soberlicious

That's it right there. People grip so tightly to these messages and questioning them creates a lot of fear, which in turn creates a long of anger.

Obviously for the purposes of this forum we see it in the area of recovery, but it's everywhere. In my own life though, an example of this has to do with my son who has autism. The theory of vaccinations causing autism was debunked quite some time ago, but you would be surprised to know how many people still hold this as fact and become extremely angry when challenged. I received serious backlash from other parents in the "special needs community" when I continued to vaccinate my son and when I went against the popular thought by refusing certain intrusive treatments that I found questionable. I could have cared less about the backlash, but I saw other more vulnerable (read: less b*itchy than me) parents who succumbed to all kinds of dangerous treatments based on this erroneous information, not to mention the anti-vax movement which should scare us all a great deal. That has the potential to have quite a grand scale negative effect. And all for what? A hugely flawed premise that was latched onto because of fear and emotionality and desperation. That same dynamic comes into play in recovery circles.

Often when we humans are scared and desperate, we grab at straws.