does anyone else think alcoholics anonymous is a joke?

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245

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  • phildog49
    phildog49 Posts: 31 Member
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    i found a medication to treat depression
    ^^^^
    This is like an alcoholic saying "I am just drinking beer. I'm cured!"
  • McCluskey1128
    McCluskey1128 Posts: 88 Member
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    Did you ever think maybe you didn't just magically get better? Did you ever think that by taking pain meds you were self medicating your depression and once the depression was properly treated you no longer needed the pain meds?
  • MissusMoon
    MissusMoon Posts: 1,900 Member
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    McCluskey1128 wrote: »
    Did you ever think maybe you didn't just magically get better? Did you ever think that by taking pain meds you were self medicating your depression and once the depression was properly treated you no longer needed the pain meds?

    That's a pretty bold diagnosis for someone you don't know personally.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    Oh nice use of the r word OP. That's one of the most insulting and degrading words around and so now people with drug addictions and alcoholics are r?
  • derek1237654
    derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
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    Yes you are absolutely right about the AA success rate of 5 to 10 %. It barely has a better success rate than if you do nothing at all. That being said i think i do believe it has something to offer most people. And i have a sponsor who has become more of a good friend than anything. We talk about a lot of different things ...our general struggles etc....but he doesnt push me to do the steps or anything hes just happy that i found a way to be sober. And for those who would say im a "dry drunk"...i think you are misinformed. The only aspect of my life in which im angry is having to go to AA because it gets in the way of more productive things that i could be doing. I guess its hard to accept that there are people who can be fine without AA....because i am happy and i dont drink or want to drink. So IF things change and i at some point feel the urge to use then ill reconsider AA.
    I just rationally cannot put effort into a program that is faith based. I believe in science not pseudoscience. So no i cannot call my higher power a doorknob or the group....because there is no higher power than yourself. In the end we all will die but only some of us will have really lived....you get one life and that is it. Anything else is just speculation.
    The problem with AA is that if i take my headphones out and try to help people in the way i helped myself...i will be shunned for being in denial. That is my experience in the past.
    Am i in denial that i am an addict...no i am not in denial about that ...but i ask you this question...if i dont use drugs or think about them and am not miserable in life then why would i need to revisit the idea of being an addict all the time?
  • htimpaired
    htimpaired Posts: 1,404 Member
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    phildog49 wrote: »
    i found a medication to treat depression
    ^^^^
    This is like an alcoholic saying "I am just drinking beer. I'm cured!"

    No, it's not. I know the old timers insist that ALL medications must be avoided, but depression is a medical condition, and for some that includes psychotropic medications. To shun his antidepressant would be equivalent to skipping his blood pressure medication.

    OP, while I think you could phrase your feelings a bit better to avoid insulting those that are in the program, I do relate to where you are coming from. I have gone to AA meetings for work (escorting my patients who are in recovery) and yes, it felt like a religious cult. At least the one I went to. They basically said that if you don't take a higher power and accept powerlessness, you will not succeed. There was also a chapter in the big book called "To the Agnostic", which felt like an attempt at conversion. Now mind you that book was written a LONG time ago, so I let it pass (it's also horribly misogynistic). As a fellow atheist, I'd be upset as well if I was mandated to go.
    I like the idea of SMART recovery, because the point of that program is identifying the unhealthy thinking you were stuck in and changing behaviors to obtain and maintain recovery. Other options are SOS (Secular Organization for Sobriety) and Lifering.
  • Cameron_1969
    Cameron_1969 Posts: 2,857 Member
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    I agree with the OP. . to a point. AA is very helpful to a very specific personality type. However, it's adherents push it as the one and only solution to addiction for everybody. It isn't and it actually has the opposite effect on MANY!. . Like the OP the idea of powerlessness and the notion that you WILL fail that were drilled into my head simply fed the 'beast' within. I swear I went out and drank after EVERY AA meeting. .It was utterly depressing and damaging to my self-control.

    I see in this thread the AA talk. .They love to tell any former addict that they either aren't really an addict or they aren't really a former addict ant that they WILL FAIL!. . attack attack attack . . It's impossible for them to believe that someone can kick it without AA so they ridicule and dismiss.
  • derek1237654
    derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
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    phildog49 wrote: »
    i found a medication to treat depression
    ^^^^
    This is like an alcoholic saying "I am just drinking beer. I'm cured!"

    So you are comparing medication designed with science for the purpose of helping people with a brain disorder such as depression to alcohol discovered millenia ago and used to get drunk and temporarily forget about your problems? I think there is a reason why doctors prescribe antidepressants and not alcohol to people.
  • Cameron_1969
    Cameron_1969 Posts: 2,857 Member
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    sunn_lighter wrote: »
    newmeadow wrote: »
    reddevil614 wrote: »
    MsAmandaNJ wrote: »

    Those who do not follow the program and do their own thing, struggle with addiction and their lives. Those who follow the program are successful.


    that is inherently false....the AA success rate is thought to be about 5-10% only

    That's right.

    OP, Google "Orange Papers"

    Forced participation in a religious organization, which all 12 Step groups are, is in violation of the U.S. Constitution.

    If you are in the U.S., an organization called Rational Recovery can assist you in helping you legally disentangle yourself from the 12 Step train wreck.

    It's not the only game in town. There are other modes of recovery besides the disease model of addiction where the so called treatment is divulging your personal information in front of a group of chronic relapsers while conceding that a doorknob should be your higher power.

    www.rational.org

    everything here ^^^ +1

    rr is an awesome program

    indeed
  • denversillygoose
    denversillygoose Posts: 708 Member
    edited May 2016
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    It might be more help to you if you took off your headphones and paid attention. Seems like the chip on your shoulder is preventing you from seeing that everyone (even you?) can use a little self reflection.
  • upoffthemat
    upoffthemat Posts: 679 Member
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    I don't think AA is a joke at all. I think it works wonders for some people. I went myself a few times when I was drinking a lot and it was made clear that it was whatever higher power you wanted to be, not necessarily God. Whether you believe in the force, human nature, wicca, or whatever else you make your higher power it definitely doesn't need to be the God of any established religion.
    That being said, I agree that AA isn't for everyone. I drank a lot for a time and there were other reasons. I too basically outgrew needing to drink. I still will drink at times, but I don't drink often and usually there is a good reason for it. (My dad makes excellent home made wine, I have friends that home brew, I love micro brews)

    I probably drink less once a month now and I certainly am not powerless over alcohol. There are addicts that are though, I know a few of them, some sober in AA, some drinking daily and probably never fully sober except when they first wake up each day.
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,868 Member
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    A joke? No...but I do think there are superior programs.
  • derek1237654
    derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
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    denversillygoose wrote: »
    It might be more help to you if you took off your headphones and paid attention. Seems like the chip on your shoulder is preventing you from seeing that everyone (even you?) can use a little self reflection.

    Yes i do have a chip on my shoulder because of what i have been put through by these self righteous do gooders. You could say i am recovering from recovery. Im not excusing myself from part of the responsibility but the "system" has harmed me and i cannot in good conscience participate in such a program.
    So i will just move on as i have already mostly done anyway.
  • ValerieMartini2Olives
    ValerieMartini2Olives Posts: 3,024 Member
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    Don't say things are "retarded". That's a terrible way to refer to things you don't like/disagree with/find stupid.
  • Capt_Inzane
    Capt_Inzane Posts: 733 Member
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    AA does different things for a lot of people. Just because it doesn't work for you doesn't mean it's a failed program. There's a reason you're being mandated to go rather you want to realize that or not. If you were bad enough that a doctor felt it medically necessary that you needed help then in my opinion and apparently his/hers that's pretty bad.

    If you don't like going, that's probably great but sticking your fingers (or headphones) in your ear and acting like a child just shows you're not ready to be an adult. It's like one hour a week or whatever. If you can't suck it up and go through that I think you need to rethink a few things.
  • singingflutelady
    singingflutelady Posts: 8,736 Member
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    ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »
    Don't say things are "retarded". That's a terrible way to refer to things you don't like/disagree with/find stupid.

    exactly. It's highly offensive
  • derek1237654
    derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
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    ValerieMartini2Olives wrote: »
    Don't say things are "retarded". That's a terrible way to refer to things you don't like/disagree with/find stupid.

    Ok i wont use that word. Btw i was not referring to people as the r word i was referring to the program in such a way. But yes that was wrong...i should say i disagree with the program
  • ScottyNoHotty
    ScottyNoHotty Posts: 1,955 Member
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    You get out what you put in.....
  • derek1237654
    derek1237654 Posts: 234 Member
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    ScottyNoHotty wrote: »
    You get out what you put in.....

    In general that is true. However i put a lot into the program 90 meetings in 90 days full set of steps etc while being sober....and not only did i get nothing i got less than nothing.
    But i know your response will be "keep coming back"...so why do i even bother. I should just take my own advice and move on
  • vixtris
    vixtris Posts: 688 Member
    edited May 2016
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    @derek1237654 If you haven't seen it, you should watch South Park season 9, episode 14 :)
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