Originally Posted by LexieCat

I'm not "selling" AA to someone who doesn't want it, but just want to clear up one thing. In AA's "Big Book" a "spiritual awakening" is defined as "a change in personality sufficient to recover from alcoholism." It isn't necessarily a Guy in the Sky reaching down and touching you, personally. (Not to denigrate the beliefs of people who believe exactly that.) I know many agnostics and atheists in AA who recover just fine, using the Power of the Universe, cause and effect, actions and consequences, Dharma, or whatever.

Just wanted to clear that up. It isn't a specifically religious program, though people who want a religious program follow one. Spirituality is much larger and more inclusive than religion.

And the Fellowship in AA--the hanging out and doing stuff together--whether AA or not--is something most people don't have with a professional recovery group. Again, I'm not putting that down, either. I'm only suggesting it as something possibly worth investigating. One of the great things about it is the colorful personalities you will encounter that prove not drinking doesn't mean you are cut off from living.