Originally Posted by
uncorked 
EndGame, I apologize if I've offended you. I certainly didn't mean to. I am speaking about my experience with AA only. This was MY takeaway of the many meetings I have attended. Effortjoy had a very valid question, and it was one of mine when I first started going to the meetings. I don't think I was out of line in stating the facts. There are steps you must follow, and one of them is being ready to ask forgiveness for past wrongdoings. And relapsing/slipping means you start at Day 1. I think I also made the point that this approach works very well for some people, it just doesn't work for me. I don't see how you came to the conclusion that I am unhappy, resentful or unloving based on what I said. That's quite a lot to assume. If you met me in person, you'd find that I'd laugh at all your jokes, I suck at directions, but I make fantastic chocolate chip cookies. Please accept my apologies.
I don't have any conflict with you personally, uncorked. I only want to explain my reaction to what you wrote, and not to scold you for doing so. I'd also like to put line under my part of this discussion. I generally don't argue for or against different types of treatment. There's nothing in it to do so for me or anyone else.
Your OP doesn't suggest that what you wrote was your take on AA. The first bolded part, again, is a generalization about the program, and doesn't suggest a personal experience. If it is, then writing what you did as things that one
must do is still inaccurate. There is no requirement to
do anything in AA.
Posting inaccurate, negative comments about any kind of treatment is a very disruptive choice. Most people are ambivalent about getting any kind of treatment at all in the beginning, and we don't need help from other people in order to avoid specific available treatments.
If a patient of mine were to use any of the multiple Web sites where you can write a review about healthcare professionals, and stated that "My therapist was always telling me what to do, criticizing me, and didn't listen to what I said (these are common interpretations early on in psychotherapy, as many people bring everyday expectations from their lives on the outside into the consulting room)," then I'd have a very difficult time reading this in a public space.
Encouraging or recommending legitimate help or treatment of any kind is a good thing. To offer up reasons why people should steer clear of any type of legitimate treatment is only unhelpful. In the end, we each discover what's best for us. I don't at all believe that your motivations are sinister, but the words you chose can be read to mean something different than what you intended.
I never wrote or intended to suggest that you are any of the things in the second bolded statement above. I'm sure you're everything you say you are.