Have you ever seen a homeless person who appears to be an alcoholic? And did you wonder which came first, the alcoholism or the homelessness? Most people would be tempted to drink if they had to spend the night in a sleeping bag on a freeway off ramp. Life success and mental health might be linked to the desire to abstain more than we immediately recognize.
I agree with Alera, SMART addresses things in life which have nothing to do with addiction.
Somehow, though, those things are tied to addiction.
For example, SMART has tools to address irrational thinking and manage emotions. SMART has rules for happiness, tools to make decisions, templates for making changes in your life.
As near as I can tell, AA relies on a spiritual epiphany to abstain from drinking.
Rational Recovery explains that when you promise yourself that you will never drink again, there is no guarantee that your life will get better, just that you will be sober.
These plans work for some, but they do not give you the ammunition that SMART gives you.
SMART promotes a recovery support system, but it also employs rational emotive behavioral therapy to solve problems in your life, and make your life better.
The longer I stay in SMART, the more I feel like problems regarding my mental health are being solved. I think it’s a great program.