Grrrrrrrr

[Fubarcdn]

A post in the newcomers section today really ticked me off. I am already tired of hearing about the big book and I have only been here for two weeks.

I had to get that out or I woulda gone on a personal attack on the poster. If I was drunk it mighta got me banned.

Thanks for listening to my rather subdued vent.

[TryingSoHard]

That's what SC is here for.

[allport]

Hi fubar you will have to get used to the fact that the majority of people on SR are aa people.

It can get you down sometimes but what can you do it's a waste of your time to try and change them.

Unfortunately you need to be on those forums sometimes so just bite your lip and come and vent over here.

If you kick off over there a lot of people (not everyone) will kill you and jump up and down on your twitching corpse. lol

Or even worse they will pray for you.

[TryingSoHard]

I generally have no problem whatsoever skimming over all the HP talk, but what I DO have a hard time with is when I point-blank say that I am not in AA and the reason why is the HP/religious aspect and they refuse to drop it. Like they can convince me that I'm wrong and if only I would "turn myself over" I'd see the light.

If it works for you - great. But please, please, PLEASE don't argue with me about it if I tell you it doesn't work for me!!!

[stone]

It is slightly better now than it used to be, at one time the "alcoholics" section was a default AA section. It still is a bit but not as much.

[allport]

If this is the new improved version Stone I would hate to have seen the old one.

[doorknob]

You will assimilate. Resistance is futile. We are Borg...

[allport]

If I could have a figure like seven of nine I might think about it

[aasharon90]

Hi Im Sharon and Im an Alcoholic.

I post often in Newcomers because
it gives the ones just coming in hope.
Hope for what one may say? Hope
that one day they can live a happier
way of life without the dependence
on drugs or alcohol.

And there is hope as i soon learned
just by listening to the many before
me that have learned to stay sober just
by taking it one day at a time.

I know for me it was hard to comprehend
what AA was really all about when i first
got sober. However i kept coming back
to the rooms of AA to listen how those
stayed sober for as long as they did.

For me it was do or die.

And i was almost dead anyway.

So what else did i have to lose.

So in listening to others how they
stayed sober it gave me hope. And
all they did was shared what happened
to them when they took a drink or drug.
What did they do. And where are they
now.

For me the only way Ive been able
to stay sober is by giving away all
that has been passed on to me.

And thats how its worked for me
for a few one days at a time
collected to get me where i am today.

Thanks for letting me share.

[doorknob]

Originally Posted by allport

If I could have a figure like seven of nine I might think about it

LOL, if I could have Seven of Nine I might think about it...

[Fubarcdn]

What is seven of nine?

[doorknob]

Seven of Nine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[TryingSoHard]

Oh FFS! ok, that wiki picture of her isn't the best so I googled her...

*getting my ass to the gym RFN*!!!!!

[Fubarcdn]

After The Doctor has removed over 80% of her cybernetic implants, her human organs begin to reassert themselves.

This part sounds scary. What if the important ones haven't reasserted themselves yet? Ouch.

[Pagekeeper]

I go to AA, although I am an atheist, but I can understand your frustration with the Big Book. I used to get so irritated and annoyed when people in the meetings preached out of it as if it were some sacred text.

However . . .

I had to take a look at my reaction to a book, an inanimate object! How can an inanimate object make me so angry to the point where my peace and happiness are effected?

So I began to look at the Big Book in a different way, as it truly is: a self-help book.

I own a bookstore, and if I were to categorize the Big Book, I'd put it in the self-help section. Now, how can a self-help book make me mad? It's like getting angry over any other self-help book. And I read the Big Book like I read any other self-help book--I use the parts that ring true to me and discard the rest. To take the Big Book literally (for me) leans on "cultish" and even irrational thinking and behavior. And put into perspective, it starts to seem pretty silly too, if that makes sense.

[doorknob]

I go to some AA meetings, but don't consider myself in the program, and have no desire to own a Big Book. It might come in handy if I was backpacking I suppose...

[Zencat]

Originally Posted by Fubarcdn

A post in the newcomers section today really ticked me off. I am already tired of hearing about the big book and I have only been here for two weeks.

I had to get that out or I woulda gone on a personal attack on the poster. If I was drunk it mighta got me banned.

Thanks for listening to my rather subdued vent.

I feel ya...I used to get freaked-out over the BB and discussion therefore. I would do my best to mock, put-down, poke fun at and every other low functioning behavior I could muster up and spew out against A.A doctrine.

Now I try my best to avoid, suppress, resolve and heal those old spiteful behaviors. I didn't get sober to be an anti-A.A. activist... LOL.

[PaperDolls]

I have a Big Book. It's not that bad.

I started thinking lately .... may be I wasn't as open-minded as I thought I was. Talk about annoying ..... to think that I mean.

I've recently been getting more involved in AA because I just need it. It's been a rough year for me. The HP talk etc, I don't let any of it bother me. Only if someone tries to shove something down my throat. There are actually quite a few secular peeps at the meeting I go to so it's good.

[aasharon90]

You should see my Big Book....

I recieved mine when i enter rehab
back in Aug. 1990. It was brand new.
Crisp white pages. I signed the inside
with my name and when i began my
sobriety. That was the first full day
with out a drink.

Over the yrs. i brought my book to AA
meetings, underlining words, phrases,
and made important notes. Been to
Big Book Studies to understand what
AA is all about. How people like me
couldnt stay sober and why they
decided to learn to stay sober after
so many failed attempts.

My Big Book is like ur text book
ud have at school. How do u study
for a test if u dont have a text book?
How do u learn to fix a car if u dont
have a manual? How can u fix a special
dish if u dont have the recipes to follow?

My AA book is my manual for living a
sober life one day at a time.

Today i look at my book and its pages
are yellow and are filled with AA stuff.
Maybe a card with someones name and
number on it to call for emergencies if
i think i may drink. My book has a vintage
look to it. Something im glad to own.

When i go to meetings and see all those
"old-timers" as they r refered to with
their BB and see the wear worn look
about them, then im glad to be in
company of some awesome "ELDERS."

Much respect for them.

Thanks for letting me share.

[doorknob]

The way I feel about it is this:

AA and the Big Book are overtly disparaging towards people with secular beliefs. To me, that is no different than if it were any other group of people being demeaned and scapegoated in the name of sobriety. I wouldn't join a white supremacist group or an anti-gay movement to facilitate my recovery either...

[stone]

You are just prejudiced DK.

BB joke there, ba-dum-tish!

[Pagekeeper]

I do not consider the Big Book a textbook. In order for it to be considered a textbook, it would need to be based on empirical evidence. The Big Book is not assigned to medical student studying addiction/alcoholism. At best, I'd call it a guide, or practical advice. There are many such guides when it comes to addiction. There are several other versions of 12 step programs, for example, and also many books on recovery that do not include taking steps or adopting supernatural beliefs in order to recover.

[Katie09]

Originally Posted by doorknob

The way I feel about it is this:

AA and the Big Book are overtly disparaging towards people with secular beliefs. To me, that is no different than if it were any other group of people being demeaned and scapegoated in the name of sobriety. I wouldn't join a white supremacist group or an anti-gay movement to facilitate my recovery either...

Well, I'd typed this whole post out and lost it. My stance is that AAers are free to believe as they choose, however, please do not attempt to convince me I've read the book and have not "gotten it", I haven't "seen the light", I haven't given AA enough of a shot. My first AA meeting was 32 years ago. If I ain't "gettin' it" by now maybe it's because it's not for me and many other people. At times certain AAers come across as evangelical and that really bothers me and turns me off even more. I say GRRRR back.

[Katie09]

Originally Posted by Pagekeeper

I do not consider the Big Book a textbook. In order for it to be considered a textbook, it would need to be based on empirical evidence. The Big Book is not assigned to medical student studying addiction/alcoholism. At best, I'd call it a guide, or practical advice. There are many such guides when it comes to addiction. There are several other versions of 12 step programs, for example, and also many books on recovery that do not include taking steps or adopting supernatural beliefs in order to recover.

Thank you so much for this cool response. I tend to react emotionally when someone in AA puts forth the BB as "the way, truth and life" to everlasting sobriety. I really have to restrain myself in those situations and I know my blood pressure shoots up. I think the BB can be useful to some people, but harmful to others - much like AA meetings, sponsors and the like.

[Fubarcdn]

I didn't expect this type of response here.

I am pretty sure I don't need any book to quit drinking big or other.