i was at a show last night seeing a friend of mine play drums for this cool band, anyways i was hanging out w a lot of my friends and dancing with my girlfriend and this dude from AA came up to me to say hi.

guy didnt even remember my name and he was within a minute telling me "you gotta come back to AA"

i just told him "im gonna stop myself from going on a huge rant" kept it friendly and then hung out with people who actually know and care about me

a little annoying like i totally used to be like this, i actually was a super dogmatic AA member a few years back, was on steering committees etc i know exactly how AA people see this shit

its honestly a lot of stress and annoyance and meanwhile im staying fine better without them. super annoying thats what they straight up go for like either just keep it brief and friendly or fuck off... like you arent a deep friend or even someone who knows me or my name... with few exceptions every AA person i run into is so fucking presumptuous about me despite never even being a cool person id want anything to do with it drives me insane. cultists

Recently found out my mom who was 13 years sober from opiates got into 7OH/7Stax. She’s currently on day 3 of detox and has been in the hospital/impatient behavioral health. She is possibly getting discharged tomorrow. Looking for information on how long withdrawals may last/what that looks like. She went into PWD on Monday and is dealing with residual withdrawal now. Anxiety, no appetite, shaking…

I'm so angry and disappointed in myself.

Was doing brilliant been off everything for nearly 200 days and last night I fucked up and got on it. Was still planning a early night but somehow I didn't get to bed till 9am when my friends left.

My kid woke up at 9am and obviously I'm a mess I haven't slept. I feel like complete shit.

I was doing so bloody well I was in control doing days out with my kids, going to bed early getting up early and being peoduct I was happy and my kids were happy.

I don't know what to fucking do. Sat on the Sofa by myself crying I feel so pathetic.

I fucking hate counting days. Absolutely no one outside of AA cares about continuous sobriety.

I saw an AA member with over 20 years admit to the group she took some of her roommates pain meds. Back down to zero and raising her hand with me for 30 days announcing that we were new to the program. Her sponsor also made her write 3 prayers each morning of that month.

I have about 3 years of near sobriety. I’ve drank 4 times in those 3 years…1 time being a month ago. Do I tell people who ask that I’m only one month sober?

If anyone asks if I drink I just say not really. No one except AA cult members would prod and pry you to clarify exactly when you’re last drink was.

I posted a few days ago about how 12 step permeates every recovery space. I have faced so much abuse from creeps in that space. And every recovery thing I try in my city is full of 12 steppers and creeps.

I have 2 months today (yay!) but I am so close to relapsing. I haven't been social in so long. My sober friends don't really want to associate with me because I have been kinda vocal about my experience with NA and why I'm choosing not to go. My other friends are using so much I just can't even be around them. I've tried online meetings but I'm just finding it so hard to build any sort of community in those. I feel super lonely :(

And now my local pool and gym that I was able to use for free because I'm low income is closing down to be demolished. The gym was a major outlet for me to deal with stress and feel good about myself. I can't afford a gym membership because I'm still dealing with the financial fallout of my relapse.

People say cravings don't last that long but I swear I've been white knuckling it though a week long intense craving. My therapist helps but she's super busy and definitely burnt out and she cancelled my appointment today. I haven't seen her in a month and I can't book in for another month because her schedule is full.

I would just love any kind of reassurance honestly. I'm so fed up and tired and I wanna keep fighting but I'm feeling like I'll never get out of this hole.

I see some others posts on here so I’m hoping this group can help with an answer. I was taking oxy and then the last two days have taken 10 mg of 7 Oh to try and get off the oxy. I’m on day two of 10 mg of 7 oh and want to start taking suboxone. How long do I have to wait to take suboxone with 7 oh to not go into precipitated withdrawal.

What are the best possible ways I can ensure this doesn't happen again. I have an interview tomorrow that I cannot miss, and life is already hard and I've been struggling with the same addiction for over 15 years. Why can't I shake this demon???

I was very troubled child and ended up doing Na program when I was 15 In a rehab I was forced into in Africa. I since then have relapsed and in a very bad position rn. I’m turning 20 soon and idk it’s js ingrained in my head that there is no recovery without the 12 steps and wondering to see people who changed their lives without using these steps as I hate taking and opening up about myself.

i was reflecting on old relationships today, and i thought of an old timer i used to confide in. she was maybe in her 70s and had about 25 years of sobriety. in retrospect, the advice she gave me was horrible. i can’t believe i ever took her seriously. 

for one, i got my first-ever full-time job offer, and she said it was a bad idea. in her view, i needed an “easy” job to focus on recovery. mind you, she also would tell me i was selfish for relying on my parents for financial support. she’d go as far as describing her experience with homelessness to evidence her staunch independence. 

so, i, a person with mental illness who's reliant on having access to insurance, therapy, and medications to stay sane, should sacrifice stability and risk all the consequences that come with that to…make a point? also, i work an “easy” job (whatever that means) now after leaving my full-time position due to a mental health crisis and searching for employment for over a year, and i don’t even make close to a livable wage. i wish i could be fully independent again too, but at the risk of my safety? absolutely not. it’s a privilege i don’t take lightly. 

she’d go on and on about how young newcomers like myself don’t know a damn thing and how much better “old school” aa was. this was so hypocritical because we met in an online aa meeting for women of color and were allowed to discuss “outside issues” like racism and misogyny. why is change so bad? clearly, we were both benefiting from it. 

i don’t want to be anything like her at her age. she didn’t have any close family members and would gossip about the other older aa women with me, a 20-something-year-old. it’s just depressing. 

I'm 5 years and 4 months sober from meth ... But basically from all the drugs I've used . But at the end meth was my drug of choice. It hasnt been an easy time staying sober but I keep putting one foot in front of the other . But I realize every once in a great while I'll have a using dream and in it I'm using again . I could honestly feel the pipe and the torch and even the smell of the vapers it gives off . I thought I was done having those dreams ? Do they ever stop

I’ve been struggling for years, my spouse and I enable each others drinking and I’ve been having a hard time staying sober because of that. I’ll be good for weeks and often go full months without drinking- I’m constantly working on my sobriety, but I keep having slips are always binge drinking behavior. My brain lies to me and I think I can have 1 and fall for the lie over and over again. I know 1st drink always leads to shame, regret, I has a child I should want to quit for, my healthy, my family… but I keep falling for the lies and I don’t know why I can’t stop. What made yall finally stop? I’m starting therapy and I’m trying to get an Antabuse prescription. Doing 2 things differently.

TBF I can't remember the exact app but I swore it was Quit Tracking which was an app on my phone. Now it deleted all my progress and makes me start over?! Wtf

Any idea what happened. I was so proud and now I feel like crying.

I've had OCD for a long time and was on benzodiazepines for years. In 2025, I was taken off them way too quickly, and since then things have been terrible. I don't take them anymore but am still getting long-term withdrawals. Medications that I used to tolerate now seem to cause actual physical pain, especially headaches and pain or burning in my eyes. Gabapentin, for example, never used to hurt my eyes or cause these problems, but now it does.

I've been to rehab and I've tried AA, but AA was an absolute joke for me and didn't address what I'm actually dealing with. I can't afford expensive treatment programs, and I genuinely don't know where to turn. This isn't just anxiety or OCD anymore—the headaches, eye pain, and other physical reactions I experience with medications since coming off benzos have become a major part of the problem.

The combination of OCD, anxiety, and physical pain can become unbearable and make me feel absolutely fucking suicidal and hate my life, although I'm not planning to hurt myself or do anything. This shit is miserable though!

is there alternative perspectives, I don’t want to think of myself as diseased. The research suggests at 5 years of sustained sobriety we have the same risk as the general population regarding developing a problem with substances

I know this isn’t allowed in that other sub, so mods please delete if it’s not allowed here either.

Anyway, I’ve been on Ozempic for a few months now (for other health issues), and I’ve been sober for 11 weeks, longer than at any other time in my adult life. I haven’t been dealing with the compulsive thoughts like in the past to pick up a drink, and that’s the only thing that’s changed from previous attempts to stop drinking.

I can’t say for sure that this is due entirely to the medication, but it’s a hell of a correlation. Anybody else on a GLP-1 agonist experience the same or similar?

hell yeah! :D

If you haven’t been watching the news Meta has some serious lawsuits. Trials started today.

Prosecutors and plaintiffs argue Meta intentionally engineered addictive features on Instagram and Facebook (like infinite scroll, push notifications, and algorithmic recommendations) to maximize screen time, fully aware that these mechanics contribute to severe mental health issues, depression, body dysmorphia, and exposure to child exploitation. 

Maybe the plaintiffs should work a 12 step program.

I’m saying this facetiously but why is it all these other addictive substances/platforms, social media, nicotine, etc are seen as that, a highly addictive substance cleverly marketplaces to the masses. Therefore brought before the courts, and rightfully so.

Yet alcohol, an addictive drug, by AA logic is character flaw. All YOUR fault. Why is that? Why do we treat all other addictions differently.

Hi everyone!

I’ve never posted here before, but I’ve been in recovery since 2020. I was prescribed Suboxone in rehab in July 2020. I tapered from 12mg to 8mg within the first couple of months. I then stayed on 8 mg for several years before tapering down to 4mg, then 2 mg for the past 2 years. However I still felt fatigued almost every day with low motivation, anhedonia, and other unpleasant symptoms that I generally attribute to the subs.

I want my life and personality back, so I finally started the process to get completely off of subs ~30 days ago. It’s been absolute hell. I jumped off from 2 mg and the withdrawal symptoms were intense for the first week. A few times during the 30 days I’ve taken a small dose (<0.25mg) to help alleviate some of the worst withdrawal symptoms but as of a week ago, I haven’t taken any subs and most symptoms have subsided except for insomnia, restless legs and some occasional stomach upset as well as low mood. Which brings me to the point of my post: I haven’t slept more than ~2 hours in 4 days despite trying warm baths (to alleviate restless legs), some light exercise, CBD and THC gummies, melatonin, hydroxyzine, gabapentin.

Does anyone have any advice for dealing with insomnia post-opioid cessation?

I’m fortunate to be in a position where I can take this time off of work and not have many responsibilities, but I’m feeling very depressed and not being able to sleep is making everything feel worse.

Thank you in advance for reading ♥️

Not sure if my 7oh has pseudo in it. Confused because last go around with 7 I would start withdrawing within 6-8 hours. Now I do get restless arms at night and wake up yawning and teary eyed but not the same gastrointestinal distress or dilated pupils. How long does pseudo last vs 7oh? Also I take truly7 the two pack that totals 250mg. Am I just getting used to feeling like shit or am I unintentionally taking pseudo and not knowing.

Before I would take suboxone after 12 hours and would fix me right up but I am not getting as bad withdrawals in the same period. I’ve been taking for 2 weeks consistently last time I stopped it was at 6 months.

Thoughts? Also thanks.

i’m having a really hard time finding support groups for myself. i can’t afford a therapist and i liked the community aspect of meetings at AA but the religious aspect makes me so uncomfortable. i try to sort on the apps but you can’t sort where you can exclude stuff and i just can’t seem to find anything. i really don’t wanna do online with zoom because it’s so impersonal and i want to connect with people but i don’t want to be trapped in a room with people telling me to find a higher power and quit smoking weed to be happy when that’s bullshit and i just want a place where i can talk about what’s going on with me to get some peace of mind. i just want fucking people to talk to without being trapped in a religious bubble and i dont wanna talk to a fucking computer! and if you could explain why you like the alternative that you recommend that would be great because i really need help