Oh I know. They push religion quite a bit, which isn't everyone's cup of tea either. That guy came out catholic afterward. If you don't want to do that, therapy is fine too, but I think the most important thing is to surround yourself with positive people.
Let me preface this by saying IN MY EXPERIENCE ...
Ya right.... AA "pushes" religion...
Actually, AA suggests that members get a "higher power"... whatever that is... for many AAs it's the group, for others it's Spiritualism in various forms, for some it's a Religion,for one I know it's his damned Harley... doesn't matter though, it's just part of the process of learning some humility, accepting your lack of control and learning to LISTEN...
I'm an Atheist... a lot of my AA friends are Atheists (Canada's a pretty secular state)... most would probably self-identify as "agnostic", a lot cross-identify as "recovering Catholics"... but none of that has much to do with getting and staying sober, so whatever...
AA certainly has it's problems. For starters, every meeting is an independent entity loosely organized by a few rules laid down by the founders 75 years ago, so things are a little uneven in the "quality" department. And of course, the one truth about every AA meeting is that it's full of sick people; some you can handle, some might drive you nuts, some might piss you off, but that's the nature of the beast; keep an open mind and you'll connect with some, too. Another thing about AA is that the main books it uses to pass the tools to help people on the road to sobriety were predominantly written by Christian males in the 1930s... Yes, they talk about God, their God... Yes, that God is a traditional Judeo-Christian Patriarch... Yes, that annoys some people...
But the truth about drunks is they're self-deceiving addicts in full-blown denial, and they will justify their continued pursuit of their drug of choice by any means necessary. And claiming "AA pushes religion" is a great excuse to keep drinking, or to set themselves up to keep drinking a day, a month or a year down the road.
Personally, I don't think it's really the religion thing that freaks people out; it's the honesty thing. The AA Program is a program for living based on honesty, humility, and community works, and it insists that you have to give back. That takes effort. That takes work. That takes real change...
Whatever... Alcoholism is a disease and it is chronic, progressive and fatal. What that means is if you don't stop it will kill you. Period. One way or another.
If you want to get sober and stay sober, all you need to do is sit your ass down at an AA meeting. Do 90 in 90 and keep attending. Resign from the fucking debating society, put the plug in the jug, get a sponsor (pick one you don't particularly like, but that you respect), stfu and DO THE STEPS. Then, when you haven't had a drink in three or four or five years, re-evaluate AA... In my experience, some of the finest, most decent, kindest, most community spirited and generous people I've ever known were people I met in these shitty church basements and community centres at AA meetings. And as an added bonus, I stayed clean and sober. For 25 years come this July. Not bad...
