No one was speaking of you directly SJ, you presumed quite a bit within your reply. It's pretty
disgustingly obvious that yeaghr8 was communicating his own experiences.
As for the things people are saying about AA and why it works for them... as is stated in the BB, the part of AA that leads to sobriety - for most - is when the person coming to AA HAS tried everything else, and everything else availed them nothing and helped in no way, shape, or form. When the bottom comes for some of us, there are no more "options to explore", because the bottomed out drinker has been there and done that and all it led to was more dangerous drinking.
Personally speaking, I DID try everything over the years. Short of a labotomy and shock therapy I've tried it and worked it, for years... SMART, rational recovery, psychiatry, CBT, everything. Also, years ago had I been thrust into AA I would also have run from the building, thinking they were all losers, clowns, and Jesus freaks. Since then, my personal experience has shown me that finding my inner child through other means, working on conflict resolutions, taking meds, whining about my childhood to some 100.00 per hour knucklehead, e.t.c... it did absolutely nothing to get me sober. In some instances these programs made me worse off.
Simply put, and I'm speaking of no one but myself, I found AA after about 7 months of sobriety (the white knuckle kind), at 44, after hitting an absolute bottom. Again, I'm talking about the kind of bottom where "exploring ones' options" is no longer an option. With me, and a good many others involved in AA, there were only 2 options left;
1. get proper help quickly,
2. die an agonizing, insane, alcoholic death slowly (or quickly, as in my case).
With nowhere else to turn I finally looked up and said "my will can not battle this bottle anymore, I need help". Eventually I gave AA a proper shot, and left my judgments in the trash bin with my last bottle of vodka. I listened, I read, I did the work asked of me. I didn't open my mouth to whinge and moan, never once presumed enough arrogance (after being such a total drunk a$$ for most of my adult life) to levy criticisms or presume wisdom over a program that has helped other hopeless alcoholics who walked in my shoes and had all-too similar experiences to my own. I simply shut my bloody trap, let go of my ego and opinions, turned it over, and surrendered.
Since then AA is the only thing that has kept me from putting bottle to mouth for as long as I have, since I started drinking 25 years ago. If you still have room to explore other options I am bloody happy for you. Explore away and I hope you find/found something that fits your disposition. I pray you don't ever get to the point where you've run out of options, and that if you do, AA will be there to help you as it has me.