AA Is Not The Only Way

An introduction to an effective Non 12 Step Treatment Program located in Los Angeles CA.

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Thomas “Hollywood” Henderson shares his unique perspective on recovery from alcoholism and crack cocaine. Hilariously funny, touching, and insightful! Great resource for those struggling with addiction to marijuana or other drugs.

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12steps for christians:

n, which, if practiced as a way of life, allow all persons to incorporate these great spiritual principles into their very lives so that the spiritual life becomes a part of their very being. Once adopted in a disciplined and consistent way, these Steps will change the lives of even the most devout and faithful Christian. Surrender to God throughout each day, devotion to God’s service and way of life, effective discipleship, a feeling of love and tolerance for all, and, the spiritual solution to all of life’s problems and worries are the natural and inevitable results of working and continuing to work these Steps. The serious, life-threatening problems of drug addiction and alcoholism will be solved for so long as he remains spiritually fit. Our Lord Jesus said: “Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with dissipation, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you unexpectedly like a trap.” Lk 21: 34
The addicted person is very ill. This illness is both a physical malady and a malady of the spirit. It is characterized by a powerful denial of the existence of any problem and an inability to stop using and abusing mind-altering substances. The addicted person has literally lost the ability to control his drinking or drugging; he has become powerless to stop destroying his life and the lives of those around him. In most cases, something more than prayer and repentance is necessary to activate the spiritual answer to this problem. Human solutions seldom suffice and despite the valiant efforts of those devoted professionals and clergy who try to help him, he continues on the path of self-destruction. Self-knowledge does not alleviate the problem nor does fear of the consequences of continued drinking and drugging provide a solution. The answer must come from the intervention and grace of a loving Gad. The addicted person has but two alternatives: to go on to the bitter end or to accept a spiritual way of life! This program will lead the addicted person on a path of spiritual growth and regeneration which will bring him to a full and unconditional surrender to Gad and provide him with the tools to lead a spiritual way of life in all things. Millions of alcoholics and drug addicts have recovered from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body by following the directions which are set out in this work. The simple fact is that nobody who works these Steps with a good heart, thoroughly and honestly, ever fails to achieve sobriety. Continued sobriety is, however, achieved only through the continued and consistent use of the Steps as a way life. These Twelve Steps are derived from the great spiritual principles set forth in the Holy Bible and are a practical expression of those principles in the form of action to be taken which will set the sufferer free from the ravages of his addiction to mindaltering substances far the rest of his life. The Christian who practices these Steps as a way of life will be giving full expression to his faith.

STEP ONE
“Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior” Col 1: 21
“Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift” 2Co 9: 15
“But to each of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it” Eph 4: ?
“You see, at just the right time, when we were powerless, Christ died for the ungodly” Ro 5: 6

“WE ADMITTED WE WERE POWERLESS OVER ALCOHOL(OR DRUGS), THAT OUR LIVES HAD BECOME UNMANAGEABLE”
Drug and alcohol addiction is both a physical and a spiritual malady. The physical illness can only be arrested by continued abstinence and the addicted person must come to understand and accept that he can never again use mind-altering substances for the rest of his life. There can be no reservations of any sort about this crucial fact. Without this acceptance, the First Step cannot be completed and the rest of the Steps will be impossible to achieve. The vain hope that alcohol or drugs may be safely used at some future time will disable the sufferer from realizing sobriety through the working of the rest of the Steps.

The First Step requires that the addicted person have conceded to his innermost self that he is an alcoholic or drug addict, again without reservations of any kind. This concession is not one which can be forced on the person nor will a confession made at a the time of great contrition following a binge have any lasting value. Any attempt to shame or frighten the addicted person into admitting his problem will be equally ineffective. Quite simply, the admission of addiction and the acceptance of the permanent nature of the need for abstinence will only come to the sufferer as a gift of God! The real question is: How do we go about preparing ourselves to receive this gift? The answer to this question will set the stage for working all of the Steps.

The addicted person must come to understand that he is spiritually sick; spiritually bankrupt. That he is blocked off from God through the mental illness which is the hallmark of the alcoholic or addict and that he is powerless over his addiction in every sense of the word. The first requirement is that he overcome the denial of his problem and that he be entirely ready to stop drinking or drugging. He must see that , despite all his efforts, he cannot manage his life himself. He must sincerely want help and be willing to go to whatever lengths are necessary in order to receive help. That help must come ultimately from God.

The addicted person must prepare himself to receive this gift by reading about his physical disease and his spiritual bankruptcy, by reading about how others have recovered, by discussing recovery with persons who have recovered through God’s grace, by meeting regularly with recovered people and earnest and frequent prayer asking God’s help to be relieved of the obsession and his rebellion and defiance of Him.

For the person whose faith has fled in the face of adversity or the one who has never developed a faith in God, this business of prayer is all-important! He must be willing to pray even though he has little or no faith in the power of God to heal him. He must pray even though he has no conception of the God to whom he prays. He must be willing to believe that there just
might be a God who loves him and wants only the best for him and who is just waiting for him to open the door even a little. If he prays to God who might just exist, he will find that God will answer his prayers and he will receive the gifts of concession, admittance and acceptance. He may then move on to Step Two.

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While in these days it is politically correct to label it a disease, technically it is not. Yes, the second person responding is correct in saying that drugs and alcohol affect your brain and make decisions more difficult, but you still can choose whether or not to use drugs or alcohol. True diseases are something that just happens to a person. Now the damage done from bad choices can CAUSE disease. Overeating can cause heart and vascular damage, but that doesn’t make overeating a disease. The problem is poor self-control. Drugs and alcohol exacerbate the lack of self-control but they do not MAKE you choose them.

Drugs and alcohol may "plead" with you to use them, but only if you had absolutely no choice but to use them (as in, your body produced them) could their overuse (overproduction) be considered a disease. They are not diseases in and of themselves.

If we label everything that is difficult and everything that causes changes in the brain (chemically), then PMS would be a disease. Actually, exercise would too, because it can both excite and depress the brain, which drugs and alcohol do.

If so, is one of the first steps to not going to meetings?

There’s no 12 step program, just a long, slow process of getting your brains out of hock. Quitting the meetings helps a lot though!!!

www.orange-papers.org

http://freedomfrom12steps.blogspot.com/

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/12-step-free/

i’ll try to keep this as short as i can.I want to stay clean and sober more than anything in the world.But lately my head is really talking to me and i’m really scared.I hate meetings.They are really boring to me.I don’t have a sponsor because i feel it’s all about them,they only help so they can get their fix.I’m not gonna kiss some sponsors azz to be a part of his life.Sorry to be so blundt,i hate talking like that..but to me it’s true.Anyways…..what is the best thing for me to do so i don’t get drunk or loaded..thatnk you.
thank you.

I personally haven’t had an issue with drugs or alcohol but I wish you the best.

Here are three good ones:

http://www.smartrecovery.org/

http://www.unhooked.com/index.htm

http://www.womenforsobriety.org/

There’s a group called Rational Recovery also that you can check out, but IMHO it’s almost as "out there" as AA (in a different way of course).

I hope this helps!

Over 76 million people worldwide are currently affected by drinking disorders, from alcoholism to binge drinking. Learn more at http://College.Healthguru.com?YT/

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The reason why there is so much criticism of the 12-step approach is because it is the dominant paradigm. It has been around for 50 plus years. It has not really changed; there is not a new addition, no a new attempt to reintegrate new knowledge. It is based on theories and models of personality and sociology of the 1930s. It is an easy target, to be frank; that’s where most of the criticism comes from. The success rate, also, is dubious. It is someplace between 5 and 15, depending on the research you check. The problem is that it’s being applied as a ‘one-size-fits-all for all things’, and it was never designed as such. Therefore it’s easy to criticize its shortcomings in particular domains or things such as that. It is just not, like any treatment, a fix for everything that ails you. Yet traditionally, the people who have recovered through a 12-step program are quite enthusiastic about their own success, and try to convert others into that model. For more information visit http://www.aaalternatives.com

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weblink: http://tinyurl.com/3br9lm
Blackwater firearms: http://www.blackwaterusa.com/

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