The Path to Sober

  • Thread starter Thread starter Alcohol Is The Enemy
  • Start date Start date
172andyou said:
One that replaces one addiction with another and knocks a person down to do it. Absolutely classic cult moves.


Choosing recovery not only doesn't have to include joining a cult, the non-cult recovery options are also more effective. Double win.
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Although AA has some superficially cult-y aspects - like nearly any group with some set rituals, jargon, and a degree of secretiveness - what makes it very much not a cult is two points of distinction. First, members of AA do not proselytize in any meaningful way. AA groups do not attempt to persuade people to join or remain. AA literally recommends telling people who have doubts about AA to leave and to go drink some more. Secondly, AA claims no monopoly on the treatment of alcoholics. It sees itself as "a" way to get sober not "the" way. It would be an unusual cult that neither seeks converts nor claims unique power to help them that no other path offers.

I recognize that what I have just described will not apply to every single interaction anyone has every had with every AA member or group, but it broadly applies in the vast majority of situations and it is rooted in the best practices AA suggests every group and member uphold.

AA is not for everyone, but it has helped millions of people find sobriety. People who have a desire to stop drinking should consider AA as an option to try rather than dismiss it prior to investigation without even walking in the door.
 
Mileage said:
AA literally recommends telling people who have doubts about AA to leave and to go drink some more
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Good point… the faa really oughta at least publish what parts they DO endorse… kinda weird to REQUIRE a system that is contrary to their methods.
 
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