I spent many years drinking from age 15 to age 38.  There were many days where I told myself 'never again' but invariably, later that day, I'd have my first of several/many beers.  While much of my drinking felt social in nature, it was always quite different than what I saw other people doing.  I never understood how they could just stop at 1 or 2 drinks.  I always wanted #3 and #4, 5 and 6 always seemed like even better ideas.  Calling it a night was always a drag for me.

My drinking ended after a final binge -- I woke up sitting in the driver's seat of my car.  That day was pretty much of a blur.  Had to call in sick, and then just walked around slightly disoriented/depressed, asking myself why I was doing what I was doing.  I knew that my drinking had progressed to a point where I know 'craved' drinking, and I couldn't stop -- in fact, many days I'd lie to myself and say I'd just have 1 or 2 and then see myself slip to 3 and 4 and then consume 12+ on my own.  I also saw more time drinking alone.

Eventually I tried AA again (I had wandered in before), and this time I was ready to follow the program more precisely.  What I found was less a 'program' and more a fellowship of people just like me who are working together to address a common, shared problem.  They were other professionals who couldn't stop drinking, who shared this allergic reaction to alcohol. It was very encouraging to see people who looked like me, talked like me, and who shared my same terrible problem.

It's been almost two years now, and I continue to grow as a person -- I continue to reguarly go to AA meetings -- some days I want to shout at the people that "it's up to you -- God's not doing it for you!" and some days I want to hug them, for all the support they've given me, whether they know it or not.

In the end, I think AA's more about group therapy -- while I do believe in the program/steps, I'm pretty sure that they share many common characteristics of individual therapy.  Things like identifying your feelings and dealing with cognitive distortions; and getting to the root cause of problems.

But, if you're having problems controlling your alcohol consumptions, it's not something to be ashamed of -- it's just a problem that you need to come to terms with, and decide if you want to rid yourself of.  No one can tell you to do it, if you're not ready to do it for  yourself.  But, if you've had enough of it, AA can help you to solve your problems.