I didn't mean to imply that AA makes money off their 12 Step program. But the philosophy of AA is to help people quit being dependent on alcohol. It creeps me out that some people are so spiritually deprived that they receive spiritual nourishment from the rituals, from "I'm Steve, and I'm an alcoholic. Hi, Steve!" to the hand-holding thing they say, something about "keep doing it because it works!"
What's that all about? I dunno.
I have one family member who started AA but became a Buddhist instead, and meditates. It seems to work for him. Probably in part for the reason you mention, small town, doesn't want everybody to know he's going to AA.
Another family member does AA religiously, and I do mean religiously, but substituted smoking for drinking, was just as obsessive about smoking as he was about drinking, and was recently diagnosed with cancer. He probably would have benefited more from drugs, like anti-depressants and whatever they give for OCD (obsessive compulsive disorder). He's the only person I ever actually knew who would go on benders, stop in a bar to get a drink and wake up three days later in a strange bed with a strange woman in a strange town three states over from where he started.
Very different reaction to alcohol from Lane3's dad, who drinks watered down beer all day long, never goes off on a toot, never gets drunk enough for DUI.
My dad's third wife came from a family that drank like everybody did in the 1950's, cocktail hour after work, and stay buzzed all evening. Never a DUI, never any bad consequences whatsoever.
From my personal observation, people respond to alcohol in different ways, just as they respond to almost anything. There's genetic differences, physiological differences, personal differences.
For example, I smoke cigarettes occasionally, like one, two or three one day, and none the next. How many people do you know who can do that? Well, there's my husband, he smokes from one to five cigarettes most days. Cigarette addicts don't believe this is possible, nor do militant anti-smokers.
But anyway, this is what I meant about the "fetishization" of 12 step programs.
From Wikipedia:
An incomplete list of 12-Step-Groups:
* ACA - Adult Children of Alcoholics [1]
* ADD-Anonymous - for people suffering from ADD [2]
* Al-Anon/Alateen
* AAA - All Addictions Anonymous [3]
* Anti-Nutrient*Addicts Anonymous [4]
* BA - Borderliners Anonymous [5]
* CA - Cocaine Anonymous
* CDA - Chemically Dependent Anonymous [6]
* CEA - Compulsive Eaters Anonymous [7]
* CLA - Clutterers Anonymous [8]
* CMA - Crystal Meth Anonymous
* CoDA - Codependents Anonymous
* COSLAA - Codependents of Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous [9]
* COSA - Codependents of Sex Addicts [10]
* DRA - Dual Recovery Anonymous [11]
* DA - Debtors Anonymous
* DA - Depressed Anonymous [12]
* DRA - Dual Recovery Anonymous [13]
* EA - Emotions Anonymous
* EAA - Eating Addictions Anonymous
* FA - Families Anonymous [14]
* FA - Food Addicts in Recovery Anonymous [15]
* GA - Gamblers Anonymous
* GamAnon - family groups of gamblers
* GSA - GreySheeters Anonymous
* I.S.A. - Incest Survivors Anonymous [16]
* MA - Marijuana Anonymous
* MA - Methadone Anonymous [17]
* NA - Narcotics Anonymous
* Nar-Anon - family groups of addicts
* NicA - Nicotine Addicts Anonymous [18]
* OA - Overeaters Anonymous
* OLGA / OLG-Anon - OnLine Gamers Anonymous [19]
* PIR - Pagans In Recovery
* RCA - Recovering Couples Anonymous
* RSA - Rape Survivors Anonymous [20]
* SA - Sexaholics Anonymous
* SAA - Sex Addicts Anonymous
* S-Anon - family groups of sex-addicts
* SCA - Sexual Compulsives Anonymous
* SIA - Survivors of Incest Anonymous [21]
* SLAA - Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous
* SA - Spenders Anonymous [22]
* SPA - Social Phobics Anonymous [23]
* SRAA - Sexual Ritual Abuse Anonymous
* STA - Self-Therapy Anonymous [24] (has 12 steps but doesn't use similar wording)
* WA - Workaholics Anonymous [25]
en.wikipedia.org |
