Comments on: Happy New Year - and where the hell have you been? http://aa-a-gogo.com/2007/01/07/happy-new-year-and-where-the-hell-have-you-been/ Learn how to survive Alcoholics Anonymous and the Twelve Step program. Using my 16 years of sobriety, this blog will teach you (1) who will benefit from working the 12 steps program and (2, more inportantly) who will get RUINED by working the 12 steps! I will teach you How to succeed in the 12 step Fellowship. Wed, 03 Dec 2008 22:14:37 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.1.3 By: tfunt http://aa-a-gogo.com/2007/01/07/happy-new-year-and-where-the-hell-have-you-been/#comment-1893 tfunt Sun, 28 Oct 2007 18:40:15 +0000 http://aa-a-gogo.com/2007/01/07/happy-new-year-and-where-the-hell-have-you-been/#comment-1893 if you are dissatisfied with aa and in tons of debt, having difficulty with earning, you might find others like you in debtors anonymous. it's very action-oriented. i think the inertia you are talking about is something real and legitimate. there are plenty of people in debtors anonymous here in new york who talk about it as "the grad school" of 12-step programs. i will share one of my difficulties in 12-step rooms. there are tons of food fellowships and the one that seems to work best for me is very small and seems somewhat dominated by two core members. one day the senior member will say something is off-limits, so that's off-limits. all of the sponsees and sponsees of sponsees "hold by" that, as we say in judaism. then, one day, the senior member says it's okay in such-and-such a way, and i'll start seeing the others sweetly nodding their heads and parroting. however, they have long-term abstinence, so perhaps their suspension of disbelief works well for them; i've relapsed twice. i feel that the 12 step programs are really the way to a happy, whole, sane and useful life, but also some of us have some issues that require other help. some 12-step programs encourage you to only attend that one and the other issues take care of themselves. i'm not sure i buy that, otherwise there wouldn't be people gambling with x years of recovery and addicted to prostitutes and obese etc etc, otherwise there wouldn't be so many fellowships! i feel for me that i do have to seek out whatever helps my recovery, and yeah, it can be agonizing and painful and sometimes really lonely! i hate the groupthink sometimes in certain recovery communities...but then again i know i personally have a long way to go...and i know there are people in the rooms that are pretty cool...putting too much faith in people gets one burned! if you are dissatisfied with aa and in tons of debt, having difficulty with earning, you might find others like you in debtors anonymous. it’s very action-oriented. i think the inertia you are talking about is something real and legitimate. there are plenty of people in debtors anonymous here in new york who talk about it as “the grad school” of 12-step programs.

i will share one of my difficulties in 12-step rooms. there are tons of food fellowships and the one that seems to work best for me is very small and seems somewhat dominated by two core members. one day the senior member will say something is off-limits, so that’s off-limits. all of the sponsees and sponsees of sponsees “hold by” that, as we say in judaism. then, one day, the senior member says it’s okay in such-and-such a way, and i’ll start seeing the others sweetly nodding their heads and parroting.

however, they have long-term abstinence, so perhaps their suspension of disbelief works well for them; i’ve relapsed twice.

i feel that the 12 step programs are really the way to a happy, whole, sane and useful life, but also some of us have some issues that require other help. some 12-step programs encourage you to only attend that one and the other issues take care of themselves. i’m not sure i buy that, otherwise there wouldn’t be people gambling with x years of recovery and addicted to prostitutes and obese etc etc, otherwise there wouldn’t be so many fellowships!

i feel for me that i do have to seek out whatever helps my recovery, and yeah, it can be agonizing and painful and sometimes really lonely! i hate the groupthink sometimes in certain recovery communities…but then again i know i personally have a long way to go…and i know there are people in the rooms that are pretty cool…putting too much faith in people gets one burned!

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