zorah

i'm not bashing 12 step programs. the one i'm in now (alanon) has enabled me to face facts and discover things about myself that i wouldn't have otherwise.

BUT! i've been getting some pressure to go to aa due to my drinking problem. ok, i know i can't deal with this alone. but the idea of doing the same process AGAIN makes me want to run for the hills. there's a Smart Recovery group here, so i'm going to check it out.

do people combine different programs? i just wondered. also, does anyone here know how an aa 12 step would be substantially different from another one?

i'm not an assertive person, especially now, and i hope i can hold my own if i decide that another kind of program would be better. i don't understand why so many in 12 step programs think this is the one and only path to recovery. that's so arrogant! makes me nuts!


zorah

Sapling

It's not the only path...But it works....

Peter G

I started with AA and now combine AA with AVRT almost in equal measures. Having said that, I'm not so sure Rational Recovery (AVRT) can even be called a program. For now I'll just say it "is what it is", and it works. Check out the secular part of the forum and look for threads on AVRT if you need to understand more about it. I highly recommend it.

Can't give you any ideas as to the difference between AA and other 12 step stuff because I only do one side of it... AA, but I do have friends who do both AA/NA, and AA/Alanon. They are all sober and seem very grateful at the availability of both.

People are fallible Zorah, but I don't think arrogance has much to do with the whole "AA is the ONLY way" phenomenon. Me thinks that some have had AA literally save their lives, and as such they get a tad emphatic about the process - sometimes to a fault. Some seem genuinely worried that new people might miss out on what saved them from some pretty serious impending doom, as such they become Uber zealous. It's definitely not cool in my book, but it comes from an honest intention. At least that's been my experience.