Has anyone gotten to the point where they just can’t seem to stomach going to meetings anymore? It’s making me worried I’m going to relapse. I’ve become convinced if I’m not going to 1-2 meetings a day you’re doomed. I’ve been going to 2-4 meetings a week. I’m at 22 months. I just can’t stomach the 15-20 minutes of hearing the same stuff read over and over again each week at most of the meetings. The same topics, the same comments etc. And i’ve gained weight bc I’ve missed workouts for mtgs.

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I got to that point about 5 months in. I didn’t find value in the meetings. But it sounds sort of the opposite of your situation. My life is very full. I have/had a lot of things to lean on and really didn’t have any desire to drink. When I quit, I never really faced urges to go back to it. I’m about 19 months in and feel great without meetings. But I know it’s there if I need it.

That being said… the program isn’t meant to crush your life. It’s meant to supplement and be a crutch to lean on in the hardest times. Maybe find a new sponsor? Or talk about this with yours? Feels like something a good sponsor would have identified a long time ago as something to change in how you are applying your program.

likehelpful

Thank you ❤️🙌🏼

Then don't go. Maybe there is an easier softer way we haven't found yet. Or maybe you need to work on how you spend your time. I go to 4 mtgs a week and work out 6x a week. I get up early to work out. I go to meetings in the evening. I see family on the weekend. The program is supposed to supplement your life not detract from it. 4 hours a week is way less time than the dozens of hours a week I used to lose to drinking.

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At one point I felt out of balance giving too much time to the program and felt stretched really thin. But for me, rather than stopping doing things I tried to do it all and it was burning me out. I made a time budget. I looked at how I was spending my time vs how I wanted to spend my time and had to adjust. But I found there were still alot it hours in the day to do most of what I wanted. At 22 months, hopefully you realize that you don't HAVE to go to a meeting every day to stay sober. Lots of people with years of sobriety can work an effective program attending fewer meetings. Or maybe there is a different way you can do your 12th step work outside of meetings if it isn't cutting it for you. Today is a new day, can you work out for 15 minutes? That's better than no minutes.

helpful

Why don't you spread out your meetings and test it out? Try every other week, eventually, once a month. See how it works out for you. When you feel weak or tempted, head back to weekly. Just remember you'll always be a recovering alcoholic, it's a label with a reason. Once the line is crossed, it's much easier to fall ball back into it and when you don't have anyone to hold you accountable, it's a slippery slope.

helpful

Do you have a sponsor? What do they say when you share this with them?

helpful

I was just really into it for a while and just not into it like I used to be. I do like going to meetings when I travel, going out of town tomorrow and looking forward to going to some different meetings.

1-2 per day is nuts unless you’re doing a 90/90. I do four a week. This program is about a design for living, go live.

helpful

Though you may read the same stuff over and over, the longer you keep coming back, more shall be revealed. Stop counting your days and count your blessings. You woke up today cleaned and sober.

uplifting

Everyone is different, but at 22 months, I was going to 3-5 meetings a week because I wanted to, not because I felt like I had to. I recall hearing 90 meetings in 90 days plenty, but never that I had to go every day or anything like that.

Today, I have a solid 3 meeting a week schedule, with commitments at those meetings, and if I miss a meeting for a good reason sometimes I'll hit a different meeting on a different day, most of the time I just skip it if I am feeling spiritually fit enough.

The program of AA is sooo much more than sitting in meetings, and quite frankly, just sitting in meetings all the time would drive me to drink too. I would suggest that you take a look at the quality of your sobriety between meetings as potentially being a root cause of your agitation. You now have experienced what just going to lots of meetings feels like, perhaps ask your sponsor for suggestions on what else you can be doing to feel more happy, joyous, and free.

helpful

As I pushed two years I burnt myself out at the same meeting. I shifted gears and went to a new meeting once a week and volunteered for an event committee. It helped with the community side of things and got me out of my burned out funk.

helpful

I just do not want to go. Other than my 2 home groups, that excitement and magic has all but disappeared. And even those groups I struggle to get enthusiastic about going. I feel like meetings have cut into other areas of my life I’ve neglected for 2 years - workouts, my family, a social life outside AA, and now I’m stuck burned out, and bitter.

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