›› Alcoholics Anonymous
I first went to an
Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step meeting 2 months ago. I was pretty beaten
down by that point, having gone on a 3 month continuous bender after my
wife left me, and was ready to settle down a little and start to piece
my life back together. Well, my Alcoholics Anonymous meeting
was miraculous – just a couple of months and I'm cured,
honest. At alcoholics meetings, they will tell you that this is a
lifetime addiction and that you are always a “recovering
alcoholic.” I know. I've been through the Alcoholics
Anonymous 12 step program at least a couple of times already, which
almost makes me an expert on it. I think that Alcoholics Anonymous
really does do a lot to help people – I mean they cured me
– but this part of their philosophy is, if you will pardon
the expression, a bunch of hokum.
I simply do not need to spend the rest of my life going to Alcoholics
Anonymous meetings, and I am much too interesting to never have a
single drink again. I know people who do not drink. They are boring,
very boring. I am no teetotaler to spend my life away from whiskey. I
love a drink, and thanks to two solid months of Alcoholics Anonymous
meetings, I think that I could handle one right now. But my Alcoholics
Anonymous support group made me promised them that I would at least
wait another month before making what they described as “the
biggest mistake of my life.” I know that they are only doing
what they think is the right thing for me, but gee whiz. These people
take themselves just a little bit too seriously if you ask me. I mean,
won't I know better than anyone else, even better than Alcoholics
Anonymous, when I am ready to have another drink and when I am not. I
mean, it was me who came willingly to the meeting in the first place
after all.
My advice is, if you are going to Alcoholics Anonymous, do not tell
them when you have reached the point that I have reached –
the point where you are ready to start drinking responsibly. They are
simply trained not to believe you. It is almost like brainwashing in a
way. For many people, the Alcoholics Anonymous group ideal of never
drinking again might work, but for me it is not necessary.
››
A Healthy Dose of Good Advice
