how do you get free of addiction?

Question

If you have drank 11 beers yesterday, and woke up and are on your 4th beer today, what is the way out. I go to AA everyday and have been involved with it for many yrs. no stupid short answers please.

Answer 1

Let me begin by saying that I am a recovering alcoholic. I have been in numerous detox clinics, inpatient and outpatient rehab programs. I've been to more AA meetings than I can count. Unlike most people answering your question, I have first hand experience. I know what I'm talking about... Now...

The first thing to do is to STOP DRINKING! If you have been drinking for a long time, or if you drink very heavily, do NOT quit cold turkey without first talking to a doctor. Believe it or not, alcohol is the hardest drug to detox from. And it is the only drug that can cause death by going cold turkey! If you aren't a real heavy drinker and haven't been drinking for years, you can try to quit cold turkey. Be aware of withdrawal symptoms and if they become severe, seek medical attention immediately! Here is a list of withdrawal symptoms you may experience:

Mild to moderate psychological symptoms:
Feeling of jumpiness or nervousness, Feeling of shakiness, Anxiety, Irritability or easily excited, Emotional volatility, rapid emotional changes, Depression, Fatigue, Difficulty with thinking clearly, Bad dreams.

Mild to moderate physical symptoms:
Headache, Sweating, especially the palms of the hands or the face, Nausea, Vomiting, Loss of appetite, Insomnia, sleeping difficulty, Paleness, Rapid heart rate (palpitations), Pupils different size (enlarged, dilated pupils), Skin clammy, Abnormal movements, Tremor of the hands, Involuntary, abnormal movements of the eyelids,

Severe symptoms:
A state of confusion and hallucinations (known as delirium tremens or the DTs), Agitation, Fever, Convulsions, "Black outs" -- when the person forgets what happened during the drinking episode.

There are detox clinics that are trained to help you get through the major withdrawals from alcohol. Your doctor can also prescribe a medication to help lessen the severity of the symptoms and discomfort. If you are not under medical supervision when you detox and you feel weird at all, don't be afraid to go to the ER. It could save your life!

Now is the hard part - seek treatment. If you have been in AA for years, and have HONESTLY been trying to work the program (getting a sponsor, working the steps, going to meetings), consider an inpatient program. Contact your county mental health department for a referral to a program and ask them if they pay for treatment or know of a place where you can go for free or for very little money. If inpatient care is not an option, find an outpatient program. Get a therapist, too. A lot of times when a person is unable to quit and can't understand why, a deep rooted psychological issue is to blame. You may have buried this hurt/anger for so long that you don't even realize that it's there. They can help you discover and work through your issues.

Don't be afraid of inpatient treatment. It's not as bad as it sounds. and 30 days will fly by before you know it. So will 90. The last program I was in, I spent 120 days in there. It was a long time but in the grand scheme of things, that 4 months offered me years of sober healthy life.

Good luck!

Answer 2

I have been working with the laws of attraction and with will and desire for about ten years now. I have manifested many of my desires. About a year ago I confronted my cigarette addiction and realized that I wanted to be rid of it. I quit cold turkey and it was interesting to observe how my free will was really stronger than the addiction. Instead of it feeling like an out and out competition of conflicting wills, it felt like the will to be free of addiction was the true will, and the addiction was a temporary sensation of want that was inauthentic. I never for a minute doubted my will to be free of the addiction. You are right, many addicts would love to stop. It isn't their will that fails. They give all their power to the addiction and none to their own will - that is a conscious choice.

Answer 3

Addiction is something alot of people have whether it be food, drugs, money,even love but to be addicted to acohol just like the rest you have to want to give it up yourself. I believe you can go to all the classes you want, it is up to you to say you are not gonna take another drink and mean it. to me I think achohol is one of the worst because we do it to be social, we do it to have fun, we do it to unwhine we do it for so many reason, When it becomes a habit then it is a problem.
Solution: i would say set a date not to soon maybe like a month a way. drink as you doday. Change to something different not your main choice. and just do you thang till that date. the night before the date drink to get messed up till the fullest. when you are done make sure there is no more drinks around the house. None...the next day you will feel like crap that you dont want to drink again, also its the day you said you would stop. Try not to hang out for a couple of weeks do other things like the park, walking, jogging and try enjoy some other things.Take your mind off the drinks. If you smoke set the same date for that too . Same time. Try and do it cold turkey .. I have tried this with smoking and it works so I hope it works for you good luck

Answer 4

Honey I have delt with addiction for almost the last 15 years and my addiction is prescription drugs. I am Bi polar so the doc started me out with valiums, xanax and drugs like that. Then i got a few herniated discs in my back and started to having to take Vidodins, Lortabs and stuff like that to kill the pain. Oh i forgot that 15 years ago i had a crack cocaine problem, been free from that for 14 years with the help o NA and the grace of god. So like you now i have a really heavy vicodin problem that i am now trying to solve. Don't give up those meetings they may save your life. I recently found a medical way to get free of the vicodins with a weening drug but honey it must really be hard for you because beer is legal everywhere and cheap!!!!! Have you ever tried maybe rehab? It could help save you and your liver and please honey don't give up those AA meetings just try not to stop at the store on the way home for beer but try and resist. I know it isn't easy but why don't you give it a try. You can do it.

Answer 5

first u really have to want to stop...without a true motivation to stop it won't work.
keep trying. some people just stop cold turkey and see how long they can go. others decide to taper down. keep in mind that it's normal to fail multiple times. the important thing is to keep trying.

have a friend/family member help u...example- be with the friend most of the day, so that the friend can stop u before u pick up the can.

find a hobby...everytime u have a craving, just start doing ur hobby to keep ur mind off the booze.

i'm glad ur at least trying. one of the bad results from alcoholism is liver disease as u know. and after seeing some liver failiure patients & seeing what they go thru to get new livers, it's no fun...u don't want to be there. even with new a liver, they're not guaranteed to live long...it's just constant struggle. maybe scare tactic might help? visit a few of these liver patients...or end-stage alcoholics.

Answer 6

I agree you will always be addicted.... BUT STOP!!... Think about that... You are always going to be addicted... If you didnt drink for a year and your once again around the smell of it, and around people drinking it you are really going to still thirst for it, and want it... Be careful who you hang out with... who your true friends are and definately get someone to support you.. Ive never known AA to really help for anyone... and i think its something you CAN do on your own... Church would be a good thing! I do agree... but another thing I want to mention, Ive seen people give up one addiction but get involved in another.... *( they stop drinking beer because their in love with someone who doesn't... they have sex and live together, then they break up and you start drinking again)*... try not to replace that addiction with something else... GOOD luck and GOD bless! hang in there!

Answer 7

dump AA and try SOS and rational recovery....
AA harms more people than it helps I been there done that.
It is possible to stop and or drastically reduce ones drinking with the right know of help and attitude adjustment.
I've even known men who bet themselves a sum of money they could go 6 month without a drink as a way to quit. This is one habit where quitting is Winning.

a google search should yield you on line SOS meeting SOS is Save Our Selves... more of a self empowering slant not the self defeating you are powerless crap.
http://sanegallery.morerevealed.com/
a place called "SaneGallery" has some cool AA cartoons too.
try these links and look for others till you find the kind of group you think fits you best. good luck.

Answer 8

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Answer 9

I don't think you will ever be free of that addiction. You just have to reprioritize your life. Are you lying in your meetings? or do you confess?

Get a hobby that consumes you instead of consuming something. Get a hobby car or build something in your back yard.

Answer 10

brother, you have a problem- If you dont get off this track something will eventualy happen. You need a lot of will, and possible a residentiual treatment program