In Alcoholics Anonymous, very deadly mind games are often played with the prospects for Alcoholics Anonymous that they are constantly searching for in their Hospital and Institutions (H&I) and Corrections committees. Some prospects are voluntary and others are court ordered (mandated) to AA in an attempt to coerce them into joining the fellowship.
Submitted by Persephone In Exile on Wed, 11/16/2011 - 22:08
What struck me from day one of my entry into recovery culture were the dualities in almost everything discussed. These people are like shadowboxing for eternity, you never know which tactic they'll switch to next except that every one will include how wrong you were in whatever is being discussed. Of course, their own arguments are always contradicted by their own arguments, and if you point this out then get ready for the personal insults to start flying, usually with heaps of condescension.
so fresh out of rehab.. was told to stay sober must do 90 in 90 , actually did 270 in 90, got a sponsor. was constantly told i must do steps, I had no problem in the beginning, I figured if that's what it took I was in. Quickly realized many people who had done the steps were constantly relapsing . When I started questioning why the steps weren't working keeping people sober was told they hadn't been honest on their fourth and fifth step. A friend of mine at this point committed suicide and instead of grieving all i heard was he never finished his fourth step.
Submitted by TruthBehindAA on Sat, 11/12/2011 - 06:12
There's something that I've wondered about for some time. We all know there is a significant religious element to AA. Now I've been to quite a few meetings in the past, however, they have all been in Canada. I've been to meetings all over Ontario (Canada's largest province) as well as in Alberta. In every single case the Lord's Prayer was recited at the meeting (a very Christian practice). Now, AA has the most popularity in North America and other "western" countries, so presumably this is the predominant "prayer" at most AA meetings.
Sorry - I'm English - learnt my American from the Simpsons. 6 Months old and look how vibrant it is. Even with Marietta. Keep it up guys - were going to win.
It's a sign that we are winning that Marietta has now made more entries on here than she has on the a-SS site since she joined in 2007
So I was at a meeting this afternoon and it was actually pretty cool for a change. There is this one black dude in his 30s who was released from prison about a year ago. He's taking some courses at a local community college and is currently working on a paper about spirituality. The topic of the meeting was on having a spiritual awakening. Anyway, every time he's at meetings he has these school books with him and he is so very proud and enthusiastic about his studies. He always comes straight from the library directly across the street.
Submitted by marietta davis on Wed, 11/09/2011 - 12:20
My dear Brett,
I will be leaving Thursday morning for the wilds of the great Northwest and will be incommunicado for a few days. I leave behind all of my empty posting space to you, so that you may fill it with your downhome wisdom and charm. Please note that I am traveling north on a mission to gather what is known as filthy lucre through my humble efforts to provide for my contracted employer; I risk revealing this, knowing that you or others might jump in with the supposition "pimp", but I assure you this is not the case :)
When determining the value of Spiritual programs, theologians, Spiritual advisers, religious organizations and business consultants have come up with a way to calculate the value added to society by Spiritual Groups called Spiritual Capital:
I think it was here on OPF but recently someone posted a desire to be involved in a study about opiod dependence.
I just came across this article this morning, and they have studied prescription pain killer addicts. Participants were treated for free with Buprenorphine and counseling.
This study is already complete but according to the article they indicate the need to do more. If you want to be a part of a long term study (free treatment perhaps), I'd contact them:
grampahaas recently posted about witnessing a young woman getting taken advantage of AA. In response to that I want to share an "article" I just wrote on the same topic:
(much of the formatting was removed in the copy/past transfer)
The 13th Step and Related Crime in Alcoholics Anonymous
Submitted by TruthBehindAA on Sun, 11/06/2011 - 07:50
My first exposure to AA was through a friend when I was in my early 20's. Even at this age I was
absolutely an alcoholic. As is the case with many people, both within and outside of AA, I didn't stay
quit very long. Looking back, I simply wasn't ready to quit at this point. Anyways, I was in and out
for a number of years and had a couple of descent stints of being totally sober. During the last of
these periods of sobriety and for several years prior I was very involved in AA, although I never liked
Submitted by marietta davis on Sat, 11/05/2011 - 22:33
First of all, let it be known that this is my blog. I invite all who participate to keep an open mind, but I strongly suggest that those persons not shit in my blog. Thank you in advance.
Scientists have discovered an interesting off-label use for the abortion drug mifepristone. Apparently it "might prove effective in preventing stress-induced relapse in recovering male alcoholics".
I've been hearing a bit of talk at meetings lately about Clancy getting up in age. I'm wondering whether any one guru has been selected to take his place, or whether several different gurus will gain control of various factions. If so, is there a possibility of these factions "going to war" with one another, thereby causing a great rift in the overall AA collective? Could his death lead to a significant weakening of the Collective itself? Do the corporate offices in NYC have a plan in place to deal with this contingency?
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