Addiction in America

[Chernabog]

Originally Posted by Ponine

I know that I am coming into the party very late, but since I dont post on the weekends, I felt like I ditched the thread.

I have to say that I know a great many people feel they owe their lives or their sanity to AA.
Good for you, I am glad it worked for you.
If you started going to church after your recovery, again, I am pleased.

I however, have to admit that I'm with Alex. To me, its bs. I attended AA meetings with a friend, and attended NAnon, and S-anon meetings after that.

Out of curiosity, did you work the steps (I mean all 12). Did you get a sponsor? Write out your 4th step? Make amends? Going to meetings is great and all, but it is only one part of the recovery picture. I don't mean that as an attack or anything, it's just that a LOT of people think it is BS initially (including yours truly). But seeing that it HAS worked for so many people allowed me to keep an open mind and to reserve judgment until actually doing the ENTIRE program. ("Half-measures availed us nothing.") I mean, one does not go to to a 12-step program for fun, there has to have been some behaviour that made you seek it out.... are you still exhibiting that behaviour? (Again, I'm just curious). If there wasn't any negative behaviour to begin with then maybe you didn't belong in there to begin with.

Of course it is more amorphous when it refers to one's relationship issues with people (in the Al-Anon program) as opposed to ones relationship issues with a drug. However, there is something to be said about letting go of the things which you cannot control, i.e. other people. Letting someone else's psychological or physical state suck you down with them is not healthy (that's my understanding of what Al-Anon tries to help).

What I'm hearing though is that it didn't work FOR YOU (if you indeed needed it to begin with.)

But thankfully you are still keeping an open mind and not calling it a fraud, as Alex has done. (People in the program who are off drugs for a great many years as a result of working ALL the steps are just delusional? Oh dear lord no, they've been brainwashed and swindled into being productive members of society!)

To switch gears tho about the general topic - meth use is an epidemic right now in the gay community. That drug in particular, when you're on it, causes you to have an incredible (false) sense of security, power and energy that causes people to stop going to work, stop eating, stop sleeping, stop using condoms, stop being selective about their sexual partners, etc. etc. It is mentally and physically addicting and will turn you into a skeleton (literally and figuratively). Oh, and that's before the hallucinations and schizophrenic paranoia kicks in. (I am of the ilk that CERTAIN drugs should be legalized, i.e. pot, but certain other ones like meth and various Rx are SO incredibly physically addicting that they should not be just open for anyone. It would be like selling rat poison for human consumption, and for no other reason).

I think it was one of the former mayors of West Hollywood that had commented on how horrific it was that the gay community had survived the beatings and public revulsion/ridicule and the AIDS epidemic only to pop out the other end a community of meth addicts. Very sad indeed.