Living Sober

It isn't AA.

"After we spent a few months practicing these new, sober habits or ways of acting and thinking, they became almost second nature to most of us, as drinking used to be. Not drinking has become natural and easy not a long, dreary struggle."

That passage implies the steps and AA philosophy removed the discomfort of withdrawal, when, in fact, it was just the process of withdrawal itself. Any changes, both mental and physical, were a direct result of stopping personal poisoning, nothing to do with voodoo practices (not principles...lol).

They would have stopped anyway without it.

That's why they stress this 90 in 90 idea. In effect, you've got 90 days to convert someone. A normal, rational person who didn't have any change in physical feeling would see through the billshit pretty quickly. The improvement in well being and health after quitting drinking is rapid and dramatic to the sufferer. All the faithful have to do is create a mental link between this improved feeling and the cult mumbo-jumbo and that's it - clock up another sale.

Addition : Happy now Marietta? OCD's on overdrive tonight...lol

It is crap and out of date apart from the appendix which talks about steptards who advise members not to take their medication.

Its kind of a similar argument to the violence gene. They think they've isolated a gene mutation that CAN make someone more likely to have a predisposition to violence. Actually, I think it may be the same gene as the "alcohol" gene, and may have to do with impulse control (if I remember correctly). However, they are careful to say CAN LEAD TO A PREDISPOSITION, NOT "will cause."

I even saw a Law and Order: SVU episode about this, where the defense tried to argue that a rape/murder was not the defendants fault because he had this gene. Its scary what legal precedents could be set if this is taken seriously. Free will trumps the genes, it really does. That is why you see kids with junkie moms rise above and become successful. It is kind of the same as saying alcoholism is a disease. It just gives people an excuse not to blame themselves.

I may not be 100% sober, but I blame NO ONE but myself for my actions while smoking weed, while being sober, back when I was on the needle. Blaming a disease would be nice, because then I could convince myself it wasn't my fault, but I know anything fucked up I did while fucked up IS/WAS MY FAULT.

It pisses me off when people don't want to take personal responsibility for their actions, or worse, when someone blames not their disease, but someone else for "getting them started on [insert drug here]." I think this desire to always pass the buck is a big problem in our society today.

Certain people on OPF (who shall remain nameless) like to bring my age into the argument, implying that I am too young to have a valid opinion. What shocks me about that is that I may be 22, but at least I understand the concept of personal responsibility. In the roomz (and some AAs on this board), I would see so many older people blame their bad actions on their "disease" or console people by saying "It wasn't your fault, you did it because of your disease." The worst is that a lot of these sober folks continue to do shitty things, but hey, at least they are sober! LOL

I guess that's another one of my "things about pot." The shitty things I've heard people in the roomz say they've done IN SOBRIETY makes me wonder how they could possibly think it is okay to judge people on the marijuana maintenance program that aren't fucking swindlers and thieves. So what if you manage to stop drinking/drugging?? What matters is WHAT YOU DO IN YOUR LIFE. Personally, I have much more respect for drug users that don't lie and steal than I do for people who act a fool, think its okay because at least they are sober, and judge potheads as "druggies" as they light up their 15th cigarette of the day and guzzle 2 monsters at 10 pm.

My "thing about pot" probably has to do with my age and with whom I associated in NA. This topic probably came up a lot more in my age group at NA than it did at an AA meeting with people in the 40-70 year old range. That is why I bring it up a lot, it is one of the things I found craziest about the whole nutty program.

I feel so empowered knowing that it is all in my hands. Cosmic forces can't make me relapse. Smoking weed cant make me relapse. Not having "the willingness" can't make me relapse. The only thing that can make me relapse is deciding to pick up the needle.

"I believed there was something different about the alcoholic mind (brain) before I ever knew anything about pleasure centers.”

Clara the alcoholic definitely reacts to alcohol differently then most.