This last post is a beautifully written and wonderful post that I agree with entirely* and to me wonderfully illustrates the necessity of attending the correct program
* Except for one thing, I am an alcoholic, and not an addict.
Why do I say that?
Because I did every drug known to man, Heroin, Pot, Meth, Coke, Pain Pills, Morphine, Ecstasy, etc etc ad nauseum, and didn't get addicted to a single one, the only thing I ever had a loss of control over or got addicted to was alcohol, so I don't "identify" in the slightest with addicts, so didn't "identify" with his story.
I could use "willpower" to stop doing drugs, that includes "kicking" heroin, and stopping a pretty severe Coke habit, I decided to quit, and did. Now as a sober member of AA, I agree with a drug is a drug is a drug, and agree with the premise that total and complete abstinence is necessary to be sober
I don't disagree with a single thing he says, as a matter of fact I agree wholeheartedly with every single thing he says, except for one small caveat, It's just not my experience and what he says isn't true for me.
That is my experience, and it's not subject to debate, just as his experience, is his experience, and is not subject to debate. It happened, and there it is.
Our "problem" isn't the same, but our solution is, the twelve steps, now if I had come to a meeting of alcoholics anonymous and heard his story, it wouldn't have "jibed" with my experience, therefore I would have decided that AA wasn't for me, and quite possibly would be dead.
That is why going to the correct fellowship is so important. I can and have attended NA meetings and been the "Featured Speaker" but it's like drugs weren't my "DOC", NA isn't my recovery of choice, AA fits my needs, and NA fits his.
I believe he and I could absolutely allow each other our experience and agree harmoniously on what the solution is, but we are different, and so we chose different programs to get sober in.
Hope that makes sense.