It's nice to see the issue of addicted people learning about AVRT and AA at the same time being addressed.
I've been on SR for about 2 months now. I don't spend too much time at it, and have only posted outside of Secular Connections once so far.
When it was first developed years ago by RR, I used AVRT to guarantee my abstinence from alcohol, drugs, and tobacco, and more recently to quit caffeine and then chocolate. AVRT also helped me to end a ten year membership in AA.
PurpleCatLover, I really like your first post to this thread, and think it shows most concisely some important questions addicted people confront when they learn about both programs at the same time.
Can you work each program to their fullest extent when practiced together?
Originally Posted by
Purplecatlover 
I'm in the same boat. I'm still trying to sort out things but to be honest I'm not diligently working either program.
I have alot of respect for both.
Yet there are things I can't fully agree to, also.
I kind of took things that I liked from each & made them work for me.
Though, I still have alot of work to do. And reading & educating.
All I can say is take what you need from each, if you can set aside the discrepancies between the 2.
How compatible can each program be with a person's established religious beliefs?
Originally Posted by
Purplecatlover I am a believer & like the spiritual side of AA. I think of the AV of AVRT as the devil, which to me it is.
What, if any, conditions in each program are attached to permanent abstinence?
Originally Posted by
Purplecatlover But I don't like the AA belief that if you do this or don't do that, you're going to drink again. I have not attended a meeting, but love the BB. I have managed to stay sober over 2 months w/ hardly any cravings. The longest, most successful string in over 4 yrs.
I have not worked all the steps, but think they are useful to identify personality flaws & ways to fix them.
I surrendered my addiction to God, told the devil "AV" to get lost. I'm never drinking
again.
That's just me, though.
Some people need to attend meetings. To work the steps properly.
You have to figure out what works for you. I wish you the best, this is a complicated issue.
I know I don't have everything figured out.
All I know is I'm happy to not be drinking anymore or forevermore.
PurpleCatLover, I really like your signature saying.
"If it is important to you, you will find a way. If not, you will find an excuse."
It reminded me what I went through when I lied to people about wanting to quit and then went off to drink alone or in far away bars to try to keep the negative consequences down. Of course, it's no surprise that didn't work for me.
Quitting just wasn't yet important enough to decide that it was wrong FOR ME that I ever drink again. I knew FOR OTHERS it was wrong that I ever drink again, so, I put up this facade of sobriety and bluffed my way as long as possible.
Having done all that, even today, I cannot tell whether someone who speaks of their changed ways and commitments to recovery is really telling the truth, especially if they say they will never drink again. This is a conundrum that is positively accepted and addressed successfully within AVRT, and one that is set aside and discouraged from my experience in AA.
One thing I have learned is that people who do speak of their changed ways do know absolutely whether drinking ever again is right or wrong for themselves. It is not a mystery to each of us what our own moral beliefs are. I knew absolutely when I made each commitment to permanent abstinence to each substance that I would never experience the effects of ingestion again. While there was some internal resistance to breaking the habits, there was no doubt in my mind.
As I did, I think most addicted people first try to play the odds hoping that well planned drinking will keep them out of trouble, and it might for a while, but it's definitely a crap shoot. Naturally, the odds of something bad happening on any particular drinking occasion will be much lower than the long term odds of adding up the episodes. Nevertheless, I stupidly looked at each drinking opportunity as an isolated episode that would once again give me that wonderful high that I so loved. Obviously, if I had focused on adding up those rolls of the dice, I would have seen a snake eyes disaster in my future, but instead, I told myself it was a challenge like a wilderness exploration to go out and drink again and not get in trouble. What a crock!!! Anyway, that was so long ago, that I can no longer remember what it is like to be under the influence any more. Yeah, really, that long.
Becoming an "old timer" or acting altruistically is not a part of AVRT. Yet, the reason I'm here is altruistic. I know becoming an old timer and taking the message to others is an important part of how to stay sober in AA, so, I decided to join in and give a counterpoint of sorts.