Addiction in America

[€uroMeinke]

Originally Posted by innerSpaceman

Personally, I think the more interesting discussion is not an argument about whether AA is effective or religious ... but rather why it is effective (to whatever degree it is). Why is acceptance of a power beyond yourself useful to combat addiction and relapse.

This is all my opinion as someone on the periphery of the program, but I think what makes that useful is the acknowledgment that you, the alcoholic, are not in control of the things you think you are. That enables you to focus on what you can control - getting to a meeting (i.e. doing something other than drinking). A lot of people (and not just alcoholics) mess themselves up projecting far in the future worrying about things they have very little control over. In that respect the od thing could be seen as a thought experiment to keep you in the now, and keep you focused on recovery.

I think there are a lot of great tools that can be learned from AA (again, not just for alcoholics or other addictions). Perhaps it's all sympathetic magic - stuff people could do without AA - but it seems enough people lack those tools that they are a revelation to many who enter the program.