Thumpalumpacus

I went to a number of meetings here with three different groups, and they were all a little too religious for my comfort (I'm an atheist), so I stopped regular attendance, and went instead with the VA with a secular group-therapy design. None of those AA groups were over-the-top religious, but there were certainly many members who saw religious faith as a requirement for the program to work, and were blunt about it.

That said, I went to an AA meeting a couple of months ago when I was feeling pretty weak. I can still find utility in them -- it never hurts to be reminded that we are not alone in our fight, and that this beast has devoured more than a few lives. Fellowship should be appreciated, y'know?

There are many paths up the mountain. So long as you keep on walking, they all lead to the top.

JeffreyAK

And it doesn't work for lots of people who don't believe they are God, too.

Incidentally, this is a good example of why so many people flee from AA. The implication that there must be something wrong with you if AA doesn't work for you is really damaging to some people, aside from being wildly wrong. Tossing out an empty insider-cliche is good for extra points.

paulokes

AA aside lots of people die from alcoholism because they feel none of the available options for help suit their beliefs/temperament/ personal tastes.

Some of my direct family are in that category...my Dad is probably a future member.

I would always suggest to people to find the best fit, or the best available fit and throw themselves in. Better than dying or destroying your life for want of an aesthetically pleasing solution.

P

RecklessEric

How about keeping the 12 step discussions in that forum?
To be fair, I thought this thread title is an invitation to give my opinions on the topic.

ScottFromWI

This forum is open to discussions of all recovery methods. Opinions are welcome but not argumentative statements or negative comments about any specific recovery method.

There are also subforums that are specific to 12 step and Secular methods of recovery where more in-depth discussion can take place, but this forum is not restrictive to any.

Dee74

Hi Smartwater

I'd hate for one incident in one chatroom to colour your perception about AA.

There are atheists in AA- we have a forum dedicated to that here:

Secular 12 Step Recovery - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information

There are also other secular meeting based groups like SMART Recovery and LifeRing you may want to check out if you decide AA is not for you.

http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...formation.html

D

Db1105

Please don't judge AA until you've tried a face to face meeting. Please call your local AA Intergroup. You can find it online here:
Alcoholics Anonymous
Online recovery is just one tool in the recovery process.

awuh1

What is wrong with AA? Nothing smartwater. You seem to be passing judgement on an entire recovery method based upon how a few individuals responded to you in a chat room. Do you really think that's fair? AA should not be equated with what a particular individual(s) say to you. Nevertheless I don't blame you for feeling frustrated.

Hope you find something that helps.

ScottFromWI

I believe the original question has been answered pretty exhaustively here Smartwater. If you'd like to start another thread about what might work for you that would be welcomed but I think we'll leave this one here and move on to help others as we can for now.