nirvana wrote:
Very sad but seemingly true

The thing that confuses me no end about this i attended a grief counciling in suicide group and 10 of the dead 12 people had been attending AA........(and they were all betwwen 18 to 22)

that made me research it more...........That was my first introduction to all might not right there there

I wonder if hypnotism would help alcoholics? That way it would be a practitioner helping you to use your own inner strength (subconscious) to sort you out.

The only thing with that is, you'd have to be sure it was a genuinely good hypnotist. They've been known to produce brilliant results in helping people to overcome all kinds of things, but one concern I'd have is that you only need a very small amount of knowledge (and no practise to speak of) to set yourself up in business as a hypnotherapist - unless things have changed in the last few years.

dawnbreak wrote: I am aware of this step having heard from people how it works, I think in the long run it is designed to help not only the addicts but the people they have affected through their behaviour, to be honest many are forgiving and it should not be in the minds of the addicts that they themselves should feel humiliated as they are doing good both for themselves and the offended/affected peeps.

If it pays off it is all well and good but I wouldn't advise any addict try and make peace with anyone that is likely to stir up old grounds and invite any kind of trouble that makes the addict go back to addiction. I would advise they just leave it alone until further through their recovery that they feel stable enough or send a letter but not face to face.

AA is a good idea and they have helped many it is surprising how many people drink nowadays on a regular basis who cope very well and continue to function normally, some don't need AA, some just need people to leave them alone.

silvershine wrote:
Precisely the point I was trying to convey, but you did it much more succinctly.

I know from my own addictions that there is nothing worse than someone getting all pious on my arse, especially when I have not asked for any 'help'.

The first step in any kind of 'step program' should really be for the person themselves to address the issue, if they even see it as an issue, and take the initiative from there, if they want to.

Gilly wrote:


Niacin is very good for addictions ..AA in the early days used niacin but alot of bad press forced them to stop.






Interesting taalk on addiction

Regarding Ibogain and addiction

my drinking is none of gods business...if u wanna get technical since this almighty figure made everything, he made alcohol too or at least the stuff that goes into making alcohol therefor he should want u drunk and disorderly not asking him to help you quit

diamondgeezer wrote:
[most] GPs aren't qualified to deal with addictions or withdrawal programs and can offer erroneous or dangerous advice.

Space Bandit wrote: You could look at it this way.
At least with drinkers they are putting back in to the system by buying alcohol.
What about people who used drugs regularly? They break the law constantly,(with no regard for the law) every time they use it, if someone were to add up all those crimes, I'm sure they would amount to quite a lot of crime time.

dubmeup wrote:
The most important aspect of it is initially realising and admitting you have a problem. My mate was telling me how just weird random things would make him think about having a drink again - such as his kitchen floor, when he remembered waking up there one day after getting so minged and wetting himself. Much of it seemed to revolve around helping you to avoid such negative destructive thought patterns that lead back to the old problem.

Gilly wrote:
Cold turkey is a serious health risk for alcoholics - hypnosis can't cure the poison already in the body even if it could cure the addiction in the mind.

silvershine wrote:
Alcohol is a drug too - just a legal one. The money made in tax is hardly going in the right direction either is it?

StarsChildren wrote:
It comes down to the question of what God is and your own interpretation of it, or if such a concept exists at all.
There are lots of things created which could be viewed as 'bad', such as cocaine - yet they also have some use medically rather than simply to be abused. Alcohol has various uses, from my perspective preferably to drink - I'm just glad I've never got into being a total addict - though I do drink regularly, & it has undoubtedly got me into a bit of bother every now and again.

Space Bandit wrote: Agreed, that's what motivates you to get on a program though isn't it.
It's the method of helping you to avoid the thought patterns that utterly sucks as far as I'm concerned. I can see I won't be convincing you though...

Space Bandit wrote:
strong booze is good to clean out a wound. cocaine is good for helping you to forget.
while AA and their god stuff might be good for some people, others should just be left with their bottle despite what they feel about god.

The PGBFWSTDBTBF notes the moving of this thread. Top work mods, this is one of those threads that is actually important and does affect many, so well done for booting it out of the general section

dubmeup wrote:
Not necessarily... I'm pleased it's worked for my mate because it was destroying him and his family, and he believes in it and it's kept him off the sauce for over 600 days now. He's focussed now on being as good a person as he possibly can and helping those around him if they need it. Does stuff like picking up litter off the streets or anything that could be viewed as 'good' which takes his mind off boozy thoughts that creep in and replaces it with the feeling he is doing something right. It was either that or he'd be dead by now simply because he was drinking so much it led to liver cancer.
I can't say I'm convinced by reading the 12 steps from the little I know of it, particularly the God aspect - getting to the root of the problems in the mind and the history of the individual and why those patterns emerge seems more logical to me, though that seems to be part of the counselling anyway.

dubmeup wrote:
PGBFWSTDBTBF
eh?
But yeh!

As it's you SB and I respect your mixing skillz, I'll decode the acronym.

PGBFWSTDBTBF is the Pro General Being Filled With Stuff That Doesn't Belong There Bastard Front.
It's a mere after thought after the sterling activities of the Anti General Being...........

it's kept me occupied for a bit today whilst I've been killing time waiting for the trip down to Cornwall tomorrow