Commingling of Diseases

Why, if drug addicts are told to work the same steps, would alcoholics anonymous not work for them?

D
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D,

A spiritual awakening would work for anyone. There are differences however in how some folks arrive at one. and if Twelve Steps is a method chosen there are specifics involved. These are borne out of experience as well as insight.

Singleness of purpose in AA would be so much easier for many of us to understand if we would just be out working with others. Seeing the deadly results of mismatched identification firsthand is as convincing as educational.

One thing we learn after experiencing that twelve step spiritual awakening as the result of the steps is that the person sponsoring us through the drastic proposal could not have done it had it not been for the trust and credibility that comes inherent through the sharing of a common problem with each other.

If that 'problem' is something else - then there is not much likelihood that we will fully identify with that person to the degree necessary to go that famous "any length" spoken of in AA literature and in the fantastically spiritual work, "Alcoholics Anonymous".

The level of commitment and understanding is that drastic and that difficult a deal to 'do' and then to 'live'. Result is a complete and automatic change of being. That part is easy because it just happens. It is the the ground work necessary to reach that type of visceral conversion that prevents most people from ever experiencing it through the twelve steps. That includes the grand majority of those attending twelve step fellowship meetings and belong to twelve step fellowship groups. It can be heard all the time, "I don't know if I have had the spiritual awakening" and "I am still still recovering". They haven't- and - they aren't.

Ego struggles to admit that the awakening has not occurred and it is the fear of being found out that they are wrong that prevents then from ever actually publicly claiming it to be so. Truly recovered alcoholism who have had their fears corralled into manageability are able to publicly claim to be recovered. there is no fear that hidden faults and cover-up character defect will reveal it to be a lie. Not if it isn't a lie.

They are others who claim to be "recovered" alcoholic and who aren't and they are psychotic. It is important that a newcomer be able to distinguish between the two and many of them can and do. The age old adage "by their fruits ye shall know them" seems to work pretty well.

Any non-alcoholic no matter how persuasive, skilled and well intentioned probably would have failed to "twelve step" me and I know for a fact that I have NEVER been able to assist ANY non-alcoholic entirely through these steps to the point of spiritual awakening. Yet, other alcoholics - I certainly have. That's what they meant in Step Twelve when they say, "Carry this message to other alcoholics! You can help when no one else can. You can secure their confidence when others fail."

Those co-authors felt that they had been given the power to help other alcoholics to have a spiritual awakening that changed them at a level which also removed their alcohol problem. In my own case I share in that experience with them and it never would have happened had I not been taken through the process required by someone who had fully gained my trust at a visceral level – who knew EXACTLY what size and width were my shoes were and also how the soles felt when they hit the ground. Any less than that and no matter how willing and able we are at first, at some point along the way we end up telling the mismatched sponsor “go screw” or at the very least politely balked at some vital aspect that would have spoiled the whole thing.

This is why drug addicts have success in twelve stepping other drug addicts and why alcoholics can twelve step other alcoholics and why they fail miserably when they try to commingle their separated diseases with sponsorship of the other.


Peace and Love,

Danny S - RLRA
Real Live Recovered Alcoholic
http://recoveredalcoholic.blogspot.com