thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7fa2yn wrote on February 6, 2023 at 11:05 AM

Reply to comment by dwkeith in AA meetings in the NEK? by Internal_Income_678

I’m went from an atheist to agnostic but that had more to do with age than anything else. I decided the denial of something with absolute certainty as as arrogant as the insistence of it. I will say, I have come to realize the universe is stranger and more amazing than I can ever imagine or comprehend.

I don’t think any religion has is right but who knows.

Live your best life, do your best to not add pain and suffering into the world, help others less fortunate than you and treat people how they want to be treated and it doesn’t really matter what you believe.

dwkeith t1_j7fdguu wrote on February 6, 2023 at 11:48 AM

Right, but treating addiction is about meeting people where they are. AA is the Christian method of addiction therapy with a 14% long-term success rate, the therapy I went with was science backed with a 78% long-term success rate.

As the child of a seminary graduate who moved the family to Vermont in order to get away from the sins of the city, I only considered methods that were backed by science, but everyone is different. Hence my recommendation to shop around for the best fit and not to blindly go with the Christian method of addiction recovery that courts and therapists often recommend by default, especially if OP is not Christian or even religious. The important part of my point was AA is not the only option.

thisoneisnotasbad t1_j7ffmk8 wrote on February 6, 2023 at 12:13 PM

You are comparing two completely different things. You are comparing a total abstinence program to a MAT (medical assisted therapy) program.

A better comparison would be the 60% success bupropion sees in opiate addicts.

I do agree AA is not the only method though. Whatever way you use to stay clean and sober is the right way to stay clean and sober.

Do you think your childhood association with directly associating god and religion has some bearing on your attitudes towards spiritual based recovery programs? I was lucky, I was not raised with any preconceived notions of god so when people say the word I don’t get defensive and associate it with Christianity.

dwkeith t1_j7fj4nq wrote on February 6, 2023 at 12:49 PM

Oh absolutely my religious upbringing came into play. The more I learned about religion and Christianity the less I wanted my mental health care to be linked to it and the more I wanted evidence based solutions for everything in my life. Learning about science, especially the cosmos, has replaced Sunday services for me. I now read science papers like I used to read biblical scholars.

I frequent an online group who use exercise to abstain, which is ideal for me and my schedule. Having a group that reduces or abstains for similar reasons and with similar beliefs is the key to long term success in my opinion. Naltrexone was just the start, I don’t need that anymore, but it was far easier than going cold turkey as Dr. Bob advocated.