I agree with you, and I say that as a 12 stepper. I know that there are
many people who don’t make it using the steps. I’ve seen that. I also had
no luck using other methods. And I know that there are dogmatic people in
AA and in other organizations and medical fields as well.
Most of us really just want to see people recover, no matter what works. We
don’t want to see the pain and suffering continue. Most of us in 12 step
organizations don’t think we know the only way to recover, we just know
what worked for us, and our experience is all we can share.
I would never tell someone who found another way to get clean and sober
that he or she was doing it wrong. I know there are folks in the various 12
step programs who would do that, but I think they are wrong, and they’re
not helping anyone by doing so. The truth is, addiction is a horrible,
horrible thing as we all know, and we all want to find ways to help people.
Experimentation with different approaches is scary, because if an approach
fails, that person might end up dead. I’ve seen people who had years of
sobriety pick up a drink and then never be able to get sober again, no
matter what approach they tried. I really don’t know the difference between
me and them, and many friends of mine in recovery were scared shitless by
the recent celebrity overdose beause we feel like the angel of death just
passed over our heads.
