The new science of addiction makes 12-step programmes seem like folk medicine. Is the concept of a higher power obsolete?
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Folk medicine or not, it works for a bunch of people and has turned around their lives. I have nothing but respect for 12 step programs.
I did not like that article.
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I tried the local govt programs to sober up long before I tried AA. Didnāt work. Treatment from my doctor didnāt work. AA wasnāt working at first until my sponsor suggested I try praying. Told him I personally thought it was stupid. He convinced me I had nothing to lose and everything to gain even if it did leave me feeling a bit silly. So I tried it. Been sober ever since (22+ years). And, yeah, I still pray, but what counts as a prayer for me would seem pretty damn disrespectful to your average Christian (which also suits me just fine).
Donāt know how it works and donāt care to know how it works, just glad that it does. No interest in looking this particular gift horse in the mouth.
My 2 cents.
10-96
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I can understand people being a bit put off by the āhigher powerā part of AA, or anything like thatā¦ But I donāt think any science will completely obliterate the need/ feeling/ effectiveness of being around other supportive people and having that human connection and community healing.
You just canāt take the human factor out of a human condition.
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I gave AA a try for a while, well really it was being pushed on me by a dual diagnosis program that pushed it on all itās clients, but I gave it a try and even spoke at a few meetings. Never did the steps though or got a sponsor. My main gripe with AA was that while I could relate a lot to the speakers I didnāt relate to a lot of the jargon youād hear so much of. Now that I think about it, what really irked me was the emphasis on how you are not unique, that thinking of yourself as unique was a negative thing in AA.
I myself know I am unique, Iāve always been unique, and so is the road to recovery from anything, it is unique to each individual. As for the higher power thing, that didnāt bother me too much, not that I really have a higher power I just tend to be accepting of peopleās spirituality and itās general concept. AA will probably never change. It works for a lot of people but that doesnāt mean there shouldnāt be or are not already alternatives.
I donāt believe in 12 step programs. For me they seem for people who want a regiment and to be controlled and told what to do. I donāt take steps, I take leapsā¦LOLā¦ in other words when I quit drugs and alcohol I lept right into it and jumped past all the steps on the stairs they builtā¦I still arrived at the topā¦ and it was completely with the help of YESHUA, the so called higher powerā¦ I think the AA and 12 step higher power is so generic it is weakened to the point people are not really relying on the higher power very much, but end up relying on the program and attendence, which have led some to believe and proclaim such programs to be cultsā¦
My penny for thoughts 
Iām no expert, Iāve only been to a few AA and NA meetings in support of friends, but I think the āhigher powerā is a strong concept. When you admit you are powerless over a substance you need help. Feeling attached to a āhigher powerā no matter what that may be, your God, country, community, friends or family, the collective AA membership, or even an ideal self, can give you the strength to go on when youād normally fall.
The 12 step programs are full of wisdom. The teachings they provide can help everyone, particularly people with mental illness. Iāve talked at great length with my former peer specialist. He is a wise man and Iāve learned to appreciate and use some of the wisdom from AA. Itās good stuff.
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Most people need to replace one addiction with another. Or, more precisely, a harmful (destructive) habit with a harmless (constructive) habit. You can take the booze away from a newcomer, but they are still in the thrall of all of their bad habits (like going to watering holes to socialize and hanging out with unhealthy friends). Keeping them busy going to meetings, sharing, and meeting people in a more constructive fashion is a great way to rip out the old messy wiring and re-wire their personality more positively. Thatās why you get us crusty old timers pushing newcomers to go to so many meetings at first. Idle hands are not only the Devilās playground, but they will reach for the nearest drink. Best to keep them busy.
Iām not going to as many meetings as I could be now that Iām over two decades sober. Iāve got a family at home that needs me these days and this is where Iām supposed to be. Sobered up so I would be useful here. In not that many years my kid will be out on her own and no longer need me so much. AA will still be there, and Iāll make sure I get back to meetings. If not for myself, then to make sure there is someone there for the next poor bugger who stumbles in. After all, there was someone there for me and I have a responsibility to pay that forward.
10-96
I had a year and a half of sobriety in the AA program thirty years ago. Iāve always had a hard time believing that there is a higher power who cares about my life. I like some of the AA aphorisms, though. My favorite one is - āBeing right all the time nearly killed me.ā One thing that has greatly affected my alcoholism - when they gave me the shot of haldol decoate it totally changed my body chemistry in regard to alcoholism. I used to drink over thirty beers in a day, go for seven or eight days, and then have a serious hangover. Now the most I can drink is 12 or 13. In that sense, haldol decoate saved my life. The drinking is still bad, and Iām sure it causes damage, but I donāt go into a blackout and do crazy things when I drink. Haldol pills didnāt do this for me. It was the shot.
I suppose that aspect is what motivates meetingsā¦just would never work for me. However, keeping myself busy with other things was and is definitely a factor. I separated from my drinking and drugging friends when i quit, started associating with a whole new crowd that was pretty strait, some church, native american activities, writing, and doing lots of work in natureā¦ that was my āmeetingā and still is - minus the church and a large number of people. however i do try and do positive things on the internet so in a way that is a form of association too.
meetings would be too regimented and just the fact there are bunch of people who used to drink or use and most still consider themselves to have a disease and be alcoholics is not conducive to my sobriety at all. I am not an alcoholic and was never diagnosed as suchā¦occasional binger, yesā¦ I am best to be away from where it is not talked about and people are not slaming down my throat I have a problem when I donāt, and I certainly donāt need stepsā¦like i said, I just lept into it and the life change.
11/11
Whatever you want to call it, disease, spiritual malady, or just being an @$$h0l3, I still have it. I find that in certain social situations where others are drinking, I still want to drink. What has saved me is that my habits have changed enough that I donāt. That, and the higher power thing that I still donāt grok, but wonāt mess with since I like where I am now.
In any case, AA is certainly not for everyone and not the only way to quit drinking. I am happy for anyone who is able to get their boozing under control or turned off completely by whatever means that worked for them. Iām just glad thereās a program like AA available for those who want it and need it.
10-96
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I drunk at least 8-12 beers for everyday for about a year. Then I stopped using Antabuse, if you know what it is. Psych nurses are telling me to attend an AA meeting, but I really dont think it is necessarry. maybe Im wrong though, since I easily revert back to old habits when Im of the medication.
I didnāt like the article either.
Jayster