Many people are apprehensive about joining a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. They think it’s a cult. Well, it’s not; it’s just a bunch of people meeting together with a burning desire to change their life for the better. Together they help each other attain sobriety.
Even people who have relapsed once or multiple times can attend AA meetings. Relapse does not spell failure. It’s just another experience added to your sobriety journey. Each experience makes us wiser. The wiser we become, the less likely we are to relapse again.
So what if you relapsed?
Relapse is no matter of shame. You may or may not share about your relapse experience in the meeting, but you must not feel guilty about it.
Guilt is a negative emotion. It can make you want to drink again. Most of the time, it is a negative emotion that makes us want to gulp down a drink or two. You will realize this as you follow the 12 steps in an AA meeting in Virginia.
There is nothing like ‘drinking out of joy’
There is hardly a person on Earth who started drinking out of joy. There was something, buried deep down in their heart, that triggered them toward alcohol. You may not have known at the time you took your first drink.
But as you continue to drink, the buried emotions surface. They keep you attracted to alcohol.
You feel nice when you are drunk. According to psychologists, this is just an escape. Life is hard. Alcohol creates an illusion of making it easy.
The root cause of relapse is the same. People face realities. They cannot keep up being sober. They must escape.
Taking control of your emotional side
It is important to confront your emotional side and make peace with it. As long as you have turbulence in your emotions, you are at a greater risk of relapse. It would be hard for you to live sober for long. You would desperately need a drink to calm the turbulence.
Seek therapy. Attend counseling sessions. Continue to participate in your local AA meetings. You must address your emotional issues for successful recovery. Contact a recovery therapist and see if you have some co-occurring mental disorder.
You can find a sponsor in the meeting. He or she will support you at times when you are fighting a craving.
An integrated approach
Quitting to drink requires an integrated approach. Along with meetings, you can seek counseling and therapies like Cognitive Behavior Therapy, hypnotherapy, and others. You need to be open about your problem and express the will to quit drinking.
Your humble and honest approach to fighting alcoholism can make you win this seemingly impossible battle.
Search for “Alcoholics Anonymous meetings near me” and find a meeting in your area. This one step can go a long way in keeping you sober and erasing the risk of relapse in the future.
Do not wait anymore. For you never know when you get the next urge to drink!
