self importance is a sneakie commodity that replaces experience followed thru with a parrot speaking fluently (others experience In LivIng ColOr the tv show haha )...here Zach...a no fault song (not being a a smart alec K) that may help to explain visually and in words spoken ....noooooooooooooooooooooda the human dilemna...Role playing wiff out a therapist in the room to mOderate :))) Popcorn and peanuts anyone, nooooooooooooooo f.....kin. cheetoooooooooooooo's lol oh and its snot Halloween yet put away your costumes Y'all

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wneCa_yIuzg

one moore ...siillie is as sillie does ...Lieutenant Dan...run spot runnnnnnnnnnnnn

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=He82NBjJqf8

There is no cure for alcoholism. If there were, alcoholics could, after a time, return to normal driniking. This has never happened.
There is treatment. The best results according to all studies is Alcoholics Anonymous. No 30 day rehab is going to stop people from relapsing after they leave. A lot of money is made off of that false dream.
Hard thing to accept, but at least there is treatment. And that is to stop drinking altogether. Not even one drink. As they say in AA, "its the first drink that gets you drunk' (meaning: once an alcoholic starts drinking he/she cannot stop. Test it sometime. Test it many times.

You may not like some aspects of AA, but there is enough wiggle room to be in the program and to get it.

Anyone who proclaims they can cure you is just looking to get your money.

newpoathways... Can you please provide evidence that AA is the best way to stop drinking?

I have no desire to drink. To me that is normal. Drinking is not normal. I am not diseased or ill. I don't think of alcoholism as a disease, but if I did, I would have to say I am cured.

AA has not been proven to be a more successful means of getting sober than CBT or quitting on your own.

Just take into account how many people have sobered up for the last 4 yrs and stayed that way and been able to contrbute to this board in a meaningful way.

Not to mention those of us here who have been here for 6 yrs and up.

I know I don't have to mention the main source of sobriety on this board.

AA may not be the only way to stop but look around here. Nobody here has to stop drinking using AA but AA doesn't deserve to be bashed here either. Why try to chase people away from a program that has worked for millions?

I am certainly not bashing AA. But saying it is more effective when it isn't bashes other means of getting sober by implying they aren't as good.

Most people who get sober on their own and with methods like SMART don't hang out in recovery communities including this board. They get sober and move on. So that is not on indication of success.

AA is fine -- and if it works for you even better. And for people trying to get sober it is definitely worth checking out. But that doesn't make it a better solution than others that are out there.

I love discussion like this. No I did not watch the video. Just read the shares. On page xxi forward to the second edition is states "Upon therapy for the alcoholic himself we surely have not monopoly. The BB also addresses the possibility of scientist developing a cure. If I understand this statement it is talking about the drinking aspect of alcoholism. I discovered really quick my THINKING was the major part of my dis-ease.

When I read the BB today it is a billion plus people telling me how to live life on life's terms sober(sound mind with sound thinking). I see it this way given the 1st 365 pages has not be changed in over 75 years. In the Dr's Opinion it states I have a disease of the mind, body and soul. In How it Work it call alcoholism cunning, baffling and powerful. I like others have added patient. I had a sponsor tell me within my first year of recovery "at some point we had stop blaming our disease. And, take responsibility for our actions. My dishes are not washed because I do want to wash them. Hate housework. I have recovered from my drink problem. But my behavior is still a work in progress.

None of this is to say a person is wrong use the naltrexone. However since coming to recovery it is my opinion if a drink a near-beer it is because I WANTED to get near a beer. I had knee surgery last year. I can assure I took pain meds. I did not take the Oxy the doctor wanted me to take. I made the decision based on what I had heard about this medication.

The vital concept for this discussion is RIGOROUS HONESTY. I MUST look at this each and every day. What is my motives is the question I ask. The answer has to come from me. Not my husband, daughter, sponsor or minister but from me. They may help guide me to the true. It is me who must take action on the fact.

My desire to be of maximum service to others, my relationship with God and the blessing I have received are my driving force for not drinking today. Even though the 12 step process is not the only way. It has proven to be the best way for ME!!!.
God be with. Have a wonderful day. Remember "principles before personalities.

There are at least 4 regular posters here that do not or no longer use AA. That's quite a few considering that AA is the societal go to dumping ground for addictive, alcoholic drinkers that everyone knows about and is touted by the rehab industry and court system.

It is my opinion that no program or method is more effective or of any use until a person is ready. In essence, any method one selects to help them get and stay sober may very well be inter-changeable according to personal preference, circumstances, and temperament. Further, one can shift amongst various methods at different points in life according to need.

For example, AA is long on teaching one acceptance, but subjugates self. While SMART, for example is all about self empowerment, but is clinical and lacks camaraderie. Doing it on one's own works in more cases than we care to admit, but is more effective with those that have strong social connections and support. Mental health therapy and medications work well too. Finally, all can be used in any combination very well.

BTW Bill Wilson if he were alive today may very well be touting the use of naltrexone as he did LSD in his day...

If it works, great. If it doesn't, process of elimination, great. Move on.
I would never leave a meeting or program or cure or path over a semantic argument.

Yah!! I guess, but long term is whether or not You have become emotionally honest enough to head off your intellect at the pass!! That's what I've noticed...self aint the problem...its who that self has become.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JAk_UZ7xF8

Alcoholism is a disease ... check NIH, Mayo Clinic, anywhere.
Also, you cannot go by the people that post here and generalize to what makes people stay sober ... to small a number of people.

To each his own. Whatever it is, it is generally understood that if you are a true alcoholic, you need outside help as the disease is a difficult one with no cure, but control.

To each his own opinion, of course.

Cure. Am I cured? I'm not drinking, I no longer have hangovers, cravings, or any of the physical or psychological issues associated with active alcoholism. I havent had a drink in over 3.5 years. But am I "cured?" Nope. I can never drink a glass of wine like a "normal" drinker. That door is shut. I'm recovered, and to stay recovered, I have to do certain things that keep me in that state. I do them as I like the effects. I enjoy meetings, prayer, meditation, just as I enjoy yoga, running, riding my horse. I feel good when I do these things.
So cure? No. Recovered and wonderful life? Yes.
AA works for me. Does it work for all? Obviously not. But to each their own.