I know what you're saying, but I, personally at least, don't think going to meetings or finding God through religion is anywhere near as unhealthy or as dangerous as a serious alcohol or drug addiction.
Catholic Church? Yeah they're doing wonders with aids in Africa by telling everybody to knock off the condoms. Muhammad's 7'th century rampage? Scientology's targeting of "Suppressive Persons" who've exposed the scam. Not that i'd qualify Scientology as a religion, mind you. The problem with belief is that you embrace the illogical and reject the more rational part of you're brain.
And just because AA isn't outwardly destructive doesn't mean it can't cause harm (it can). It can cause increases in binge drinking behaviors compared to no treatment at all according to the Brandsma study (there are other similar studies). Belief, what i'm talking about above, is what causes this increase. Why? Because drunks, rather than being taught self discipline (teach a man to fish), are taught that they are powerless over alcohol. They have to "let go and let god" to be saved. Well. Apparently god isn't catching many drunks nowadays. Maybe, if he/she/it exists, he wants drunks to use the free will and reason given to them.
Reason is another thing AA is bad at, and programs use this technique too: they'll ridicule rational thought and logic as "stinking thinking". People do this all because they believe, blindly, in a guy who was basically a philandering drunk who ripped people off, tripped on acid, and claimed to see god when he was tripping balls on a "belladonna cure". Seriously folks. It's fuckin stupid.
I'm not saying belief is bad, per se. It can be a source of strength for some people.** What i'm saying is that you don't mix a bullshit fatalistic belief with the behavioral sciences of people who already have a hard controlling themselves. Or better yet, figure out for yourself what you believe because if other people are telling you how you can save your "doomed" life, they're probably running a con, or at bes aret blindly misled by con artists long dead.
If people use pot to quit drugs that are hurting them, I'm all for it. Whatever works for people I support, even if it's not AA. If somebody had a solution that worked for everybody, they would be a billionaire. unfortunately addiction isn't that easy to cure, it's more like a lifetime condition where you treat the symptoms, that's how I see it at least.
Well. You're invested in your lifestyle now. You have all AA friends, i'm sure. You have a sponsor or are sponsoring others. You talk about what you believe all the time with those who believe the same way. I'm not surprised you believe with that constant re-enforcement. You're on a placebo, Max. Simply a placebo. But you'll never admit that because you believe you'll end up dead, insane, or in jail. Heaven forbid you use your "stinking thinking" capacity. I'm not recommending you do drugs by any means. What i'm asking you to do is to question whether or not you really need to credit others with work you have done for yourself. Yes, being around other addicts probably helps, but there are alternatives that don't come with the baggage of a true self limiting belief (i hate that term, but it's appropriate in this case).
** I loved Book of Eli for that reason, even though he sorta did kill a lot of people for a book (ok, so it was the last of a book... i give him some credit).
