I’ll never forget the disappointment I felt the day I found out that Alcoholics Anonymous is a christian group. The fact that one of the few institutions that exists independently to help people to get free of the crippling addiction to alcohol does so by shoving god down your throat is such an amazing let down. I had a friend who was a terrible alcoholic and also an atheist and the trouble he had finding organizations the could help him was so devastating. In the end the alcoholism eventually led to his death and I often wonder if he could have been saved if there had been a more robust network of non-religious substance abuse groups.
In my experience AA tries to exchange ones addiction to alcohol to an addiction to religion. I’ve noted the most feverously religious people I know became that way after AA. Religion preys on the most susceptible.
Also switches out alcohol for sweets. I’ve been to a couple meetings and they always had cookies, cupcakes, and other sugar replacements because they aren’t drinking anymore.
They also only talk about alcohol and the times they used to drink. It makes me want to drink more. I need a distraction from the topic of drinking, not to be reminded of it.
The fact that one of the few institutions that exists independently to help people to get free of the crippling addiction to alcohol does so by shoving god down your throat is such an amazing let down.
Dunno if it helps at all, but the success rate for people who go through AA is the same rate as people who do it by themselves.
Well, there’s different levels of christianity at different chapters. I found a chapter that was mostly atheists and would only refer to a “higher power” and even then was like “look really it just means you can’t just think about what you want, because you want to get drunk and it’s killing you.”.
So, you have to think about something greater than whatever itch you have in the moment, if you want to live.
I’m not going to downvote you. Because I think it’s great that you found group that was helpful and effective. So a sincere congratulations to you. But waiting around hoping for a Christian group that is not too overly Christian is like waiting for a New York City taxicab to show up in Philadelphia.
That’s ridiculous, there are tons of online chapters, yea I tried three of them and they were all religious crap, but the fourth one was good. But again, it’s online, it’s as easy as clicking the next link in your search results.
I’m surprised there isn’t some NHS thing. They have support groups for dieting so I would have thought there would have been one for alcoholism given how much damage it does to people and how much it must cost the NHS every year.
I’ll never forget the disappointment I felt the day I found out that Alcoholics Anonymous is a christian group. The fact that one of the few institutions that exists independently to help people to get free of the crippling addiction to alcohol does so by shoving god down your throat is such an amazing let down. I had a friend who was a terrible alcoholic and also an atheist and the trouble he had finding organizations the could help him was so devastating. In the end the alcoholism eventually led to his death and I often wonder if he could have been saved if there had been a more robust network of non-religious substance abuse groups.
In my experience AA tries to exchange ones addiction to alcohol to an addiction to religion. I’ve noted the most feverously religious people I know became that way after AA. Religion preys on the most susceptible.
Also switches out alcohol for sweets. I’ve been to a couple meetings and they always had cookies, cupcakes, and other sugar replacements because they aren’t drinking anymore.
They also only talk about alcohol and the times they used to drink. It makes me want to drink more. I need a distraction from the topic of drinking, not to be reminded of it.
Dunno if it helps at all, but the success rate for people who go through AA is the same rate as people who do it by themselves.
A reminder that trying to stop drinking alone can kill you in some cases.
I’ve long complained that Christians push the queer community to the bottle then sell us their god as the solution.
As a queer malfunctioning alcoholic, they can keep their God.
Well, there’s different levels of christianity at different chapters. I found a chapter that was mostly atheists and would only refer to a “higher power” and even then was like “look really it just means you can’t just think about what you want, because you want to get drunk and it’s killing you.”.
So, you have to think about something greater than whatever itch you have in the moment, if you want to live.
I’m not going to downvote you. Because I think it’s great that you found group that was helpful and effective. So a sincere congratulations to you. But waiting around hoping for a Christian group that is not too overly Christian is like waiting for a New York City taxicab to show up in Philadelphia.
That’s ridiculous, there are tons of online chapters, yea I tried three of them and they were all religious crap, but the fourth one was good. But again, it’s online, it’s as easy as clicking the next link in your search results.
https://smartrecovery.org/
Sorry for the loss of your friend.
Thank you.
I’m surprised there isn’t some NHS thing. They have support groups for dieting so I would have thought there would have been one for alcoholism given how much damage it does to people and how much it must cost the NHS every year.
The NHS does have things, but not everyone lives in Britain.