AA saved my sister’s life. That’s all that matters to me.
I was addicted to alcohol. I kicked it mostly on my own but AA did help considerably.
I was addicted to cigarettes. This I kicked by doing, IMHO, the only thing you can do to quit cigarettes, QUIT! It’s not easy.
It was after I quit smoking I realized I have an addictive personality. I have to be very careful because I can get addicted to something so easily.
I hate to admit this, but I was addicted to freezer pops. Isn’t that ridiculous? It wasn’t to me as I consumed dozens a day. Finally I realized how stupid it was and quit, just like I quit cigarettes.
Life is certainly interesting.
So what part of 12-step recovery got debunked? The whole thing about AA's Big Book is that it was written AFTER the program worked for the first 100 or so alcoholics. One cannot come after the fact 70+ years later and now deny what already happened.
From my own life experience, I may have been able to stay off alcohol and drugs due to my own self-serving stubbornness. But I didn't begin to recover until I accepted AA. It was though AA that I learned who God was and that He was really on my side. And I experienced the transformation that occurred when God did for me what I could not do for myself.
God is referred to in 7 of the 12 steps. If they were honest about it, those opposing the 12 steps are really just opposing God. But then there are those who are constitutionally incapable of being honest.
AA works for some people. That’s way better than nothing. Locally, there are 30 or 40 individuals, mostly men, who are no longer drunk. That’s a good thing.
While he charges $300/hr for his services (sorry, no sliding scale,) AA is free. No wonder he wants to sabotage the program.
all it takes to quit is to decide to quit and do it.
People that can’t quit, don’t want to.
I do not want to be drawn into an argument, since I do not have the time. But I am writing on the small chance that I can help someone.
But for those of you who support AA, research has shown that the disease theory of addiction that AA promotes is one of the most harmful things possible in recovery. Even for people who are not in AA, studies show that believing in the disease model is a strong predictor of failure.
This does not mean that all critics of AA are atheists. In fact, the AA mantra that one is powerless to beat their addiction goes against what many Christians would call free will.
Talking about and emphasizing free will in beating addictions is one thing that will improve one’s odds. It makes sense too, as people rationalize away the fact that they are using drugs, alcohol, whatever. It is hard to stop, but ultimately the person addicted must be the one to make the decision to stop. Seems obvious, but few talk about it. I think that is what this author was saying.
AA’s step 1 is “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol— that our lives had become unmanageable”. This de-emphasizes free will and is harmful.
I hope I have helped somebody who knows somebody who needs help.
Dr. Lance Dodes, thank you for sharing your experience, strength and hope.
I was in and out of AA for 30 years mostly not drinking by force of will (white knuckling it) and would always end up drinking again. I was seeing therapists and psychiatrists during this time also. I was constantly hauled off to the nut ward for anger issues.
It wasn't until I got a sponsor and worked the steps did things change for me. I had to get humble. I had to have a deflation of ego. I had to get honest and trust the program because nothing else worked. I just said today that my sponsor is the best therapist I ever had and meetings are the best group therapy ever. And, it's all free.
This guy is a tool and an idiot. The success rate for AA and Celebrate Recovery is only 5%-10% because that is the percentage of people who have reached their low and are ready to change.
Very few (fortunate) people are able to fully recognize their slide into the pit, stop themselves before hitting bottom, and claw their way back up and out. Most of the time we have to go all the way down, before we are ready to climb back out.
Our pastor quotes an old saying - “People will change when the pain to stay in their addiction becomes greater than the pain to stop”. That’s how it was for me. I brush with death and a life threatening illness woke me up. Thankfully I found Celebrate Recovery to give me the tools to walk in freedom. AA and CR are tools not a cures. Hammers are great, but they won’t drive that nail into the wall until I pick it up and start swinging.
I've never heard anyone ever utter these notions.