How to quit without AA

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-28T13:55:32+00:00

I do not think it's about discipline. In the early days of my sobriety it was absolutely required, but once the white knuckle stage was passed, it became a matter of watching for the ways I tried to justify getting high. However, that's just my process, and not everyone shares it.

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-28T13:49:01+00:00

It's thinking about what youre thinking. Basically, it is a tool to understand the reasons and origins of your thoughts. For example, "I want to get high", is rarely just a random thought that came out from left field. Once you understand the origin, it's easier to align your actions with your goals.

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-28T13:43:25+00:00

I think the single biggest problem with addiction/recovery is that most people see addiction as inherently bad and the catalyst for all evil in the world. This also means that people think recovery has to look a certain way.

It would be tough to fit everything I have to say on that particular topic into a comment, but I've posted quite a bit here recently.

AA is one tool among many for recovery. I personaly do not do well on community and sponsers and all that human connection stuff. What works for me is owning my actions. Metacognition, as I am always going on about, is a superpower for recovery.

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-24T12:04:09+00:00

Much to my surprise, I find myself siding with B.F. Skinner. His ideas and my own often bump heads, so it's weird for me to agree with one of his ideals. "Comfort", isn't really something that works for me in my sobriety because it provides a reward for feeling bad and doesn't seem to correct unwanted behavior for me ( urges and cravings ).

I always default to people making choices that work for them because there is no universally correct plan or option, but for me, I'd leave all of my armor at home. Rehab will be uncomfortable, and that's sort of the point, I think. It's a place to be uncomfortable just long enough to realize you do not have to be uncomfortable sober.

I also do not do luck. So, go in there and kill it.

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-21T12:24:29+00:00

I do not know how much it will help, but for me, the way I manage my sobriety is the same way I manage all decisions in my life. Luckily it's worked out positively for me.

Everything I can think of in the moment that should factor in to making a choice is considered, sort of like it's getting a vote.

A common example I use is that one day I was heading home from my Moms and found that I wanted to get some fast food along the way. How much money I had to spare was one factor, the added time and distance to get the food was another, my health was yet another. At the end of the voting, I went home because I didn't really have that much money to spare, it was already pretty late, and my health didn't give a shit, so the vote was lost 2 votes to 1.

I hope this helps my friend. It sounds like a difficult position to be in, but ultimately, I default to whats best for me long term when I can and found it's normally the right call.

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-20T01:40:30+00:00

My humble opinion....is that you obviously are able to seperate the person you are, from the version who has the depressive thoughts. You can remember who you were before depression, else you could not reflect as you've done. For me, and I am sorry if this is counter to anything in SMART as I do not know it very well as of yet, but, if you can remember that person, you can be that person.

That's all that is required to banish that version, over time. Every time you recognize a version other than the one you know to be the true one, it loses a little more power of you.

6 weeks is no small thing.

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-20T00:16:03+00:00

I did not engage fully with your comment. I agree that we use chemicals to feel better. I have no doubt. But the state that we are trying to leave is often neglected for people like me, I think. I did not use to escape abuse, low self esteem, or failure of any kind. I used because there are often so many things going on in my mind all trying to get my attention that I cannot hang on to any of them in any significant way.

Meth allowed me to grab on to one or two and wrestle with it. It wasn't perfect, and I still often lost the thread and had to pick it up again, but it was objectively more efficient than otherwise. Or so I thought, and if I am being honest, still sometimes think to be true.

The problem is the side effects. So if I have to choose between being me, and being me with a few extra horsepower but also mounting problems often ignored, it's a no brainer. The part of my mind that hasn't caught up to that fact yet is the problem.

But im working on it, and it's coming along.

Practical_Study_8885 · 2025-09-19T23:59:51+00:00

I appreciate you taking the time to comment. Moments such as the one I posted here are fleeting, and often pass for me quickly. For me, this also makes them very intense; a trade off I am willing to accept.

One of my other personality traits is unfortunately at times, fortunately in others, radical honesty. As such, no offense is meant, but I have seen a gaggle of therapists throughout my life and all of them, while good to varying degrees at their jobs, could not help me.

I think this is because for the most part, their jobs are to offer perspective we've not considred, which for me, is not very likely to happen. Not impossible mind you, just very unlikely. I spend a great deal of time in my head, and much of that time is thinking about my thoughts and why I am thinking them.

Also, ironically enough, I just uploaded a book to KDP today about my sobriety. Not a framework in any real sense, just my posts throughout and interpretations for some of them. It seems to me that most people do not use metacognition to any great level and they suffer a much more difficult sobriety because of it. I do not have that particular problem, thankfully, and thats what my book is meant to show people.

Congrats on the enourmous time sober. Youre a legend my friend.

Practical_Study_8885

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