Glad you're checking in man and more importantly you realized what made you slip. Seems like you got a dope routine too, it's gonna seem hard to get back into it and thats all mental but once you do, you'll be good bro! Man, your self awareness is through the roof.
Yeah when I went to AA I went through the Kaiser chemical dependency program. I googled the closest one near me and called them. They basically ask you how much you drink, what you drink and set up an appointment. I can't stress enough to just be honest, they just want to help. I only say this because I was pretty guarded and even when I came in, I came in still loaded, that whole "last hurrah" mentality.
I'll stop there on the Kaiser front, because I'm not sure if you will go that route. I can tell you more if you decide to though, just ask.
I only brought up the Kaiser portion because it's a lot easier to meet people and usually they make you go to meetings daily and usually you'll go with the people in the group with you(assuming you'll make friends which isn't hard), so you already have faces you know there. Not sure how you do in completely new surroundings on your own, but you can also go on your own(obviously) For me, I was just awkward, but people are friendly and let you know they were once in your shoes.
It's hard to describe AA meetings, it's def a smorgashboard of the best and the worst of Alcoholics( Whatever that means
) so be prepared. Not every meeting I've been to something has popped off and usually old heads are on top of it because they want to keep the meeting moving with no distractions, there's really hardly any screwing around during the meetings, the important thing is to find the meeting that works for you, go to different ones. Not all are the same. Have a sense of humor, one thing I've learned is to laugh ALOT and laugh at stuff I wouldn't dare joke about with someone who isn't in the program(like my wife) I think that's what I love about AA is the community. The meeting itself is great but it's also amazing to arrive 10-15 mins early and shoot the **** with the people you met. they play cards, bones or just talk and joke, swap old stories about hiding places and all the dumb **** we did just for that drink. I'm laughing right now just thinking about it.
Once you find the right meeting, you're in good company. Usually you can just google your county or city with AA in the search and usually a directory comes up, tells you all the meetings, addresses and what type of meetings they have with times.
My last thing about Kaiser(I'm not trying to be preachy, but they are a great starting point, if you have the coverage)
I had 10 months before my 1st relapse(2nd time around this time) one of the biggest components was because I moved and it was hard to get settled back in to my routine, i had to find meetings, basically start the network all up again, that was hard. Well the day after my relapse, since i was in the Hospital the previous night, Kaiser actually called me to bring me in to that area's program to get back on my feet. I always thought it was awesome to get that call, because without hesitation I said yes and was back in with a group and therapist working on myself and getting back on track, it was crazy just because my wife really hadn't started yelling at me yet(since it was literally the next day after the hospital) and I was already back in a program
(it's only funny NOW that I'm still going strong)
I don't know if you have a SO or a family member or a close friend who knows about what you're going though, but they also have a saturday education day where you can bring your family and they educate them(and you) on various topics regarding addiction/alcoholism, it's pretty helpful in the communication area, I know it helped my wife for sure to get off my ***. ok that's it on the Kaiser front and on everything as a whole
hope I helped and if you have anymore questions, feel free to ask
