Halfway done with ADAPT! My experience so far

Not good with titles, but ehhh. For backstory, I self-referred in early December as a TSgt with 9 years TIS after noticing my drinking getting out of hand, largely driven by life events. I’ll answer any specific questions about my experience so far.

Overall I’m happy with my decision. I haven’t drank since December 13, and after some introspection I’ve only went that long without the juice one other time since turning 21. My record before that was 2 weeks.

I’m pleased that the course I’m at seems to want to get to the “why” of your drinking during the mandatory abstinence period. I have about a month remaining on this level of treatment, which has consisted of labs/weekly group therapy. There’s all walks of life in these sessions, often from junior Airmen to even FGOs. The counselors do a good job of taking rank out of it to keep discussions going.

The “meh” part is that there is accountability delivered the military way. Granted, I WANTED the accountability but be aware that even if you self refer, once you start treatment you must finish it. Another “meh” part is that if your coping skills outside of drinking aren’t up to par, they’ll be exposed. I’d recommend getting in for ordinary therapy as well to root out the issues.;

Overall, if your drinking is out of hand, would I recommend it? It depends. I 100% would try traditional therapy if you notice an isolated uptick in drinking and see if you can moderate by learning coping skills for acute events. If your problems are solely with booze, or if therapy isn’t helping, I’d 100% recommend seeking help of some sort specifically for drinking. That was my boat.