So, time to get controversial and talk about 12 step recovery! People have very strong feelings about 12-step, what it is, what it isn’t, if it’s bad, if it’s good, if it’s a helpful community, if it’s a cult, whether you need to find God, whether it’s 2 well-to-do men from the 1930s and why should we listen to them, of whether there are wrong or right ways to do it, and the types of people it can help or not help, so many opinions.
A lot of this noise gets in the way of what I believe is a very helpful community, made up of diverse and flawed individuals who are trying to get better. 12 step is supposed to be for anyone, regardless of your background, beliefs or culture . Whether or not it always succeeds in that endeavor is another matter.
I struggled for over 15 years because I couldn't get past 'the God thing.' Hopefully I can help you navigate your own concerns so you don't have to let resentment and confusion distract you from finding the right people in your community that can help enrich your recovery.
Supplemental 12-step reading that helped me understand the program on a deeper level:
Recovery
by Russell Brand
Sane: Mental Illness, Addiction, and the 12 Steps
by Marya Hornbacher
Waiting: A Nonbeliever's Higher Power
by Marya Hornbacher
A Buddhist Insight into the 12 Steps
http://aaagnostica.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/12-Step-Buddhist-Insight.pdf
For more secular 12 step goodness:
https://aaagnostica.org/
Send questions, comments or just say ‘hi’ at
interactivememoir@gmail.com
Call to action: Share this with someone you think might relate to it. We never know what little things might make a difference in someone acknowledging their own need for help.
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Thanks to Bensound.com for the intro and outro music
Here is a list of suicide crisis hotlines by country:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_suicide_crisis_lines
Here are links to support groups with an online presence that can be vital in recovery:
For a comprehensive list of 12 Step Meetings:
https://12step.org/social/online-meetings
Smart Recovery:
https://www.smartrecovery.org/community
Refuge Recovery
https://www.refugerecovery.org