It was good to hear from you and I think it's wonderful that you can 
work on everything in one program.  After 3 and 1/2 years in AA and a 
suicide attempt while stone cold sober, I finally admitted that 
wouldn't work for me.  As a result I got into Al-Anon, which led me 
into Survivors of Incest Anonymous a couple of years later.  I know FOR
ME and hundreds of other alcoholics and addicts in SIA and other 
treatment modalities for Survivors of childhood sexual traumas and 
other abuse that it is almost never possible for us to stay clean and 
sober unless we deal with these root issues which were present for us 
before alcoholism or addiction.  For most of us, codependency on 
abusive people and many other issues including eating disorders, mood 
swings and many other things can come about as consequences of the 
abuse we suffered as children - not just alcoholism and/or drug 
addiction.  Until I treated the cause I was unable to find anything 
like contented useful sobriety in any way shape and form.  However, the
other side of that is that until I was clean and sober, I couldn't 
really begin to feel the feelings and deal with these issues or any of 
the other consequences of the abuse, because the alcoholism and the 
drug abuse were ways and means of numbing out my feelings and blurring 
the memories - including also disassociative states and living in 
fantasy to avoid the here and now.
So FOR ME, I see the two programs I am now in as a two-edged sword - 
which side of the sword is more important?  It's also like a coin.  
Which side of a coin is more important?
I'm an NOT saying your approach is wrong FOR YOU.  I am just saying 
that it didn't work FOR ME.  But if you can just go to one program and 
have it work in your life, well, I think that this in wonderful.  I 
wish I could.  Heavens - and Earth - knows that I tried this approach 
and held on to it until it almost killed me.  So I was forced to try 
something else.  But, then again, my background made me a very sick 
soul when I came into recovery - some would say I still am and I would 
not dare to disagree. (GRIN)  They say in our area that "some are 
sicker than others" and I know that this fits my state when I came 
around, so I had to be willing to work harder to get anywhere at all.
I don't particularly appreciate having to work so hard all the time, 
but I am grateful that the means to do so is available in my life.
PLEASE realize that I am NOT in ANY way, shape or form disparaging what
works for you.  I am a great proponent of "If it works, don't fix it."
Thank you for sharing a little bit of you with me.
--- TriToss (tm) Professional 10.0 - #66
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