Seconded. I felt really silly going to an AA meeting, but it was an excellent decision and an excellent experience.
I was on the other end. The wife/girlfriend of the addict end. I know why they left, and I wish you the best of luck.
Exactly, I know I felt much better about my situation after having gone to a couple meetings, and found out that I was certainly not alone… And that there were other people out there not just a little like me, but EXACTLY LIKE ME…And furthermore, the twelve steps are not only good for alcoholics and addicts, I personally believe everyone should have a 12 step program, They are wonderful tools to help one live a more honorable life. And for myself a sober one.
Go to one meeting and after that I’ll tell you to Keep Com’in…
Good luck with everything. Like everything in life, sobriety has its ups and downs. I just want to give you a friendly reminder that while AA is an outstanding program for many people, it is not for everybody. I think it is important for people to be aware that there are other approaches that folks have had a lot of success with.
A partial list of some sobriety-based recovery groups:
S.M.A.R.T. Recovery
Rational Recovery
Alcoholics Anonymous
LifeRing Secular Recovery
I have differeing opinions on all of these groups based on my experiences which each of them. But the point here is only to give you more tools to help you stay sober.
Again, best of luck to you.
My usual interpretation of AA-bashers is that it’s the same dynamic as homophobics who don’t want to confront their own latent homosexuality – no one gets that pissed off if they don’t have some issues.
Note I’m talking about AA-bashers – folks like Priceguy and I Love Me, who can say “AA wasn’t for me, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t value in the program” are a completely different category.
I got no problem with AA, I do have a problem with people telling someone that there is only one way to live life. If EJsGirl is unable to ever have a drink because of her complete lack of self control, she should never have a drink. But that doesn’t mean that no one else can ever cut back or stop for a while and then go have a glass of wine over dinner. “There is no moderation” and “If you are just a heavy drinker (but not an alcoholic), then who cares?” is the problem.
I didn’t quit drinking by saying “I can never ever have another drink as long as I live including Nyquil”, I quit by saying “I’m not going to drink today” and said that for a couple of thousand days. Eventually I had a beer when I wasn’t stressed or mad or anything. Just a beer, you know? Like normal people do. Amazingly I didn’t want another. A year or so later I had another drink and still didn’t feel a need to drink myself into a stupor. So, there is moderation for some people, and if that means that the OP and I are not alcoholics, who cares?
Oh, and before I end up having to pit myself, I went way too far and should not have attacked EJsGirl like that. Sorry about that, I’m a jerk.
And since I don’t like when people say “sorry if I offended you”, I’m going to say “I’m sorry even if you didn’t take offense”
I could have gotten the same points across without being like that.
I feel shame.
There is an unfortunate misconception about AA that I think even many in AA have. The idea isn’t for me to keep others sober. The object of* me being in AA is to keep me* from drinking. If my experience can help another stay sober, that’s a bonus but isn’t at all necessary. In fact whether or not others stay sober is valuable in any case. If they do I can see that it’s possible to do so, if they don’t I can see the bad results that follow. Either way I win as long as I don’t drink.
That’s my point, and I’m sorry if I wasn’t able to clearly articulate it. You ARE a normal guy. You don’t appear to be an alcoholic. Alcoholics process alcohol differently than the vast majority of people.
If you are able to control your drinking, then you probably aren’t an alcoholic. Be glad- I would be!
No hard feelings- it can be an emotional subject. I obviously see things through the filter of “I’m an alcoholic” and I understand the most people don’t.
Hell, most people who are told by friends or loved ones that they “must” be alcoholic probably aren’t.
Obviously you don’t know me very well! 
I’ll go back to my point before my breakdown and caution Broken Wind that it may well be hard to get to sleep for a while. DON’T have a drink “just to help me sleep”, realize that it might happen and be ready for it. Like I said earlier - OTC sleeping pills and/or antihistamines helped a lot. Although I suppose it was trading one drug for another, at least I didn’t get hooked on Benedryl.
Me, a week wasn’t enough to prove anything. I KNOW that I would have started up again if I had a drink after a week. If you’re not an alcoholic, wait until you don’t even want a drink before you have one. I hope that you’ve found a good stable relationship by that time, and she’ll be able to slap you around if you can’t handle it. For me, just the thought of being drunk when one of my kids needed me was enough to keep me sober (my sober, not AA sober) for a few more years.
Rereading the OP, I guess it’s fairly obvious to an outsider that if you’re at the point where you’re considering rehab, it’s the right choice. You may not be an alcoholic, but even us common drunks need a little help stopping the habit sometimes.
Good luck my friend!