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Sober for Good. A New Look at How People Solve Drinking Problems

If you did a nationwide search for people who have resolved drinking problems using different methods, what would you find as the common threads that led to a successful recover? Whether people gained sobriety through 12-step programs, nontraditional recovery groups, spontaneous remission, religion, individual counseling, moderate drinking or a combination of approaches, what similarities and differences would you find?

As an author and medical writer, that's what I set out to do four years ago. I began recruiting self-described 'former serious problem drinkers' form all walks of life who, for five or more years, had been sober. The hundreds of respondents contacted me through postage-paid flyers distributed in public places across the country, advertisements and listings in newspapers and special-interest magazines, different recovery groups and postings on the Internet.

In addition to examining similarities and differences among various recovery routes, I also wanted to heighten awareness about the wide range of drinking problems and of the many different ways in which these problems can be resolved. I heard from hundreds of people whose drinking ranged from what some might define as a 'social drinker's' quota to, at its worst, people who consumed over a fifth of hard liquor a day. My stance throughout the process was, "We've all heard so many things about recover. But are they really true when you go out and ask a large group of resolved problem drinkers?"

The research for Sober for Good was predicated on a model I used to write Thin for Life: 10 Keys to Success From People Who Have Lost Weight & Kept it Off for which I recruited, interviewed, and surveyed more than 200 long-term weight maintainers, intertwining their "keys to success" with research findings, as well as with my own clinical experience in obesity management (I refer to the success stories in my books as "masters" of their problems.) Change is what interests me--not only how people change in the first place, but how they maintain change over the long-term.

In the case of Sober for Good, I included 222 resolved problem drinkers - 125 of whom resolved their drinking problems in nontraditional ways. The other 97 individuals attribute their sobriety to Alcoholics Anonymous (the 'traditional' group). The average length of sobriety for the entire group is just over 13 years. They include people whose ages range from their 20's to their 80's who got sober while in their teens and up to their 50's and 60's. Gender-wise, there is a close to even split: 54% of the group are men and 46% are women.

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In the writing process, I poured through literature on treatment outcome, harm reduction approaches, natural recovery, stepped approaches, moderate drinking, cognitive-behavioral approaches, Alcoholics Anonymous, and motivational enhancement in order to use research-based, rational information as the foundation for the book. Although my work is not a formal research study, much of what these masters of alcohol problems have to say is consistent with the literature on successful resolution of drinking problems.

The Many Routes to Sobriety

Not only is there a split between people who achieved sobriety by going the traditional A.A. route and those who did not, but there are big differences in how the nontraditional master overcame their drinking problems. (The rest of the paragraph is fine.)

Twenty-five individuals quit completely on their own. Five went to an alcohol treatment center, then decided they could maintain sobriety without a recovery group.

Another 46 of the nontraditional masters achieved sobriety with non-twelve-step recovery groups including Secular Organizations for Sobriety (SOS), SMART RecoveryĆ, mu Women for Sobriety, Inc. (WFS.) Others counted as nontraditional include those who were initially helped by A.A. but who left the program because of something they didn't like or because they didn't use A.A.'s tenets; they now maintain sobriety on their own.


A handful of nontraditional masters resolved their alcohol problems through psychological counseling, through religion (not AA-related), or with the help of Moderation Management. Strategies taught by Rational RecoveryĆ were used by another four masters as their major recovery tools.

Last among the nontraditional masters are 25 people who followed "multiple paths" - that is, they employed a variety of strategies to overcome their drinking problems. Jessica C., for instance, used a combination of residential alcohol treatment, A.A., WFS, psychological counseling, and reading on her own about alcohol recovery. She maintains, "By being willing to try everything that might help, I found the approach that was right for me. I got something out of everything I did. I was able to develop a personalized recovery program over time."

Summary of Recover Methods of Participants in Sober for Good

 

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Not only do the masters' stories of their recovery methods illustrate diversity and creativity, but they also show that sobriety is not static. In other words, many of them are doing different things now to stay sober from what they did in the beginning to get sober. For instance, four of the Sober for Good masters who quit drinking on their own have now decide to go to A.A. One of them, Rebecca M., says, "I may go to A.A. once or twice a week if life is overwhelming. But if all is calm, it may be once a year." On the other hand, Vincent A., who initially benefited from A.A. because it offered supportive friendships when he stopped drinking 24 years ago, stopped going because he felt like a hypocrite attending A.A. meetings and saying that the twelve steps changed his life. Now, he attends SMART RecoveryĆ meetings about two times a month.
(Most of those who switched approaches were classified according to what they are doing now.)

With the help of Alan Marlatt from the University of Washington and NLAAA's John Allen I designed a seven-page questionnaire that asked participants about their drinking history, turning point, resolution of their problem, motivational strategies, and views on recovery. (I also interviewed many of them.) In order to determine frequency of responses for items on the questionnaire, a public health researcher helped enter answers into a database.

We looked for common themes as well as differences among people who had used varying recovery methods in their responses to such questions as:

… Do you consider yourself to be an alcoholic?
… What was the turning point?
… Did you feel you had to hit bottom?
… When you were finally successful, what approaches did you use?
… How did you find the approach that was right for you?
… If you went to a recovery group, do you still go?
… How do you stay motivated?
… How do you seek pleasure in your life not that your alcohol problem is resolved?
… Do you ever consume alcohol?

Before discussing common themes, I'll share some intriguing differences - exceptions to 'the rules' popularly believed about recovery - shared by some members in my book:

… "You'll never get sober until you admit that you are an alcoholic." While most people answered yes to the question, "Do or did you consider yourself to be an alcoholic?", 26 answered no and another three indicated they were alcoholics - in the past tense. All 29 of these people had resolved their drinking problems in nontraditional ways.

… "You have to hit bottom to do something about a drinking problem." Three of the ten people clearly indicated that they did not feel that 'hitting bottom' was necessary. Those who recovered with 12-step approaches were much more likely than others to feel they had to 'hit bottom' before getting sober.


… "If you stop going to support meetings, you'll no longer be sober." Actually, only about half of the masters told me they were attending meetings at the time of completing the questionnaire. Forty-six people who once had formal support indicated that they no longer go to meetings. While this was more common among nontraditional masters, 14 A.A. devotees no longer feel a need to attend meetings.


… "An alcoholic is never cured." While a few participants in the book chided me for looking for people who had resolved drinking problems, other indicated that they felt recovered or overcame their alcohol problems. Cheryl T. said, "I view my alcohol and drug abuse as a bad habit that I have to overcome."

… "If you drink a drop of alcohol you'll go back to the bottle." While about nine out of ten people are totally abstinent, another twenty indicated that they have at least a small amount of alcohol upon occasion. Six of the twenty said they drink regularly in moderation (more than once a week). Ten are near-abstinent (occasionally having a sip or tiny amounts on rare occasions) and four describe themselves as occasional drinkers (consuming alcohol no more than once a week).


… "There's no such thing as recovery without a higher power." When I asked participants if they'd experienced any spiritual growth since resolving their drinking problems, nearly two out of three responded in the affirmative. However, given the many A.A. recovery stories in Sober for Good, I was surprised at how few used the words 'higher power' in describing their spirituality. Numerous people have a kind of spirituality that in no way fits the view that you must turn your will and your life over to 'God as you understand Him'. For some, spirituality has nothing to do with recovery.
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… "Family and friends of someone with a drinking problem can't do much to help." The masters have lots of ideas about what loved-ones should and should not do. Contrary to popular thinking, their recommendations emphasize support more than confrontation.

Common Threads

Following are some of the common themes which emerged as responses to the drinking questionnaires were tallied:

… The commitment to sobriety. Much to my surprise, a profound pattern - one that is contrary to the one-day-at-a-time philosophy - became evident from responses to my questions about how people resolved their drinking problem and how they stay sober. Over and over again, they told me how they had truly accepted the fact that drinking was no longer an option; that they had made a commitment to never drink again. As Elise C. puts it, "There's a point at which you close the door and realize you can't reopen it." It was most interesting that I heard about this commitment to sobriety - albeit a different kind of sobriety - from people who are not totally abstinent.
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… Keeping the past present. When I asked participants, "How do you stay motivated? What do you think keeps you from going back to problem drinking?" the one response that far exceeded all others had to do with keeping the memory fresh of what life was like when they were drinking. They recall the pain of their drinking days, reflect on the consequences if they should decide to go back to their old ways, and/or have a sense that they don't want to regress or 'start over' again in recovery. This is the most powerful, consistent theme in all the information from the S~b~f~L~ masters - seven out of ten - and it cuts across all recovery methods. Does this mean people are wallowing in the past? On the contrary, many suggested they counterbalance the negative memories of their drinking days with a new focus - one that lets them see the many rewards of sobriety. Indeed, the second most common theme that emerged from the masters' response to, "How do you stay motivated?" had to do with appreciating how good non-drinking life is and focusing on how much better life is now and not wanting to lose the benefits of sobriety. Again, this theme cut across recovery methods, with about as many people in traditional and nontraditional camps stressing its importance.

… Relishing sobriety. I was struck by how little these people seem to miss alcohol and by how much fulfillment they've found in sobriety. Some stressed "building lives that have no room for alcohol". When I asked how they seek pleasure in their sober lives, there were few differences among traditional and nontraditional recovery stories. The most common responses - far more common than all others - had to do with enjoying relationships with family and friends. The second most frequent response about how people seek pleasure had to do with exercise and physical activities such as running, hiking, walking, competitive sports and golf. (My impression is that this is an area that greatly needs to be strengthened in most recovery approaches.) Other common themes were not surprising. People stressed enjoyment of reading, helping others with alcohol problems, volunteer work, career, travel and hobbies, as well as nature and good food.

… Support is important - but it doesn't have to come from people who have 'been there'. Five of the masters' top-ten responses to the question, "When you were finally successful at taking hold of your drinking problem, what approaches did you use?" had to do with the popular notion of support. But contrary to the popular notion that support has to come from other who are 'in recovery', the masters indicated that it can come in different ways - friends and family, counselors or other sober people. (It will interest readers of TAN to know that even though psychological counseling was not the primary recovery approach for many, 28% indicated that it was of importance to them.) Comments about the value of having a relationship with another recovered individual were more likely to come from masters who achieved sobriety through 12-step programs than from people who did so in nontraditional ways. Not a surprise, given A.A.'s emphasis on sponsorship. People who recovered on their own were more likely to emphasize that support from family and friends was important to their recovery than those who became sober through A.A.

The overriding message of Sober for Good is not that there are right or wrong answers but that people can resolve serious drinking problems in many different ways. By offering a host of options, recounting case stories and anecdotes and sharing findings consistent with the scientific literature, the ultimate goal is to help people struggling with alcohol find solutions that are right for them.
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-Adapted with permission from Sober for Good: New
Solutions for Drinking Problems--Advice From Those Who
Have Succeeded by Anne M. Fletcher, M.S., R.D., foreword by
Frederick Glaser, M.D.

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