The Alcoholics Anonymous Alternative
Is there an alternative to Alcoholics Anonymous? Do the 12 steps really work? These are questions that most alcoholics will ask when they decide that they want to change.
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) originated in Akron, Ohio in the 1930′s from religious individuals grouping together to solve their alcoholism. The 12 steps soon emerged as a formula for all addicts to follow if they were to stay sober.
From the very beginning, complete abstinence was seen as the only answer. Of course this does work for some people, but clearly not for everyone.
Figures for how effective the 12 step recovery process is are impossible to find. Estimates suggest only about 5% of people who attend meetings regularly stay sober for more than a year. Not much more than the placebo effect really.
However, AA and NA (Narcotics Anonymous) do develop networks of community support, which is undoubtedly very positive. The support given is from other addicts or alcoholics of course, not trained professionals. And by their very nature the meetings are public access, anyone can attend, so they are clearly not anonymous (especially when you are required to state your name).
The main objection many people have to the philosophy is its rigidity, and there are references to relinquishing personal responsibility. The reams of cheap slogans don’t help much either.
Ok, so anyone who hasn’t seen them before must be wondering, what are these 12 steps then? Here you are –
- “We… admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.”
- “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”
- “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”
- “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”
- “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.”
- “Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.”
- “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.”
- “Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.”
- “Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”
- “Continued to take a personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.”
- “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”
- “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles.”
Any of you who are not particularly religious might be squirming a little right now.
The Higher Power issue is the biggest problem that people seem to have with Alcoholics Anonymous or NA.
Handing over responsibility for your problems and the solution of them, it doesn’t sit well with modern approaches to psychological self-help does it? SELF responsibility and empowerment are essential to good mental health.
“One of the things they (AA) tell you is you are powerless – you must submit, that’s stupid. Once you become sober, you realize you do have the power to quit.”
Strangely there’s not many references to alcohol in those 12 steps. Or indeed how to prevent yourself giving in to cravings. It seems like will-power, determination and faith are supposed to get you sober. That and some apologies of course.
Of course, there are different interpretations of these 12 steps, and many AA groups do advocate a more liberal approach, with the meetings themselves being seen as the higher power.
In my experience, people appreciate a more personalised view of their addiction and recovery, one in which each person’s background and personality are taken into account. The cognitive approach to addiction encourages the person to look at themselves and discover what they need to change, then helps them to make those changes in any sequence they choose. It provides strategies to understand the psychological mechanisms of your addiction.
The AA idea is to work through each of the steps with various written tasks. Should anyone relapse or have a drink at any point, they have to go back to step one and start again (snakes & ladders anyone?).
The alternative view suggests that abstinence is not the only option, for many people a healthier level of consumption is possible. We can help you to become the expert, so you are not dependent on either a group, or on your counsellor. You learn the skills to take control of your alcoholism.
The AA view is there is no cure for alcoholism or addiction, it is seen as a disease, which again slightly removes any personal responsibility from the equation – “I can’t help it, I’ve got a disease”. We view it more as a set of habitual patterns, cognitive and emotional automatic behaviours that can easily be un-learnt and replaced with something healthier.
So maybe there are alternatives to AA for alcoholics, ones with more flexibility and a more personal approach.
Whether people like it or not, AA works for me. I couldn’t give two hoots what works for others. I was on the grim reapers things to do list, I shook hands with the devil. I don’t believe in some distant deity in the sky, i’m more inclined to subscribe to Lennons, “No hell below us, above us only sky” sentiments. But I do believe in a power greater than me, I have found an inner strength that I was previously unaware of, so have many of my friends. The only difference is attributing the source. So, do what you must…..but don’t put off others, AA works………..end of story
Keep the faith
im have to apologize from the start,because im am in stitches laughing at your aa alternative article,are you interested in helping people with alcohol problems,im a member of aa,why would you put down a fellowship that has saved many a persons life and is trying to help people who have a drink problem or even people who think they have a problem.i would not put down your method of trying to help people in this area,i definitely would not use lies against you and alot of information on statistics that cant be true because surveys cant be taken on aa,firstly you say AA was formed in the 1930 by religious individuals grouping together,im sorry my good friend,it was formed by one drunk sharing with another,which then became a group of drunks staying off drink one day at a time, sharing with another that formed AA,note i havent mentioned religious,the 12 steps you called a formula is yet another lie,the 12 steps are but 12 suggestions,plus they are only to deal with alcohol although other groups have taken them and use them,i ask you why would any other group take them if some good wasnt obvious,next how does a im sure im dealing with someone with a higher education than myself,i havent a thing in education to my name,how do you get an estimate if you dont do a survey or something to that effect which cant be done on AA,another untruth,next in line is addiction,you would not agree for the person that is addicted to totally stay away from what they are addicted to,example would you tell a smoker take a couple in the morning and your cured,or the heroin addict take 3 shots a week and we will make that do you,and then we have in your article you state how could AA be anonymous,when they mention there names,i would say that you know as well as i do that you only state your first name,are you claiming that people are psychic in AA that they automatically know there surname,abit childish of you there i think,then we have the cheap slogans remark,go to any psychologist/psychairtrist/doctor/and ask them about the slogans,i would say you live by some of them yourself,if you cant agree with me that 90 percent of the slogans are used by most people in life you are just clearly telling more lies to promote your article,lets take a few,first things first,is it not right to deal with things that are of importance first than things like washing the car second,simple isnt it,take it easy,you wont get much done or solved with your head in a mess,simple again slow down take it easy,another think,think,think,is it not better taking a wee step back and think before jumping in head first,simple isnt it,i could go on,men and women through the ages have been using these slogans to good effect,you call it cheap,next we have the word powerless,are you saying that a person has power over his addiction,i could go on for hours on that one,AA you say has a view that there is no cure for the disease of alcoholism,yes i said disease,but total abstinence,i can only speak on alcohol,that is not just the view of AA,that view is also supported by the WHO and the AHO,im sure you know who these organisations are,just in caes some readers dont,if this is published in your site,which i dont think it will,WHO is the World Health Organisation and AHO is American Health Organisation,who both now recognise alcoholism as a disease,and finally nobody in AA is compelled to do or believe in anything,there are no rules,if a person wants to become a member of AA it is the person themselves say they are a member when ever they wish,is all they want is a desire to stop drinking and they call themselves a member,AA is not for everyone but AA doesnt tell you that you do yourself,many come and go,many stay,it is not a religious cult as you seem to portray,there is many an atheist and agnostic in AA and are happy being off alcohol,one more thing,and one i would be sure you know very well that all addictions are in and around 5-10% physical addiction and the other 90% or so mental addiction,that would obviously explain why alcohol is mentioned only once in the 12 steps,thank you for letting me have my say,i wouldnt think it will appear on your site,but i hope it does,please if your trying to help people with addictions dont be knocking other people like AA for doing the same work,i can only say from my own experience it saved my life and put smiles back on my kids faces,i tried everything else and found that AA for me,plus i have seen others taken from the hell of alcoholism to living a happy fufilling life,i truly hope that yours works too.i will finish on this, it is the person themselvesthat decide if AA is for them,no one else……bernard c armagh
Hey Frens Recovering Poly Nitesh
Just Finished My treatment and going back to my home town but i m afraid to face the main stream so any of my recovering fellowships would like to help me please leave your message in my facebook user name is nitesh manger ghaley swearly need yours help