Originally Posted by dredg

Hello,

I have been a heavy drinker for 15 years. Last summer I decided that I needed to look into recovery groups to help me quit. I went to AA for a month and stopped going. I later became part of a general outpatient program which involved group therapy and one on one counseling. I learned a lot about why I am a drinker and where it originated for me. The one on one counseling helped me the most. Group was annoying to me and I really didn't get much from it.

I was, however, disappointed in the constant "push" for a higher power to become sober. I quit AA and the general outpatient group after 90 days because this was what they said would keep me sober and everyone in group was relying on it. All of them have been in and out of programs, some as long as 14 years, relying on a higher power. I have since seen another addiction counselor and she believed in this concept as well so I stopped seeing her.

My question is; Why? The higher power concept, for me, is like chasing a ghost to help you get sober. How can you prove a higher power exists and why is this involved in addiction? If addiction is a disease then why not treat it like other diseases? You wouldn't hear a surgeon say "Pray away your heart disease, it's the only way". I know the whole argument of "make your higher power anything you want". I just don't get anything from it.

These counselors have doctorate and masters degrees. Why do they throw out fact based studies and proven methods and rely on "magic"? If I ever get help again I want to find a group that relies on proven methods not hocus pocus. It is really hard though because I live in city of only 70K people and resources are scarce. At least I haven't found anything within a 50 mile radius.

So far this has not been good. I stayed sober for 52 days and drank a six pack. Yes I screwed up but everyone in group harped on me for hours about it. This just made me want to drink more and I did. They said I need to pray more to my higher power and my spirit is dead so this is why I drink. WTF? What spirit? Why can't science be involved here? When they can pull my spirit out of my body and say here you go, it's not a series of synapses and neurotransmitters in your brain. It's a spirit! Shake its hand! I’ll believe then.

Sorry, a bit of a rant. I hope I didn't discourage others I am just wondering if anyone out there has found other means of becoming sober. I am very interested. Thanks