Alcoholics Anonymous has a terrible success rate, addiction expert finds

[astral]

175. What is your problem

I havent even finished reading this thread and i have got to say something. The AA program of recovery does not require religion. Many people both are and are not religious. The power outside of ourselves is something that we talk about no matter where it comes from. It has to be a power greater than ourselves, for many of us that means God. We tell our story to show others it can be done. We dont all have the same story. You can be a total atheist and succeed in AA. But yes, you will also hear about God. We have no cure for alcoholism, only a daily reprieve based on our daily spiritual condition. The program works for those who want it, who are not necessarily all who need it. Alcoholism kills, sometimes quickly. Withdrawal can and does kill. It may be only one way of many other ways, but it does work. And for that i for one am very grateful. It got me sober and kept me sober even if i didnt do very much of it right.

Learning that i will never beat alcohol is what freed me, and learning that i was not alone, others have done it before me. Even less than 100 percent sobriety is not a failure, in my book, we are better off being on the road to recovery no matter how many times we stumble and fall. If you are not an alcoholic you can never know the hell of wanting it to end but yet it doesnt end. The terror, bewilderment, frustration and despair. But maybe you can understand the sorrow and loss of someone who died from it.

Just do not let contempt prior to investigation be what kills you.