Posted by ClearSkies on November 2, 2007, at 20:34:12
Well, I've been going to a new local chapter of a women's sobriety meeting, and so far I'm the only person, besides the moderator, who has come back to more than one meeting.
And then last night there was a suggestion that someone who relapses isn't serious about sobriety, at which I took offense, and said so. "I think that's pretty belittling," is what I said, "Considering that relapse in addiction is known to be the rule rather than the exception." In other words, it takes most of us drunks several attempts at sobriety before we get it right, but it's not a reflection of how much we desire it. It means that we haven't yet learned the necessary skills to deal with our triggers, or what to do with ourselves instead of drinking.
I'm just not comfortable with the moderator. She is coming across all wrong to me - like sobriety is some elite group that you have to learn the secret handshake to before you can really enjoy it and reap the benefits. It's a hinky feeling on my part, but I think the fact that we don't have anybody coming back after a single meeting means that they're being put off too.
I've got the alternative of a yoga and group therapy evening opening up for the same night coming up. I was going to dismiss it out of hand because of this prior commitment (and find yet another "reason" to avoid doing yoga!), but now that I've thought about it for a day, I'm thinking that as one door is opening for me, I can leave this poor fit of a sobriety meeting behind and maybe strike out on my own at a later date, which was my original plan.
Instincts. I have instincts, and I can follow them, when I choose to listen to them. Right now mine are fairly screaming at me to drop this particular fight - I'm not about to change this lady's viewpoint, and she's not about to get a regular group of people coming back every week, as long as she keeps talking to them the way she does...
CS
poster:ClearSkies
thread:793052
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20070626/msgs/793052.html