keithj

Maybe and maybe not. I'm a recovered alcoholic. If an addict can identify with my drinking experience, if they believe that they too suffer a physical craving, a mental obsession; if they have lost the power of choice in whether or not they use or how much they use, they might be able to identify with me and might be interested in the same solution as I found. Otherwise, if they are not like me, why would they seek the same solution? A recovered addict is going to have a lot easier time relating to a still suffering addict.

Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but making the disctinction between the alcoholic and the addict was borne out of AA trial and error. AA tried to include addicts and spouses. The experience showed that it didn't work very well. The conclusion was that AA wouldn't function as a solution for alcoholism if it tried to be a solution for everything else. Hence, the singleness of purpose proved by trial and error. The distinction is more about survival of AA than anything else. Without that disctinction, AA kind of morphs into an "all opinions welcome" organization, and the solution gets lost. That's why the program was written into a book in the first place.

I might have some good opinions about how to live sober, I might have some good ideas, but that is all it is; my bullsh*t opinion. And it may or may not be worth a darn. One thing that distinguishes AA as a program of recovery is that we have a solution on which we can absolutely agree. It doesn't have to be my opinion or your opinion. It's the same solution for everyone who suffers the same problem. If you do these things, you will recover, no questions asked. But if you have a different problem, well, my solution might work, but I have no experience with that. This is why it's so important to make sure we suffer the same problem.

Hmmm. I kind of hope we do. Because it works. It works every time. I don't think it needs to be aloof, and it certaintly isn't elite. But humor me for a minute about people's opinions and beliefs mattering.

Can a person who can't stay sober give me a solution for sobriety? It's not meant to be demeaning at all. But obviously they haven't got sobriety figured out. Now, can a person who doesn't have the same physical craving and mental obsession as me give me a solution for that condition? What about the person who is able to stop using/drinking because they got in legal trouble or had a wife threaten to leave them? They may have great advice and opinion and belief, but they are absolutely not like me. I had all those things going on and I couldn't stop drinking. I needed a solution that would work for folks that couldn't just stop when given sufficient motivation.

What so often happens in recovery and on these forums is that we do a lot of wallowing in the common problem. One sick person pats another sick person on the back. We all feel good about it because we have people around who understand us. We share a common problem, or at least we think we do. And a hundred opinions are thrown out. One person says they are taking vitamin supplements, one is exercising more, one is thinking the drink through, one is using HALT, etc. And all of these things might be good ideas, and they might work for that person part of the time.

But a program of recovery is a lot more than just a collection of opinions thrown out by people who may or may not suffer from the same thing as me, who may or may not be able to stay sober, and who may or may not be the least bit happy about it. I mean no offense to Katie, but it's a prime example. She has opinions about how to get sober without any success at sobriety. They might be good opinions, but I'd rather stick with the methods of those that have recovered. Those have solved the problem. A program of recovery is; if you are afflicted like me, do the same thing I do, and you will have the same result I do.

Despite my mentioning of AA, I wouldn't try to push that on anyone, especially in this forum. It worked for this atheist when nothing (Drs., anti-depressants, psychological counseling, outpatient, inpatient rehab, jails, etc.) else did. I just don't have any experience with other recovery programs, therefore I have no opinion of them. Thanks for letting me share.