but why is there such a dependence on it?
for me, why was there such a dependence on alcohol? I spend a lot less time at meetings in sobriety than I did drunk when I was drinking. I still go to as many meetings as I can (about 5 or 6 a week) but now it's not because I need to, it's cause I want to. It helps me feel better; it gives structure to my day; it allows me to meditate when I wouldn't normally take the time to.
Meetings went from putting in lip service to my friends and family to "me time". I don't know how or when that changed but it just did at some point. I feel better after every meeting I go to, whether I heard what I wanted and/or needed to hear or not. Sometimes a meeting even cured a headache or fatigue I'd been feeling prior to attending the meeting. I don't know why that happens to me; it just does. Maybe if I went to church or something it would have the same effect as an AA meeting.
I dunno. But I don't want to mess with it right now. The program of AA is the only thing that has helped me stop drinking. But that's just me.