddyCruiser I think the idea that any one system will work for everyone is flawed from the outset.
Faith based drug and alcohol recovery is as effective as any other faith based medical treatment, which is to say “not effective at all.”
Willow_Wisp
Level 8
Feb 14, 2021
5
In addition, although Smart Recovery is best known for Alcohol and Drug abuse issues, many other compulsive behaviors may be helped with the same methods (gambling, etc).
JohnSchindler
Level 7
Feb 14, 2021
4
Addiction is a disease, there’s no other way to put it. Your an addict. There’s no shame in it.
First step is admitting it. It’s merely a matter of controlling the disease and put it into remission and begin recovery.
Thank you so much for the advice. Let me tell you how this goes with me. I'm an alcoholic. For years I had a stressful job where I drank whiskey and beer at night to relax. My music went right along with that. I was a functioning alcoholic who went right on to work the next day with no problems.
That has all changed now. I might manage 2 or 3 whiskey drinks or even that much in beer. That's when my body shuts me down. There is no "buzz" or fun in drinking any more and I have to stop. I don't get sick. I just can't go on. Whatever this is has saved my health but try and imagine an alcoholic who cannot drink. It really pisses me off. I cannot get buzzed but also really do not want to be buzzed any longer. My frige probably has about 30 beers in there. They go back at least 6 months when I thought I was going to drink that night but could not. Every now and then I give some beer away.
This pisses me off mentally but never enough to punch anything or treat people badly. It's all just an unexpected change in my life even though it is for the better.
DenoPenno
Level 9
Feb 13, 2021
5
Makes me think of black Jesus a comedy I accidentally found. The episode I watched was about an old alcoholic who takes Jesus to court for making him immune to alcohol.
He drank a bathtub full of liquor trying to get drunk.
Funny AF.
Enjoy being online again!
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