Moderation Kickstart June 2020!
“This Kickstart experience was great. It provided some very instrumental tools and writings. I really got a lot out of it.”
I love this group! I really felt the most “in tune” with the participants, like we were honest and on the same page. The least judgemental group I had ever been in. The facilitators were awesome: really lovely, compassionate, helpful, wise. Truly the best. I was unable to do any of the meetings because I am PST and they’d happen during my commute home, but I bet they were fabulous. I had been in MM for awhile, but Kickstart really help me find my focus. So grateful. Thank you!
I am so blessed to have found this program. The support saved me.
I did Dryuary with no drinks in January and and the February Moderation month with success but “lost it” after COVID and went back to heavy drinking, so am very glad this program cam along, I was able to plug right back in to better habits and feel it was a success for me. I think I have to check into the the MM group more regularly and commit to sticking and AF days there, because I hope to keep it up!
The Facebook group is a great resource. Love checking in. I also especially appreciated that you sent out each day’s email the night before, so that I could read it when waking up early each day. Really set my tone and kept me feeling strong!
For most of my adult life, the only option available to help me address my concerns about my drinking has been AA. AA’s 12-step approach is not evidenced based and for me it was truly damaging rather than helpful. It starts with the premise that people who drink more than they want to are “powerless,” which is especially harmful to women, as they are already disempowered in our culture. It treats the overuse of alcohol as a single “disease” called “alcoholism” rather than recognizing that we are all over the spectrum of “alcohol use disorder” and that we are not “sick.” It stereotypes people who overdrink as lying, untrustworthy, irresponsible, self-centered people who can ONLY redeem themselves by giving up their personal power to a higher being and abstaining for the rest of their lives. It says our only hope is to join its cult-like group and participate in a pre-scripted type of meeting that begins with everyone stigmatizing themselves by saying “I am an alcoholic” and continues through a ritualistic and religious-based format that is resistant to change of any kind. (I once tried to ask a specific group for a slight change; the answer was absolutely not. I was told it wasn’t up to members to suggest changes. The group as the way it was and always would be so. If I didn’t like even a small part of it, I could get out.) I hated 12-step programs so much that it made me not want to even try to get support from others for my overdrinking. Instead, I started researching other approached and learned about Smart Recovery, Women for Sobriety, and MM. I tried Smart Recovery but realized that abstinence still wasn’t the right approach for me. I would have joined MM years ago, but there were no groups anywhere near me. discovered MM a few years ago, but there were no groups in my area, or anywhere near. Then COVID-19 led to more virtual meetings and Kickstart Moderation made it really easy to get started and learn what it was all about. For me, alcohol is not an all-or-nothing proposition, but one of the aspects of my lifestyle that I want to have more power over, and MM is helping me to achieve that. The approach is supportive, nonjudgmental, measured, and based in education, behavioral tools and community. Some people may need or prefer abstinence. If so, I recommend something evidence-based like Smart Recovery rather than AA. But some of us can do well with moderation as long as we have a framework for understanding our drinking and community support. MM gives me that. I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to participate in Kickstart and I will continue with the MM program for what I imagine will be a long time to come.
My survey doesn’t reflect it, but Kickstart has motivated me to go from no zero days/wk, to 1-2/wk, with a near future goal of 3/wk. I got too busy to follow the Zoom chats beyond the first presentation meeting (am sad I couldn’t), but loved the readings and mocktail photos. And your focus on resilience and compassion in yesterday’s story.
The loads of compassion and zero judgment, those are the most important ingredients for me. If I trip up, I don’t have to start back at square one. I start right from where I am, bringing everything I’ve learned to help me along.
I wish this small group could continue as is and we wouldn’t have to move to the bigger moderation group. I know developing curriculum is hard but I think it is integral to the program. I’d like to keep this small group and go thru Checkups & Choices together and/or read some of the books together (like Recover! Or the big book of changes). Like a Moderation book club. I also think there is an opportunity for Checkups & Choices to work together better. I know one is non-profit and the other is not but there is good curriculum in C&C that could help a lot of people. It’s only $149/year. I can assure you that I spend more than that in alcohol. Per month!!
It is a great addition to the Moderation Management Program. I have witnessed the number of new people who have come on board with so much excitement and energy. This provides hope for many people that thought there was only one answer. Somehow we need to find a way to make it obvious to new people that they can enter the Kickstart Program at any time after it has started. I heard from several folks that they did not participate because they did not get in at the beginning. And as you know that does not matter. As the month goes along people talk to others about the value of the program. They want to join but feel they cannot enter midstream. Need to alter this thinking.
I am afraid I will mess up your results because I was already doing MM before kickstart. So my numbers didn’t change. BUT I found the daily posts very good and liked the messages a great deal. I also liked the tools. I did one zoom, which I liked, but in general I don’t do night things like this. i felt kind of left out because I didn’t join the Facebook group. I would, if I felt sure that others couldn’t see that I am in it. Maybe that is naive of me…Anyway, I liked the program and am guessing it was especially helpful for new people. I would hope that you would make it available for anyone who joins for their first 3o days.Thanks for all the hard work on this! It was great!
This kickstart program was well run and managed. Great job!!! I loved that there was a tool and new ideas each day. What I love most about Moderation Management is the Zoom meetings. It’s great to connect with a community and have options every night of the week. While in person meetings would be nice, it is not an option for many cities. Keep up the great work!!! Thank you.
So helpful! Amazing at the significant changes with tips and tools that I never even thought of . Small changes made big lifestyle difference for me,