I don't want to seem to demean you by saying this, but don't buy the psycho-babble nonsense that it's "a disease." It's not a disease, but a character flaw. There is no shame in facing this.
character flaws are just the deep scarring of sin. And the only remedy for sin is prescribed in bold in the owner's manual. Go there and nowhere else. The others are impostors.
I think what you say may not be popular, but I'm glad you said it because that has been my experience as well. At least half the people I know who joined AA weren't even alcoholics at all - they just blamed their problems on booze. And like you said, they wore this "I'm an alcoholic and can't drink" thing on their sleeve to the point it was annoying just to be around them.
The question is 'proud American in Canada', are you truly addicted or just irresponsible and prone to indulge in what makes you feel good despite the consequences. The last girl I knew who joined AA was no less irresponsible after the fact. In fact, I think she got worse. Quite frankly she is just immature and lazy and AA didn't stop her from losing job after job, getting her car repo'd, etc. The only difference was she was not the least bit fun to be around because her AA thing felt like she was in some kind of cult, and it caused her to blame all her problems on something that simply wasn't what kept screwing up her life.
If you are truly addicted, then something like AA may be helpful. But you first need to be sure that alcohol is really the core problem in your life.
It sounds like you started running and that is a good start. Maybe instead of joining a detox/AA program, just put yourself on a fitness routine. Running, maybe join a gym and set goals for yourself that require sobriety to achieve (like exercise in the morning and at night), etc. In fact, set little goals for yourself every day. Success breeds success. Start small. Even if that is just cleaning some part of the house that's been neglected, then do something the next day, then add more. Pair that with your health regiment and you may find that is sufficient to tackle your problem.
Good luck and God bless.
Great posting, fwdude!
I had a DWI in the mid-70s and was required to go to two months of AA meetings. I was in my mid-30s then and could barely sit through the twice-weekly meetings listening to the BS.
I understand that AA has helped many, but it seems to me to be a program that requires a person to be/become religious to “succeed” in kicking the habit of drinking alcohol.
Just drinking alcohol doesn’t make a person an alcoholic. It’s the dependence on the euphoria derived from drinking alcohol to forget or ignore other problems that causes people to become alcoholics. ...It’s NOT a disease and it’s NOT genetic; it occurs through personal behavior and choice.