Looking for Alternatives to AA? Alcoholism, AA & Alternative Sobriety has Arrived.

At this point in time, the above options are considered to be amongst the best alternatives to AA's alcoholism recovery program, but these are by no means the only choices available and more programs, books, and methods are being tried, tested, and introduced with increasing frequency.

There's a very cruel saying that is often echoed around the rooms of AA, which is; 'If you still have your watch when you seek help, then you're not really an alcoholic!' Quite a ridiculous statement and certainly one that is not helpful to those fragile alcoholics attending early meetings. The fact of the matter is that it can be relatively cheap and legal to drink huge quantities of alcohol meaning that money, or lack of it, is not always the downfall of a typical drunk, and not every alkie is a low bottom wreck living in shop doorways and railway stations. As you can see so far in this article, alcoholism, AA, and alcoholics, are not always the best mach for finding sobriety.

Troubled Teens, Underage Drinking. Most Youths seek an AA Alternative!

It's a sad and often fatal fact that alcoholics and addicts usually have to go through the emotional wringer before they even consider getting treatment, and many more never make it into recovery. Adolescent teenagers can be enough of a handful for loving parents as it is, but when this age group become dependent on alcohol and get taken into the rooms of AA, many rebel at the whole concept of the 12 step program.

So for this particular age group, more so than any other, alternatives to alcoholics anonymous and it's literature as laid out in the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, are essential in the twenty first century if we're to help our youngsters get back on track with their lives.

12 Steps, Anonymous Programs, & BIG BOOKS - A way Backwards in 2010?

Surely in this day and age it would be extremely naive for anyone to suggest that the AA fellowship and their 12 step program is the only way to get sobered up and stay that way. There are still a number of old timers though who think that Alcoholics Anonymous has no competition when it comes to 'real' alcoholics getting well. With a success rate of between 3-5%, the odds of anyone getting sobered up with AA simply by following the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, are pretty remote. There is between 95-97% of drunks out there who can and do benefit from AA alternatives. Thanks to the new programs and treatments that are springing up all over, more alcoholics than ever before are recovering without the reliance of a god of some description.

For any alcoholic, or addict come to that, who is looking for reasons as to why a particular recovery option won't work for them, they will quite easily find permissible excuses that will justify them continuing on with their chosen path of self destruction. When someone is looking for alternatives to meetings (could be any self help group), what they are really saying is that they don't want to be surrounded by people who have made a decision to put a plug in the jug and live a life of sobriety.

There are a lot of people in society who have problems with alcohol. AA claims that only a conscious contact with God can save them, so it's hardly surprising why this specific message from this particular group is so hard to get across to many. The good news is that today there are many alternatives to 12 steps, big books, and the God concept, and AA will soon become but one of many choices for alcoholics trying to get a grip on their lives.

Make no bones about it, AA is all about finding God. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise because there is more talk about our Father, the Creator, and God as you understand him, than you would ever hear at a bible study group. If you have alcoholism, AA believes that there is no other option but to let God into your life if you're to stand half a chance of recovery. If you agree with their concept of recovery, then AA is definitely for you, if you don't, then you really should look at the alternatives to Alcoholics Anonymous sooner rather than later.

The literature is in fact very well written and endorses no particular religion. It even encourages people to use their own concept of a god, or higher power as is sometimes referred to. But the bottom line is that this program is about finding a god, any ole god, that will help you in those areas of your life where you were not able to help yourself. Your problem is powerlessness over alcohol, and so your solution is power and how to find that power. In AA, that power is god albeit a god of your understanding.

Many a newcomer doesn't like this idea to be drummed into them repeatedly through the sharing of others, the advice of sponsors, and the official literature. It may not be a religious program but it certainly follows religious concepts and guidelines. Just in the 12 steps alone we see the mention of god 4 times in steps 3, 5, 6, and 11, and referred to as a Power greater than ourselves, and 'Him' in 2 other steps.

It is my opinion that if the program of AA was rewritten in such a way that all references to god and higher powers were completely removed and replaced with a focus on finding inner strength and using the loving support of our fellows, then the success rate of AA would rise significantly.

I firmly believe (and it is just my belief), that mankind is equipped with everything inside of him which he needs to function as a purposeful and happy human being, and that alcoholics have simply tapped into the wrong source resulting in their lives going off on a negative tangent and path of self destruction and self loathing. If the international program of AA could focus the mind on the rediscovery of the positive self, then we would be rid of the god issue once and for all. This would still leave room for those who wanted god to play a role in their sobriety, as they could simply chose to believe that god is working within them.

The AA alcoholics meeting Vs Alternatives in Alcoholic Recovery

Author's notes: The fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous and its 12 step program of action has not only helped so many alcoholics around the world to stop drinking, but has enabled them to stay stopped and live a life of happiness and serenity as a result. These are just the bare facts and AA will no doubt continue to help those who are unable to help themselves well into the unforeseen future. Alcoholism, AA, and Recovery have gone cap-in hand for millions, but that doesn't mean there are not millions more who need something different if they are to find a recovery method that works specifically for them.

So it's important to point out that this page is not intended to provoke argument, be that agreement of disagreement, on the way in which Alcoholics Anonymous runs its program of recovery. This piece is nothing more than the written study of one sober drunk who has personally observed over the years how the revolving door of AA continues to lose too many drunks by its stubbornness to modify its program and language. Maybe there isn't a better way, a modified way, or a gentler way to coax and keep drunks into a sober way of living, but the observation is perhaps there is nothing to lose by trying.

Page updated May 17, 2010