I've been clean and sober my entire life, never had a drop of anything and I consider myself pretty happy and I have tons of fun w/o needing alcohol or any other substance in my life. You'd be surprised at what a little creativity and a lifetime of persistence can do for you

I would like to find a nice church program to get involved in rather than going to AA, but I can't find anything around me.

Yeah, anything but AA.

Maybe if you had the right woman, in the right town, and had the right job, and the right friends.........

And that's the life I want.

1 in 10 typically stay sober their first year.
1 in 30 die sober
So far, I've been screwing up the odds of 29 other alcoholics for 2065 days.

I just knew there was something morbidly pathetic and familiar about you. I see it all the time. If you want anything but AA, and with an attitude you've had since I've seen you here, AA would do you a hell of a lot of good!

I don't know -- I just stopped about a month after my 22nd birthday and never touched any sort of drugs or alcohol again -- and never will -- but I was never a heavy user to begin with, so it wasn't that difficult for me to stop --

It's not that I want anything but AA. I want something more religous for me, I want more than just a clean and sober lifestyle, you know what I'm saying?

Get sober first.

Yeah, that would be a good start.

You will not quit until you truly with your whole being want to quit. And you will do whatever that takes... if that means getting rid of your friends and avoiding anyone that drinks or does drugs, DO IT! If it mean creating a new routine for yourself, MAKE THOSE CHANGES! If it means going to a meeting where you don't feel connected until you can find one that you do connect with, GO TO THE MEETING!

"Taking a trip, not taking a trip"
http://whytehouse.com/big_book_search/book/ch3p31.html

You can do both.

I'm sober 16-1/2 years (no relapses) and by the Grace of God I'll celebrate #17 on April 1. I know people, places and things needed to be changed in my life my 1st year. My sponsor always told me to do the opposite of what I would normally do. I chased my sobriety the way I chased a drink; I jumped into the program with both feet and got involved and made new sober friends. Until you are sober moving will change nothing because you will be bringing yourself with you. Keep the program simple -- go to meetings, get a sponsor and support group and get the Steps as quickly as possible. You have to want sobriety more than the next drink Totage.

Good Luck, keep it simple.

So go to a meeting, open your mouth and let words come out just like here. Say you don't feel like you belong. I promise you someone will point you to Tradition 3. Also, stop talking like you're special and unique, because you aren't. As a matter of fact, your position is very much stereotypical of someone who hasn't found recovery yet. Take alcohol away from the alcoholic, and you get Ick. Isn't that about how you feel about yourself now? You're right on time.

i just went through a bad one myself. i had to look at myself and think about WHY i was trying to be sober. and even though i thought weed was ok to smoke it lead to my relapse. so really i think its common for lots to relapse at first but its because we dont sit back and think about EVERYTHING that makes use want to use. so think hard about it and know yourself. thats when i think youll make it as easy on yourself as you can. this just coming from someone who had a bad relapse.. good luck to you.

Welcome back. You know the biotch about relapsing online?
You don't have to remember, because it's in print! Glad you found your way back to sobriety.

It depends on the person and their choices.

ya i had a bad few days but then i packed up and went up into the wild for a couple of days to sit around smoke a few packs of cigs and just think about s**t

Each meeting place is different from the other. Have you tried different meeting places? Also, have you tried NA?