There was this guy who was such a mess from alcohol that his doctor told his wife he was doomed to die in the clutches of alcoholism or, at the least, end up in an insane asylum. He overheard this and truly decided to do something about it. It took him a bit over a year and 2 more lapses before he got it. He had been introduced to the Oxford group by now and though he wanted to stay sober he struggled with the religiosity offered. He thought the plan of action was great but couldn't wrap his mind around the God stuff until he had what he described as a spiritual experience.
He began fervently trying to help other alcoholics literally picking drunks out of the gutter and yanking them off their bar stools, taking them home and trying to sober them up using the Oxford Groups approach of religion as the means of making it work. Problem was he was unable to get the drunks to try. He decided to go back and talk to his doctor. The doc took some time to think about it and began to share his 2 fold theory of alcoholism being an allergy of the body and an obsession of the mind. The doc told the guy that he was trying to offer the solution to the problem before they even knew what the problem really was.
He was out of town on a business trip. The deal he was trying to put together fell through and, feeling despondent, depressed and abandoned was standing in the lobby of his hotel staring at the bar. He was thinking about that drink but changed his mind and decided to try to talk to another alcoholic. He started calling around trying to find one until he was finally given a name. The name happened to be of a prominent Dr. who had among other things a horrible drinking problem. The Dr., at first, didn't want to talk to the guy but he had someone in his life that nagged him until he agreed to 15 minutes with the guy.
When they met the Dr. told the man he was already in the Oxford group. He admitted that it didn't work for him. He knew all about the God stuff and sin etc. but it did no good. The man started to share with the Dr. about the allergy and mental obsession. How the alcoholic gives in to the mental obsession, gives in, and that first drink kicks off the allergy. At one point the Doctor told the guy that he had never seen it put this way. That it had always been a question of morals. Of the guilt and shame of the sin that plagued him. Once the Doc. understood the Problem he was able to grasp the solution and with but one slip the Doc. was able to get and stay sober until his death.
The man... Bill W.
The Hospital doc...Dr. Silkworth
The prominent Dr. Dr. Bob
All this to say I think some in AA have reverted to what got in the way of Bill W. getting his message across in the beginning. We are so busy trying to hammer home the solution we aren't explaining the problem. We are so caught up in
talking about ourselves and where we are TODAY we forget we are
talking to people who have no clue as to how we got there. He found that what attracted people to AA in the beginning was offering the idea that there were those out there that understood the problem and didn't judge or demand that people do things the exactly the same way they did. The problem itself was a addressed until the prospect fully understood THEN the solution, through the Steps was offered. This allowed each individual to formulate their idea of spirituality for themselves.
This presentation Courtesy of (a paraphrased and shortened) The History of AA as presented by Joe and Charlie.
Posted on 07/03/09, 01:07 pm
To long? 
