Originally Posted by
lostbutterfly 
And there are lots of people in AA who don't believe in God and they have made the programme work for them!! I believe in a higher power, but it didn't work for me.
I think there may be some kind of evolution going on. For years, AA was the only way that worked with the knowledge we had. Now we understand more about the way the brain works, we have come up with different forms of recovery, like AVRT.
I really believe there is space for both. I think they suit different types of people.
I like to use both methods as I believe they cross over, there is lots of practical thinking in aa, not just higher power. Personally, for me it has to be a total change of lifestyle and people I mix with. If I go out with old drinking mates I will surely drink,if I hang around with peeps that don't drink I will not drink. Sometimes this means having to stay in on my own which can be a bit hard, but not as hard as the alternative.