loveon2legs

Hi Toronto! Thank-you! that is exactly how I was feeling....you made some very very good points....I went to a meeting to be around others who are sober, and to possibly add AA to my recovery......not to be frowned upon because I hadn't used the program in 14 months....and to me the comment was rude...the lady obviously had no compassion for me..or thought on how I would feel about that.....regardless...I was new and it just left a bad taste in my mouth......
pinetree: where did I say I had no respect for AA??

loveon2legs

Oh, and I just wanted to add, that maybe I didn't use AA for my recovery...but I had GOD behind me.....what's better than that???(in my opinion)

DayTrader

from p45

We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a Power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this Power?
Well, that's exactly what this book is about. Its main object is to enable you to find a Power greater than yourself which will solve your problem.
(my underlining)

Heh..... sounds like yer working the AA program to me!!

omegasupreme

Heard a well known circuit speaker talk about this. His opinion was something to the effect of that they get more attention by staying sick and taking exception with the Big Book than if they were to find there truth to be a hard drinker, get over their issues and leave, OR find their truth to be a real alcoholic, work the 12 steps and recover. See, either of those options involves responsibility, it's much easier to continue to be a victim.

CarolD

I operate on the AA concept of.......
throw the dorrs open...let them all come in

pinetree

Okay, I am not a hard ass. I have been in AA for 34 years and just a little tired of the 'political correctness' I see. Can't say this, cant do that or you offend people. AA is for those who need it not those who want it. Our life depends upon the AA program. Hate to see it diluted. The program is in book.

LaFemme

Toronto...thanks for saying what you did...it actually helped me understand why I have gotten upset when people questioned my own personal path as being something "less" than it perhaps should be. I know that it reflects on them not me, but an insult is an insult and we are human and have a right to be upset by it, especially initially, usually we can get over it within a few minutes or days (depending on the insult).

JohnBarleycorn

Unheard of? Not true. At all.

"Is it possible to cure yourself of addiction without professional help? How often does that happen?

Of course it's possible. Most people recover and most people do it on their own. That's in no way saying that everyone should be expected to quit on their own and in no way denies that quitting is a hard thing to do. This is just an empirical fact. It is even possible that those who quit on their own could have quit earlier if they sought professional help. The implicit message isn't that treatment isn't important for many—in fact it should probably be made more accessible—but it is simply a fact that most people cure themselves."

- Sally Satel, in "Scientific American: Can You Cure Yourself of Drug Addiction?" [March 4, 2011]

CarolD

One thing for sure....AA is not professional

And/or
maybe I am no longer an AA recovered alcoholic
who did not do it alone?

UniqueNewYork

"Any viewpoint except mine on how to stay sober is wrong"
"I feel obligated to interfere with how you run your program even though you never asked for my advice and whatever you are doing is working"
"You are not an alcoholic if you aren't doing the same things as me to stay sober"

Sound like you reader?

If so

YOU ARE THE REASON PEOPLE THINK AA IS A CULT.

LexieCat

I think plenty of people recover without AA. There is proof right here on these forums.

Only the individual can say whether their sober lives are what they want them to be--I'm not about to convince a happy person that he or she isn't.

AA was conceived as a means to help those who cannot recover without spiritual means. And AA is not the only path to spiritual recovery, either. I think anyone who requires a spiritual means of recovery and does that successfully, does so by doing something along the lines of what the Twelve Steps are designed to accomplish.

I think AA should be open to anyone who wants to quit drinking. But I think it's important, at the meeting, to focus on the AA program, not other ways of recovery. Other ways can be explored here, can be explored in other recovery programs, can be explored through one's religion, or whatever works for a person. It's important to focus on AA at AA meetings for the sake of those who HAVE NO OTHER OPTION. For those people, it is literally a matter of life and death.

I have all the respect in the world for whatever means of recovery works for any given individual. But AA meetings are a place to share a very specific means of recovery, not a place to share about your own non-AA theories and practices (which may work great for you, but cause great problems for someone needing AA).

UniqueNewYork

I have mixed feelings about LexieCat's post. I find your posts informative and thought provoking. I feel the correct answer is "take the good, leave the bad" when it comes to people in AA who like to make snide remarks. You have to take into consideration that some people new to AA and/or sobriety will not just take the good and leave the bad. They will leave. And as you said, this is a matter of life and death. So maybe they leave and find death. But on the other hand some people think tough love can get people sober. And yes sometimes tough love is a tactic that works. So really theres two sides to the coin I guess.

Fandy

well you know what *they* say about opinions....they are like zapholes, everybody has one.

the funny thing is I've been reading so much about the different opinions and AA, i actually considered sitting in on the group that meets in my office building every Sunday...for sober fellowship.....and conversation (not the terrible coffee).....but from what i can gather reading from here, i might say the wrong thing?

I am NOBODY's *victim*, I chose to drink and I made the wise healthy decision for my body and mind to get sober. so far so good, i have learned much here and put the information in play...good common sense and some soul searching and that AH-HAH moment when i realized what a trigger was for me.

TwelveSteps

I doubt it. In my experience, most people in AA are very welcoming and glad to talk with other people who are sober, regardless of how they got there. That would be my advice to anyone thinking about checking out a meeting.

GG

JohnBarleycorn

I'm sure that AA helps many people for whom the approach works, certainly during the early time off the bottle. I've been to a couple of meetings where someone came in, literally in tears, obviously deeply distraught at their situation, and people welcomed them.

Ironically, I was at one such meeting yesterday where this happened, and it was a reading day, of the third tradition, which led to a discussion of just why they let anyone in, up to and including those who are still drunk when they roll in.

I don't know about this I keep reading about "real alcoholics," for whom there is only one way out, as if there are "fake" alcoholics.

That is probably not so helpful.

- JBC

Fandy

Now that is a new term i've never read here before...."Fake Alcoholics"...I wish i was one of those people.

stugotz

They must drink that "Fake Beer"

ChikkaB

That's what I was thinking LOL



There's no such thing as 'real' or 'not real' alcoholics. There's only people for whom alcohol is a problem.


Either alcohol is a problem in your life or it is not.

Either you want to do something about the problem or you don't.

Either you want help fixing the problem or you don't.

Either you take action or you don't.


That's how I see it.

DrunkenBasement

loveon2legs,

I had the same remark made to me about a week ago when I told a woman I had been going to the meetings for my first month but then stopped for two months and then decided to return again. Her friend came over to talk with us, she introduced us and said, "she was white-knuckling it for two months" and her friend laughed and said, "how did that work out for ya?" It irritated me a bit because I not only stayed sober during that time, but I grew. I grew a lot. I wasn't going to meetings and technically not working the program, but I was praying, and trying to do the right thing day in and day out. Staying sober was not even difficult. I just smiled and told them I hadn't drank or even wanted to, but decided that I needed to get involved face to face with other alcoholics, so I realized it was time to come back. I'm glad I did.
Thank you for sharing and good job on 14 months.

Fandy

so, DB is in Missouri and LO2L is in British Columbia..both attend AA meetings, share their personal experiences and sobriety success without AA and have that same WhiteKnuckle comment directed to them.

i think that Toronto made a very valid point yesterday.

BTW, the white knuckle comment must be used by parents teaching all kids to drive...I did the visual with my daughter...i can still see my fist gripping the door handle.