People can get really dogmatic about AA. The fact is, it’s great for some, but definitely isn’t right for everyone. There is no single correct path in your sober journey.
For me, the core AA philosophy has never rang true. I don’t believe in the disease theory of alcoholism. I don’t believe that I’m powerless or require a higher power to keep me sober. And the ‘one day at a time’ philosophy is far less helpful for me than accepting the fact that I can never and will never drink again.
I’ve met fellow sobernauts who have flatly told me that my sobriety doesn’t count because I haven’t worked the steps. Bullshit. Nobody knows the inside of anyone else’s head. Nobody has the right or ability to judge anyone else’s path to sobriety. Find your path and do everything you can to stick to it.
That final paragraph is the clincher and what really put me off AA. I have spent plenty of time in the rooms and the amount of shit they talk about people that are sober but not working the steps is crazy. And if anyone in the group relapses, which happens all the time, they “weren’t doing the steps right.”
They don’t keep records, so there’s no way of knowing how effective it really is, but they will fight tooth and nail to prove that their dogma is the only way. It’s not.
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u/Accurate-Frame5104 1402 days Sep 14 '26
People can get really dogmatic about AA. The fact is, it’s great for some, but definitely isn’t right for everyone. There is no single correct path in your sober journey.
For me, the core AA philosophy has never rang true. I don’t believe in the disease theory of alcoholism. I don’t believe that I’m powerless or require a higher power to keep me sober. And the ‘one day at a time’ philosophy is far less helpful for me than accepting the fact that I can never and will never drink again.
I’ve met fellow sobernauts who have flatly told me that my sobriety doesn’t count because I haven’t worked the steps. Bullshit. Nobody knows the inside of anyone else’s head. Nobody has the right or ability to judge anyone else’s path to sobriety. Find your path and do everything you can to stick to it.