COVID 19 and Monitoring Programs

SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN · Mar 16, 2020

AA charges for online verification? How much? I might be done with my 12 step meeting requirements. I wish I could have done them online. I would have gladly paid a fee not to physically go to those things

Mom2boysNJ · Mar 17, 2020

10 hours ago, SpankedInPittsburgh said:
AA charges for online verification? How much? I might be done with my 12 step meeting requirements. I wish I could have done them online. I would have gladly paid a fee not to physically go to those things

One website 12-step.com charged for verification, it was prorated between $20/month to $60 for 6 months. I could not find any other sites that did any verification or proof of attendance, but I am still searching.

We have not previously been able to do our meetings online in NJ. This is a new option for us in the context of COVID social distancing resuting in in cancelled and limited face to face meetings.

SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN · Mar 17, 2020

Yeah I think in light of the pandemic skipping the voodoo meetings is a great idea

K. Everly, BSN, RN · Mar 19, 2020

Lionrock Recovery: online AA meetings with free verifications

https://www.lionrockrecovery.com/online-aa-meetings-and-support-groups

(I am a SMART online meeting facilitator & highly recommend our verification meetings for anybody in a contract that will allow it.)

KT in CA · Mar 19, 2020

In The Rooms offers free 12 step meetings and free verification, FYI.

intherooms.com

TNPAPnurse · Mar 20, 2020

In TN they’re letting us do online groups. I’ve always hated group meetings. I get absolutely nothing out of them and I’m so glad my state is letting us do them online. I’m so tired of pretending like I’m all in and that I enjoy them. One good thing about finding my own way without using the 12 steps is now that AA/NA meetings are cancelled, at least I didn’t depend on them for my sobriety! I’ve only depended on myself and my immediate family—everyone says I’m “white knuckling” it—but when society breaks down, who’s gonna stay sober? Me, that’s who. I don’t need groups, I’ve never needed the groups, and I’ve just got a few more months to go before I’m done with all of this.

DistressedRN · Mar 20, 2020

Yessss. If anything I’m less stressed because now I’m not wasting hours each week driving to and sitting in meetings that I’m completely tuned out of when I have a million other things I need or want to be doing. Call it white knuckling if they want, but I don’t have any desire to drink/use. Except when I’m being force-fed 12 step cliches twice a week. ? I work in a recovery-based setting and I get plenty of ESH while I’m getting paid for it to boot.

SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN · Mar 20, 2020

Oh good god!! The “white knuckling” twits. The fact is that I’ve been doing the forced attendance at these foolish, barely disguised born again voodoo rallies for almost 4 years. From what I’ve seen my “white knuckling” works better than 99% of the rotating population that roams through the rooms. Maybe more folks who have drank too much should take more personal responsibility and stop waiting for their higher power to save their butts. Idiots

K. Everly, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2020

I’ve got to agree. I have a few friends that I met in AA, but outside of that I really detest their program (and so do my friends LOL). And their supposedly Christian in origin program was created by men who dabbled in the occult: https://carm.org/alcoholics-anonymous-and-the-occult

They could do whatever they want, but don’t sell attendees about God when it’s possible that the founders were praying to Satan. When you walk into a meeting and hear someone say you can make your higher power a light post, it’s just insulting. If someone doesn’t want to have a higher power, that’s their prerogative and nobody else’s business. But don’t tell someone to just pick any inanimate object so that they are participate it the 12 steps of lunacy. I recognize that it’s helped a lot of people who have enjoyed it, so I will end my sentence about them at least to say that.

I like SMART because it’s about SELF-MANAGAMENT, and actually teaching me paper-to-paper tools that have become engrained in my thought process so I can beat any urges or emotional upsets without relying on somebody else, and manage my own life and recovery the way it best suits me. And they don’t have a religious component so it works for ALL of us, and we are encouraged to participate in our own religious beliefs if we have them, as they recognize that they can be an important part of our individual recovery and fulfilling life.

TNPAPnurse · Mar 20, 2020

2 hours ago, SpankedInPittsburgh said:
Oh good god!! The “white knuckling” twits. The fact is that I’ve been doing the forced attendance at these foolish, barely disguised born again voodoo rallies for almost 4 years. From what I’ve seen my “white knuckling” works better than 99% of the rotating population that roams through the rooms. Maybe more folks who have drank too much should take more personal responsibility and stop waiting for their higher power to save their butts. Idiots

Yes! I notice maybe two or three of the same people over the last couple years, but it’s usually a rotating group of ragtag souls who never last. Or they disappear and come back with a relapse. Over and over. Rehab was no different—so many people who were on their second or third go-round with it. To me, that is depressing and discouraging. I’ve seen drug deals go down in the parking lot of NA and AA meetings.
I saw right then and there during my rehab time that the 12-step facilities quote a much higher success rate than they actually have. It was just common sense because you can see firsthand the recidivism rate. I still see it at 12 step meetings and aftercare.

Not knocking the steps for people they’ve worked for—I’m just not one of those people.

And this whole “powerless” mentality—whiny, whiny, whiny. I cannot stand it. If that’s what some people need to tell themselves that’s okay. But I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: once I’m out of this thing I’ll never go to another 12-step meeting again. I guess for me the thought of losing my livelihood was enough.

Back to the COVID-19 topic, my state did address testing concerns but it wasn’t very reassuring. At first they said testing won’t be suspended and that their testing sites have assured them that they are adhering to rigorous cleaning standards (I’m paraphrasing). Then like a day or two later they backtracked and said if we were concerned about Coronavirus screenings then we would have to choose to test at LabCorp facilities ONLY, because they aren’t doing on-site COVID-19 testing. The problem with that is much of TN is rural and there are only LabCorp offices in some of the bigger cities/towns.
I bet these monitoring companies are really antsy right now, as a total lockdown (which I believe is coming) would pretty much prevent testing in almost all situations. They can see their profits shrinking and I hope they’re really clenching their cheeks right now over it. It makes me a little bit happy to know their wallets might get a little thinner over it.

I do like my case manager and the monitoring programs (TNPAP in my case) really probably mean well and they all likely started out as a noble cause. It’s when they outsource to these greedy monitoring companies—that’s my issue with it. If this COVID thing hurts Affinity’s wallet I won’t feel bad AT ALL. ?

SpankedInPittsburgh, DNP, RN · Mar 20, 2020

I actually looked into SMART recovery but the closet meeting to me is pretty far away but that was 3 years ago and we had to attend our meetings live to get credit for going confirmed by the gps thing on my phone and a signature. We live in the age of telehealth where folks actually have cardiology appointments online where I work. I cannot understand why folks have to go these things live ever in this day and age.

Travel has its inherent risks and more than a few of the folks that attend these meetings go anywhere from darn strange to bat-poop crazy. I’m a big old guy who lifts for a hobby who used to play football, box, was a paratrooper and grew up in a pretty tough neighborhood. The lunatics leave me alone. However, I’m not a pretty young lady and I’ve seen these creeps descend on them like wolves on a lamb. It’s gotta suck worse for you ladies. Anyway hopefully this online thing will stick after this virus passes. The testing will never go anywhere and truthfully not drinking or drugging should be enough.

As some of you have witnessed the “professional” rehab facilities are full of folks there for multiple stays which shows how well these clown shows work. Where they sent me for my inpatient stay two people overdosed while inpatient and many folks were doing drugs onsite. Most made no bones about the fact they were going to use again as they were just satisfying the requirements of a court order or their employer. Recovery can’t be imposed on someone they actually have to want it.

catsmeow1972, BSN, RN · Mar 20, 2020

Being the massivly introverted person that I am, I think I’ve been practicing for the social distancing thing my whole life. Years of those meetings were nothing more than an anxiety inducing nightmare for me. We only had to fill out an online calendar for ours so I suppose I could have faked it but just because the program and their associated tools (excuse me, approved evaluators) made a habit of collectively lying, I didn’t think made it okay for me to lie also. So I went and played wallflower, read, made grocery lists, played a lot of sudoku and scooted out as early as I could without drawing attention to myself or when the anxiety got to be too much. I certainly declined the hand holding crap and oh hell no, don’t hug me. Ugh! Because of all of the reading, I learned wayyyyy more about the history and details of the 12 step shtick than I never wanted to know. Some of its nonsensical rambling and some of its pretty scary. Now that is my opinion. I also think that if it’s what keeps a person sober, more power to them.
Of late I have actually been favoring some real social activity (well I was anyway) in the form of frequent trips to my local Orange Theory. It’s done more good for me than any stupid forced 12 step dribble ever could have dreamed of doing. I usually walk to class as it’s up the street and I must say, there’s some rich irony in the fact that I walk right by the local AA ‘clubhouse’ Y’know the ‘AA meetings all day, every day kind of place. Every time I go by, I give silent thanks that I never need darken that door again, and it makes me happy.

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, I’m sure that stuff has helped some people and if it’s the only viable alternative to being drunk or high for a person and it works for you, great. Glad it’s there for you but it’s not the magic solution that these programs seem to believe it is. It’s sad that these programs refuse to acknowledge that.