Who is bad-mouthing A.A.?

AA Blog Part 1: the colored text is my responses to comments about AA
Posted 04-20-2009 at 01:40 PM by McGowdog Updated 04-20-2009 at 01:49 PM by McGowdog (add)

The following is my interpretation of the AA program as experienced by doing the work out of the book from page 164 and prior. I do not speak for AA, due to its own traditions.

Who is bad-mouthing AA? Well let's look at everything that's been said about the problem and misunderstanding of alcholism and the realm of AA in general:

Alcoholism is self-inflicted. Then nobody is nor were they ever powerless physically, mentally, nor spiritually over the stuff.

Drugs are a choice and abuse is a habit. Drugs become sort of a not choice. You can suffer enough to want to quit, then go cold turkey and with constant dilligence and maybe medical treatment and/or isolation, kick the habit... but down the road you may want to use that drug again. What's to stop you? Your brain? How's that working?

Since it's a choice to start drinking in the first place, Wait a minute, how sure are you about this? Are you willing to bet your life on this statement? I'm not! it's a choice throughout regardless of who you are. If I can refrain, so can you ... So can I choose to drink like a gentleman like you? Some people can! do they have to choose not to drink? No, they don't! So are we the same? You want to put some money down on that?

If alcoholism/addiction were truly a disease or whateveryouwanttocallit, people would never recover. What about God? Oh, I'm sorry. Wrong subforum!

Since I'm have alcoholic parents, I abstain myself, so I speak for everybody in saying it's a choice. So both my parents are Democrats. I abstain myself, so I speak for everybody in saying it's a choice. Same logic? Fitting for the topic?

I believe alcoholism is NOT a disease. I agree So do I. Don't call it a disease. Send them to AA. But the docs, nurses, counsellors, judges, cops, morticians etc. ain't gonna be happy!

I agree there are cravings, but after that it's just bad choices. So after the second time someone gets drunk, they can just either decide to only drink two and stop OR decide to never drink booze again!? How's that working?

It's insulting to people who have "Real" diseases to label this one. Right! The people with the REAL diseases are ENTITLED TO THEIR PAIN!!!!!!! Did I say that out loud?

The problem with 12-step programs is that even those programs don't make the person take responsibility for their actions. Of course they don't! Just see my 12 step program and my 13 step program in the Health and Wellness subforum thread.

I put myself in the hands of a "higher power" kind of mantra they use. Well no, it's the experience of 99 God-Fearing sober and recovered alcoholics and 1 sober recovered athiest. Oh, you didn't know you could be an Athiest AND STILL GET SOBER?????????! Well ain't that special?

they should say "It's my fault I'm in this position but I myself have the power to get clean..." If you can do that, great. Hats off to ya! But if that don't work look us up. We're near the beginning of the phone book.

So basically, AA is flawed because of the God experiment. It worked fine for 100. They put together a book stating exactly what they did. The experiment is one alky with a desire to stop drinking for good and all. A business deal fell through. He was on the road and saw some people having fun in a bar. He decided to call a ministry and ask if there was another drunk he could talk to. They met. One had knowledge of the spiritual program. One had the knowledge of the Problem. They were able to help each other stay sober for a day so, they realized they had to try it out on another. It worked once they plugged the Problem into the Solution. I'd say God is anything but an "experiment". If anything, we are the experiment!

It's just a matter of being motivated enough to find something you can do. Motivation!
I like Rational Recovery best of all. They've shrunk down from ten steps to one, which reads: "STOP DRINKING AND DRUGGING, YOU BIG JERK!" Rational Recovery! Life Ring! SMART! Perfect! Great for non alcoholic hard drinkers, from what I hear from a local Alcohol/Drug counselor. Asked him about Secular recovery too. He said, "All they do is sit around and bitch about A.A. Perfect! Check out my meeting sometime and you'll find somebody who doesn't mind working with "chronic relapsers". If you're not alky, heres a trick that will save you a bunch of time and cash; just decide to not get drunk or to not drink booze! But if you're a real alky, how's that working?

Bullcrap. It's your fault, get over it and fix your problems. My grandpa quit drinking, my parents quit smoking and my sister quit doing drugs. I'm around drugs and alcohol ALL THE TIME and I'm still sober. Simple. Take personal responsibility and quit blaming on other things. ?? Have you considered alanon? or ACA? Or how about Alatot?

So I guess being problem-free leads to sobriety? Yeah! I wonder that too. I'm NOT problem-free and I'm sober as a judge!

"It's not my fault I drink myself silly every day." um yeah, it is. Sorry if things are rough, but nobody forced that bottle to your mouth. There it is again! I thought this invisible pusher was getting me drunk! So I guess, guilting and remorsing the alcoholic and reminding them that nobody shoved the bottle into their mouth is good to do. We love that stuff!

Its a habit the same as smoking. I got a DUT the other day. Driving Under the Influence of Tabacco.

IMO... I'm sorry, but why seek opinion when we've got experience?

IMHO Well thank Goodness you didn't hit us up with IMDO!

The reason many do it is they frankly like it ;just like smoking. Well I'll drink to that!

The reason they do it is because.... - E.F. Hutton Tell us more! We're listening! Most alkies don't know why they drink! We're so glad to finally find out why!

and if you find yourself in a bad situation with an Alcoholic/Drug Addict who IS SICK, and refuses to get help then walk away. The Alanon program has been going for quite a while. I wonder what they'd say about this. I think it's a deeper issue than just "walk away". Heart is in the right place, but goes contrary to peoples' experience on this Walk away for sure! Why did you spread your legs in the first place?

I think after 34 yrs of drinking large amounts of alcohol I would know something about it. Only 2 things distinguish the alky from the non-alky; time ain't one of them. The Real Alcoholic may NEVER become a continuous hard drinker. You may think you're helping the cause of addiction/alcoholism, but ask yourself; am I a normal drinker, a moderate drinker, a teetotaler, a hard drinker, or am I a Read Alcoholic?

I was a full fledged Alcoholic and could never drink again cause it would kill me. Now once you go to a good AA meeting, they'll give you the dignity to take your own first step. Come to your own conclusion. How did you honestly drink? Did you ever drink against your own will? Could you control the amount once you started? Did you lie about and hide your drinking? On your own power, could you stay stopped for something like a year or more? Once you started again, could you drink 2 and stop, on a consistence basis?

...and was told to start smoking cigerettes (sp) cause it was safer. ...
I quit cold turkey 2 yrs ago because of meds I take, pain killers, for my disability, made me very uncomfortable and just decided not to drink.There ya go! Given a sufficient reason, so you stopped! Wonderful! You're a hard-drinker! Not an alcoholic.

So now I don't smoke 4/pk a day or drink 12/pk a day for better health and now I am disabled and morbidly obese. Well hang in there. Hope you can eat more healthy and get some safe excercise.

Most alchys from what I have seen cannot face anything in life unless innibriated. It is also in the genes. Passed down, or is this just another excuse? I wonder sometimes.... Well maybe it is just an excuse. They need an excuse because they're trying to control a behavior that they can't control. If they could control it, they would either not get drunk or just not drink! This is the same question alkies and observers of alkies have noticed for over 7000 years!

I have no idea who Roy Tarpley is, nor do I wish to defend his behaviour, but isn't it a known fact that 'successful' professional star athletes (and other performers) work under tons of pressure? So which is it? Alcoholism is a matter of external circumstances or it's not? Pick one? If they can't make a living, they have to starve and sniff glue? But if they're rich millionares, they have too much pressure? What!?!

I wouldn't find it strange that these people often turn to drugs because they can't handle the pressure of their job and/ or the pressure of being a public figure. Oh, so there again, we find a reason for its cause. Every public figure who has pressure is an alcoholic/addict and needs a way to deal?

Cocaine doesn't have a large physical component to the addiction, it's more mental, but it is notoriously hard to kick. Really? Is this a fact?

While caffiene and nicotine do have a rather large physical compentent, but are comparably easier to quit. Really? Is this a fact?