ClimbingUP Hi ClimbingUP.
Originally Posted by ClimbingUP
Does anyone else find themselves a little annoyed by the religious aspect of AA?
I used too when I was going to A.A. except I would say A.A. is quasi-religious to me.
I understand the need for peer support as it can be important in addiction treatment. I find having my beliefs (non-theist) respected in the groups I attend make going to the health clinic groups a rewarding experience. When I used to attend A.A. I expressed my beliefs in a hope that someone could relate to me. I have experience the disappointment and frustration of being given advice completely counter to my fundamental belief system. But if A.A. is the only kind of support around I guess you could work a personalized recovery program and use the meetings for some kind of support. I tried that, however I would get a lot of resistance from other A.A. members when I spoke openly in meetings about my program of psychotherapy. A few members were kinda hostel wile others poked fun of my program. Needless to say I learned to keep my program to myself until I stopped going to A.A.. So if I were to offer any advice: don't share about psychotherapeutic techniques in meetings...LOL.
Some of the things I currently do for addiction treatment is check-in here where there is good amount (but not completely
) of secular support. The treatment resources I use are: SMART Tools, reading addiction research info and articles featuring psychological based coping strategies.
Anyhoo welcome to the secular side of addiction treatment and support, where I
value your beliefs
as is without the need or inclination to
challenge them.