Rehabs... treatment centers... asylums... vs 2 or 3 day detox in a hospital ward

I've got no problem with the things rehab/treatment centers do.  They can and will do whatever they want.  But just keep that stuff out of A.A.

I've been sent to detox a time or two... and was one way or another persuaded by the adjacent treatment center... or my family... or my place of employment... to chill out for 5 or 14 days.

On the surface, it sounds like a reasonable idea.  For some, it may even be helpful.  But for me, it was a waste of time and money.  What I would have made good use of would just be the 24-72 hour drying out period, then just sent home to decide where I was going to go for long term help.  But to spend the next few or couple of weeks going over proper nutrition, thought therapy, addiction education, feeling management, etc... not such a useful approach for me.

I, like Jim in the A.A. book, had made a good beginning;  I knew what would happen if I drank again, I knew that there would be consequences detrimental to my well-being and perhaps the safety of others... yet I drank again.

Danny S, the Real Live Recovered Alcoholic is at a point in his book study now which really hits home for me and jives with my experience;  the fact that we recovered alcoholics are called on to judge... that's right, JUDGE... other alcoholics.  We're supposed to find out all we can about them, to sit them down when they "go back out again", and find out specifically what they were thinking the moment before they drank.  They did this with Jim and found out he thought he could put whiskey in his milk.  They put their finger on... for him... a direct piece of insanity that preceeded his next bender.

Now... the book goes on to say, "We don't like to label others as alcoholic... let them find that out for themselves"... or something to that effect... but we still judge.  Why?  Because we know what it's about.  We should not be at all surprised when the alcoholic drinks again. 

So what do we do from there?  Send them to rehab again?  Oh, the Alcoholism Industry would love that idea.  It's my opinion that it's up to us to get them at a time when they are receptive for a talk... to try and "hook" them... to give them a glimpse of what happened to us and what we did to get to a point of desparation... and utimately to surrender and to a decision.

For some weird reason, I came back in of my own accord... without much hope... if any, I was debriefed once again about the possibility that I was "beyond human aid"... but then somehow given hope when I heard the statement, "It's up to you, bud.  Either you're gonna do this stuff or you're not."

So, for me, I was given hope when I was told that I basically have to take responsibility for my own recovery.  That's Step Three, and most of our detractors, if not all of them, to a man... do not understand or deny the paradox that making a decision to seek God is also a decision to take responsibility.  If you don't understand this, maybe you aren't an alcoholic... or, maybe you are an alcoholic that truly needs to find a non-spiritual approach to recovery.  For you, maybe you can turn away from this form of recovery and "go take responsibility for your own life" and just don't drink and just don't go to meetings.

TJ, Karl, meet our newest author... Joe Cool

Good to have you Joe. I just put in an author request for you and once that's done, you should be able to post and then I can upgrade you to Publisher status too.

I hope you don't mind me entering your first ummmm post. If you don't want it here, I'll take it down. I just thought it was very fitting here.

I agree, A.A. recovery rates are a foolish game, as is drumming up a rate for those who quit on their own.

Joe Cool writes:

Joe Cool has joined the blog.

Ref the AA Triannual Survey - it's a snapshot in time and that's all. GSO is merely interested in membership data, and the survey (which is available on the aa website) is not intended to make any predictions about success rates. If you ask, their response is "Rarely have we seen a person fail..."

Recovery rates are bullshit anyway. What's recovery? Staying sober for 5 years? Perhaps 10? I was sober for 10 years and went back out. Was I part of the success side one day and the failure rate the next? I know folks who have gone back out after 20 years. So how does anyone measure recovery rates when we can't even define the measurement criteria.

Leave the statistics to folks who like to write papers. They're all bullshit anyway. You say that 20% of alcoholics recover on their own. How did you find that out? Is there a registration site for alcoholics who don't use AA and stop drinking? Is there a list of people who walk out the doors and stay sober by some other means? Recovery rates are great for Rehab Centers who use bullshit data to attract new clients and get on the insurance companies' approved list.

On the down side, I recently read a member of Congress (woman, can't remember her fckn name) who objected to the new Health Care Bill including any federal funds for rehab of addicts and alcoholics since the recovery rate is so small. And she has a good point.

So I don't waste my time defending AA against the morons who are trying to sell their program by attacking AA and saying their recovery rate is better or saying that AA is a cult or any other such bullshit. If we ignore them, they all go away. If we defend AA we give them free publicity.
AA has been around for a long time. Consider that this program has no rules, no one in charge, abhors structure and authority and insists on anonymity for all its members. How does such a program continue to exist and grow if it isn't a success? We've been around a long time, we're here today and we'll be here for a long time to come. Don't like it? Well as I say on ** (and get edited out for saying it) I hope you have a good Plan B.

And that's my rant for the day.