(((((Atalose)))))
What an excellent description of the downward spiral of addiction!!! In AA it is referred to as "being sick and tired of being sick and tired."
(((((ONAW)))))
Yes, 'rock bottom' is referenced in other writings, but not in the Big Book of AA. And because of this, many treatment rehabs do talk about Rock Bottom and it has taken on a meaning of its own.
Bottom is bottom, I have seen many A's reach bottom after bottom and hit the final one, never having found recovery.
I have seen others (myself) included dig the hole so deep that it looks like they can never get out, but they do find recovery and live a sober productive life.
I do believe that what happened above is those of us who have been around for a long time do try to keep information on here as accurate as possible.
As to the BB of AA being archaic I TOTALLY AGREE. I am one of those who tell newcomers, when they are having the insomnia of early recovery that a sure way to fall asleep is to read the BB of AA, works every time. HOWEVER, that being said, archaic or not, it does show a program of recovery, and how to work that program through the 12 Steps that has and continues to work for many.
The BB of AA is about what WORKED for them. A very simple program for VERY COMPLICATED people. And it still works today for those that grasp on to others that have recovered.
Yes, there are a lot of other programs now that seem to be having some positive results with addiction and I applaud them. However, for those like myself, that found recovery before the '90's AA and NA (and NA was fairly young then, compared to AA) were really the only game in town!
Read other books written back in 1935 to 1940 and they too will seem archaic. Two that immediately come to mind are Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" and "The Fountainhead" and yet they do make sense to this day (maybe more so with the current political situation, lol) as does the AA Big Book for those that have reached the point where they WANT recovery as much or more so than they NEED recovery.
Love and hugs,