To all of the alcoholics, have you tried AA and do you think it works or not?

Answer 1

I quit drinking 3 weeks ago...I went to one meeting which wasn't a regular meeting but a sit down with two members

They were telling me some horrible stuff about themselves re jail and hospitilization

and I thought , well I'm not that bad so I quit

It's been a rough three weeks but I was a habitual drinker , still not sure If I was an alcoholic but they say if you have to ask you probably are

My advice to you is to go and meet some people from there ....I might need it yet but for now I;m trying on my own(say a prayer for me..lol)

I have seen people and talked to people who wouldn't be alive today without AA

Good luck and God bless

Answer 2

I tried Alcoholics Anonymous on and off for almost twenty years, only managing a few months of sobriety at a time.

My primary problem is depression, I was diagnosed with it before I started drinking. In AA, the depression was ridiculed, called "being on the pity pot". There is a large anti-medication, anti-therapy faction in AA that tells people they're not really sober if they take medication. Almost anyone who's been around AA for any length of time knows of people who have gone off of medication and committed suicide. A few months of AA always left me suicidal; I'd go back to drinking.

AA teaches its members that they are powerless over alcohol and that only God and AA can help.

Almost six years ago, I took responsibility for my addiction and my recovery, got help for depression, and have been alcohol-free since.

AA has a 5% success rate, the same as for those who attempt quitting on their own. However, people who use AA are five times as likely to engage in binge drinking as those who attempt it on their own and nine times as much binge drinking as people who tried using rational behavior therapy. (Brandsma study)

George Vaillant, Harvard professor, researcher, and member of AA's Board of Trustees, attempted to prove AA works. He said of his findings, "Not only had we failed to alter the natural history of alcoholism, but our death rate of three percent a year was appalling."

So what does work?:
http://www.behaviortherapy.com/whatworks.htm

Here's some tips on quitting or cutting back:
http://www2.potsdam.edu/hansondj/DrinkTooMuch.html

AA is a fear-based, religious program that is little more than faith healing. The Second and Seventh Federal District Courts, the New York State Court of Appeals, and the Supreme Court of Tennessee have all declared AA to be at least "religious in nature".

Some telling numbers:
95% of those who join AA will quit the program within one year. Over 60% of those who join AA are under some sort of mandate from the courts, other government agencies, or employee assistance programs.

Answer 3

Yes...It gives you a chance to see so many others who have overcame the addiction..It allows you to share openly about the desires you have to escape through alcohol...It allows you to meet and make good people who are trying to overcome the addiction one day at a time...Its a great program!!!!

Answer 4

All I can say is that I haven't drank in 5 years, nor have I missed it.
Before joining AA I couldn't imagine a life without Booze.

Answer 5

I'm not an alcoholic, but I think it only works if you want it to. One needs to put forth the effort. If you're not willing or ready to do that, then it's not going to work.

Answer 6

A.A. works for some, and not for others. Personally, I prefer other forms of recovery through the arts and therapy.

Answer 7

It is sort of like prison. It will reform you or make you a better drunk.