Originally Posted by zerothehero
I also think, however, that how those in the recovery industry view addiction also matters, and by completely divorcing AVRT from the industry, Jack is pushing away rather than inviting the industry to evolve.
Yeah, but...methods of self-recovery from substance addiction have no need for an industry.
As far as mental illness goes, many mental illnesses do require medical management, and many people with mental illnesses do have substance addictions. I think that the
quitting for good message is
especially important for someone with a mental illness and has to be done first, since treating for mental illness while using alcohol or other drugs is pretty much not going to work. Don't you think it's kind of hard to Dx a mental illness when someone is a heavy user? I wonder how medical professionals can do that effectively. I know that I developed severe symptoms over the years of heavy use. I was Dx with depression, anxiety, and even had psychotic breaks when using alcohol and benzos, but I did not have symptoms after the alcohol and drugs were removed. I've had sadness, deep grief, and even times I was seriously anxious about what to do about problems I was facing, but nothing that required medical management. I don't think my story is uncommon at all.
MesaMan, I agree with you about personality types. Many people are very private. I would like for them to know and understand that you don't have to share and be rigorously honest with complete strangers in order to quit for good and regain control of your life.
Originally Posted by JeffreyAK
I think it's not about treating newcomers like children, it's about not given them the impression that we all are bickering children - which will make it more likely they'll leave, and not get anything positive from the site that might help them.
It is not my responsibility to make an impression on a person looking for information on how to quit drinking, though. And I think it's rather patronizing to other adults for me to assume they can't form their own impression about what they read just because they are addicted to a substance.