Quote From: prschuster
Hello Indian, your reply to my last post was in defense of the disease model. Now you are recommending a "spiritual program" for this "biogenetic disease of the mind, body & spirit". This is tantamount to faith healing. It's the type of thing I'd expect from Benny Hinn or Pat Robertson. How mainstream is that view? BTW, I do not buy the assertion that AA/NA is the best method. There is too much contention about the methodology used in the studies that have been done, and my own observations & experiences tell me that the 12-step program has an outcome no better than other approaches. It's a revolving door in every sense of the word. I say, let each person look at all the options and decide which one works best for them.
First, I totally agree with your last sentence. I'm the last person to force a program on to someone, and believe it or not, I had some problems working the steps. For me, the value was in the fellowship aspects of the program, and also watching others work the steps and watch how they literally turned their lives around. It may sound strange, but that's what worked for me -- and my higher power was the group.
However...when an addict or alcoholic decides to try something other than AA, what they need to be careful about is evaluating the person they're listening to. I remember about a year ago there was someone on these boards who was convinced that it was a matter of hitting your bottom and then making a commitment to yourself to stop. She started talking to someone who was still drinking and she did sound knowledeable. It suddenly dawned on me she had never indicated how long she had been "sober". I asked and it turned out to be 3 weeks.
That's the only problem with going outside AA. There's a lot of misinformation out there right now, including people who claim to be alcoholics who aren't or weren't. Not every heavy drinker who's given it up or drinks rarely is/was an alcoholic! And that's the issue, because a practicing alcoholic without experience in this is going to listen to the message he wants to hear, not the one he needs to hear.
With that one caveat, though, I fully agree that people should find their own path.
PS - On calling me Benny Hinn (LOL) the treatment for alcoholism is not AA. It's abstinence from alcohol. The 12 step program was developed because abstinence doesn't come naturally to someone chemically dependent on alcohol, and that's something I can't explain to a non-alcoholic.
