Has anyone tried the intuative recovery programme !!!!!

Hi I was just wondering if anyone has tried intuative recovery for there addiction.  I just started a 4 day course, lasting 2.5 hours a day, and just after day one I feel  more positive about remainig dry then ever i my life, it is amazing, and the success rate is quite high.  Just wanted to share this, it may not work for everyone but I am finding it a revelation so far.

[ibizan]

"if God is such the savior in our recovery why did he get us where we was in the first place"?God didn't get us where we was..or are....or were...we greedy ppl did!We accept that!"Promise us a life of harmony with prayer and depressing meetings"AA/NA doesn't promise us a life of harmony...the steps are used to enable us to change our behavior/TAKE responsibility for our lives!We use those steps to deal with lifes problems!harmony is fleeting!We accept the ups with the downs!"Silly organisations that isolate you from the real world"ppl from the real world are in the meetings....and difficult ones as well and we take what we can use from those meetings to deal with difficult ppl/difficult situations in our lives outside of the meetings!Well guess i'll crack on and be happy/grateful when happy moments present themselves as they do!

[ibizan]

I was once told by a fellow friend of mine who was a recovering addict/Vietnam vet and counseled vets....a terrific guy...that there are many roads to recovery and we must find our own!Sadly he was good at advising others but never followed his own advice and died of a  eventual overdose in 1998.He was a wise man but could not practice HALT...... if this path works for u then follow it!

[Addict63]

ibizan is right in following the path that works. If you're not drinking that is fantastic! Fan that spark into a new life of freedom.

As a classic alcoholic I've arrived at a few forks in the road to true sobriety. Aftercare was one fork I arrived at. It was aftercare or sink deeper into the bog of a drink. I was dry but I eventually wanted real sobriety, and to be happy without the use of alcohol in my life. I have a friend who is a former heavy drinker, who is now happy and not drinking.  I found i wanted what she had. I didn't want to need to think of a drink all the time. She told me I needed to change the person within me that still thought a drink would be a good idea. So, I found happiness and serenity by being with, helping out, and being helped by that friend and other fellow alcoholics.

Thats what worked for me. I looked up intuative recovery it looks like a great plan. I'm so glad it works for you. Our world need all the plans mankind can come up with. Congratulations on your new found freedom from the grip of Alcohol!    

[baylin]

Hi there thanks for your comment, and well done not drinking, I was just wondering tho why your name is ADDICT63, You are not a addict anymore, I have found that by keep using all the labels, i.e, addict, sober, illness, alcoholic, kept me sick.  I have a strong opinion about these labels, i like to say i was greedy with the booze, and then it become a lifestyle and i got really greedy, and then when it become more important than anything else, it was time to quit. When people use labels it seems to keep them in the belief that they are always going to be in this circle of alcohol.  For me personally that is dangerous, i never do ONE DAY AT A TIME, or any AA bull, I feel that surrounding yourself with other x-drinkers and there depressing stories keeps the urge to drink alive.

[ibizan]

Many of us here have found AA/NA helpful..please do not label it bull.I would say the same to anyone who labeled your choice of intuative recovery as bull.A wise old timer in AA said years ago that he kept his past in a spare room with the door cracked a tad lest he forget where he came from.I can remember my last drink/drug 26 years ago....what i was wearing who i was with....never will i forget it all for it keeps me sober/clean today!But i do not swim around in it....nor do i relish others in recovery rehashing their war stories......we focus on the GOOD we have-today!

[dominosarah]

How long have you been sober now?

[rod44]

I agree with ibizan, I got sober in AA and find your statement " ONE DAY AT A TIME, or any AA bull" quiet offensive. everyone to their own. i am an alcoholic, that is a Medical diagnoses not a label. It was other recovering alcoholics from AA who got me through some rough times in early sobriety, one day at a time.

[baylin]

I have been alcohol free for over 4 years although a few months ago i did have a night of drinking, and when turning to the AA they turned there backs on me, when i wasn't drinking they was my best friends but when i hit the bottle they quickly become my worst enemy, LOL, bit like the bottle,,so my judgement may be offensive to others, but i only talk on personel exsperience, so my approach to dealing with beating the booze now is to avoid silly organisations that only isolate you from the real world and promise you a life of harmony with prayer and depressing meetings, and if GOD is such the saviour in our recovery then why did he get us where we was in the first place.  WE CONTROL WHAT WE DO IN LIFE. But if AA keeps you sober and happy then crack on and be happy.

[baylin]

Oh yeah and you said you had a medical diagnoses, you mean you was told you drink to much, that isnt a diagnoses that was something you knew anyway.  Fact, drinking too much isnt a illness its just greed, you give me medical proof that alcoholism is a illness and then we can talk seriously, for years i was told i was ill, no i wasnt i was greedy and selfish.lol

[rod44]

Well I have to say that my experience was very much the opposite, I did relapse a few months after I stopped drinking and it was friends from AA who helped me to get back on track. I found them to be very helpful and non judgmental.
I dont know anything about this intuative recovery program but would like to know more :)
I am Happy and sober (8 years now) thanks to one of the so called "silly organisations".

It was of little importance to me then or now if I was diagnosed or not, what is important was getting & staying sober. I was treated for alcohol dependence & DT's with medication during a hospital detox. Doctors did say that because of a strong family history of alcoholism that it could be genetic, who am I to disagree and would it change anything? I dont think so :)

What about Fetal alcohol syndrome, is that not a disease?

http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/alerts/l/blnaa30.htm



Alcoholism, also known as alcohol dependence, is a disease that includes the following four symptoms:

Craving—A strong need, or urge, to drink.
Loss of control—Not being able to stop drinking once drinking has begun.
Physical dependence—Withdrawal symptoms, such as nausea, sweating, shakiness, and anxiety after stopping drinking.
Tolerance—The need to drink greater amounts of alcohol to get "high."

For clinical and research purposes, formal diagnostic criteria for alcoholism also have been developed. Such criteria are included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, published by the American Psychiatric Association, as well as in the International Classification Diseases, published by the World Health Organization*.


Is alcoholism a disease?

Yes, alcoholism is a disease. The craving that an alcoholic feels for alcohol can be as strong as the need for food or water. An alcoholic will continue to drink despite serious family, health, or legal problems.

Like many other diseases, alcoholism is chronic, meaning that it lasts a person's lifetime; it usually follows a predictable course; and it has symptoms. The risk for developing alcoholism is influenced both by a person's genes and by his or her lifestyle.

[dominosarah]

God put us here on earth, what we do with it is up to us.......My "silly" organization has never turned their back on me either but i also didnt go there with a closed mind........sara

[ibizan]

"if God is such the savior in our recovery why did he get us where we was in the first place"?God didn't get us where we was..or are....or were...we greedy ppl did!We accept that!"Promise us a life of harmony with prayer and depressing meetings"AA/NA doesn't promise us a life of harmony...the steps are used to enable us to change our behavior/TAKE responsibility for our lives!We use those steps to deal with lifes problems!harmony is fleeting!We accept the ups with the downs!"Silly organisations that isolate you from the real world"ppl from the real world are in the meetings....and difficult ones as well and we take what we can use from those meetings to deal with difficult ppl/difficult situations in our lives outside of the meetings!Well guess i'll crack on and be happy/grateful when happy moments present themselves as they do!

[ibizan]

Intuitive Recovery appears to be a nice pirating of rational emotive behavioral concepts that originated from an american  named Jack Trimpey who wrote The Small Book in 1990.Jack Trimpey took concepts from Rational Emotive Therapy pioneer Albert Ellis who was big in the 80's.Albert Ellis took concepts from Reality Therapy pioneer William Glasser who was big in the late 70's.Good material that is common sense and empowering but not new by any sense of the word.

[dominosarah]

Thanks for the info ibizan!!

[ibizan]

U r very welcome....I have an original  softbound copy of Jack Trimpeys  The Small Book in my attic somewhere...bought it off a back cover ad from Mother Jones magazine.....remember that left wing radical magazine?I liked his analogy of the desire to drink in our heads being nicknamed the BEAST....and entertaining a dialogue with the BEAST telling him where to go!

[dominosarah]

I remember Mother Jones!!!  We are dating ourselves here!!!  LOL

[rod44]

RE: ""If people like you STOPPED making alcohol an excuse and a disease""

What is that about?


I treat people on here with courtesy and respect, I accept you feel strongly about this topic but making it personal is of no benefit to anyone  :)

[dominosarah]

Today we are grateful for our recovery program........amen

[rod44]

I spent time with my Sister & her kids this morning, it was most enjoyable.
Life is OK today thanks to my recovery program.

amen to that Sara :) We have much to be grateful for.....

Ray

[ibizan]

yes ...so much to be grateful for!i took a vacation day.....sorely needed....quiet...peaceful...restorative....enjoying the company of my lovely greyhounds...just awoke from a 3 hour nap with them!And Rod u got to enjoy Sandy and the kids and Sarah u r always surrounded by canine love and the antics of the beagle and Calamity!:)

[dominosarah]

Look at how blessed we are.  We walked into our recovery with an open mind and were willing to really work it.  We all have our struggles but at the end of the night we sit and look around at all we have, clean and sober.  Thank you also to you both for being a part of my recovery~~~~~sara

The fainting goat took a nap??!!!

[narla]

My greed was trying to get the better of me but I'll keep fighting,if addiction is not a disease then why would we willingly put ourselves through getting and staying clean,Why does addiction run in families,It has been proven that it is genetic,and I have spoken to a geneticist about my sons Tourette Syndrome read Tourette Syndrome and Associated Disorders written by David Cummings.Where are your facts on addiction do you have any or is this just your theory.Just curious,It would be easier for me to just keep drinking but the fact that I know this disease will kill me is the reason I put all my effort into not drinking.Greed doesn't kill disease does

[dominosarah]

Well said Narla.........

[rod44]

Yes guys it was a good day, no drama just time spent in good company. A few problems shared and resolved. Now heading off for a good night sleep :)

Narla you are winning that fight and can hold your head high and be proud. You are doing the right things.....


When it hurts to look back
and your scared to look ahead
you can look beside you
and your friend will be there :)

Ray

[dominosarah]

Narla, I think Ray just summed it all up for you........

[ibizan]

i am so very glad and grateful i have cybermet all of u.......so enjoy our conversations,notes and sharing of ideas and wisdom/lifes experiences we have encountered deal with and will continue to deal with...with the tools of our individual recovery programs!

[narla]

With the help from friends at medhelp and my recovery program I will win this fight,
It is harder than I thought it would be at this stage of sobriety but I can't go back,I will keep my guard up at all times,this is forever.Thank You Ray for the vote of confidence,I don't normally swear but I'll tell that demon on my shoulder to f--k off,he's not needed anymore.

[dominosarah]

And say it with conviction!!!!  

You hadnt posted when i thanked the other 2 for being a part of my recovery so i am thanking you also.  I have watched you from the first time you came to the forum and what a wonderful person you have become.  You were so scared and alone and now you have just blossomed.  I am so proud of you.......sara

[ibizan]

It is futile to debate with one who does not believe in the disease concept.For us that do it keeps us ever vigilant and more determined to accept the fact that one of ANYTHING is too many and a 1000 is never enough!

[narla]

It is great to know there are people that do understand.and yes Sara in the last 11 months my whole life has done a 360 degree turnaround.I now know who I am,for 34 years I hated who I was and didn't understand ME now I have goals and a purpose to be the best person I can be,to try and help others and hopefully to try and never hurt anyone ever again with my words or actions.
It is how I want to live now.
Something I don't say often enough is,congratulations Sara,Ibizan and Ray on your clean times,the times are amazing,it is something I'm looking forward to achieving.I just need to stay focussed

[rod44]

For me it shows how important good recovery depends on a good recovery program, a good recovery program needs good recovering people, in this I am blessed.
I was consumed with negative thinking, intolerance & Resentment as character defects  and anger was the result. My recovery program showed me other ways to channel negative thinking. I had to be honest about how you are feeling, not easy. Anger is all consuming and will lead you to a bad place, for me that was and can be drinking.

Greed, disease or whatever, for the alcoholic/addict the end is the same, A life of misery & wretched existence.

Narla you have blossomed in the time that I have known you, you struggled at times of that their is no doubt but you did the most important thing for any recovering addict, you listened with an open mind & learned about yourself. You work the program every day.

I am so proud of you :)

Ray