12 step programs

All i can say as a recovering drunk for 25 yrs about the 12 step program is....It works only if you work it...

I may not be using this site properly or just don't understand why there were no responses to this post. Knock knock........hellooo Is there anybody out there? This is a great question. My experience with the "12 step" program was just pittiful (sp). All the meetings I went to only made me want to drink and use all the more. I didn't go to listen to a bunch of cry babies. I read the "book". OK, our friend Bill had the right idea, but the newcomers a mis-led by a bunch of those who have "time" and opinions that they shove down newcomers throaghts like castor oil. If a newbie or even one who is sick of the crappy meeting halls can find a meeting or 12 step group that has people who want to "help" rather than thump the big book. Then, it's all good.

My experience with 12 step programs is that they lay the foundation for a new way to live. They are not some magical place in which people can just go to and recover. Work has to be done. Many come into the 12 step process looking for relief from whatever addiction seems to be the problem at the time...but those who stay discover that the work one does within the fellowships leads them to the understanding that the substance is NOT the problem...they themselves are. For those who are willing to make a commitment to living another way and are open enough to see that one may exist...then there is hope.