Support groups

[evo]

. I really don't like the way that 12 steppers talk about addiction; that they are powerless and must give themselves over to a higher power to have the strength to stop. All that kind of talk does is make you think that you are powerless!!

I really wanted to bite my tongue here, but I guess I am just powerless to stop myself

I see your point and where you’re coming from. What you’re talking about is a specific strategy based on assumptions.
The point is exactly ‘replacement’ therapy as it’s much easier to replace habits vs outright break from them.
The powerlessness is more about forgiving one’s self, than apathy or shame. The addiction is like a foreign force with one’s psychology and chemical dependency soup.
I get it and understand it, but do see your point where it gets nearly cult like. Which it is but it’s more of a pick your poison situation and certainly not a one sized shoe.

 

[tomstrees]

There is no harm in going to meetings as the only requirement for attending is the desire to stop drinking. I have a thick skin, but don't want to deal with a lot of bs, as the last meeting they had a crazy lady who wasn't working the program as a speaker. There are plenty of good meetings. I've tried "Celebrate recovery" not for me, just too flaky and some other ersatz programs. Al-anon for dealing with emotions connected to other people's behavior and functional ways of coping with that are good. The device and porn addictions are rampant, unfortunately the meetings for those things are too weird to me.

 

[Daniel]

I am personally opposed to any drug use, it's frankly against my Christian beliefs where physical solutions are natural healing and reliance on God, come what may, no matter how painful life becomes, trusting God while relying on good people for help.

Psychedelics can be very dangerous, our minds and bodies are intricate, in some ways the delicate mechanisms in our brain are like a swiss watch, reliant on the interactions of all their parts.

I bought a book by a researcher of the dead sea scrolls... based on his study of the scrolls, he proposed the theory that Jesus was part of a Goddess worshipping mushroom cult. I have heard the theory that other mainstream religions ( Hinduism I belive) originated from a mushroom cult. It also appears that may native American religious perspectives were based on the use of plant medicines, such as peyote. I think we would be pretty self-centered to judge those cultures as lesser than modern human society. Look at the level of human addition, unhappiness, suicide, depression, use of psyche meds etc in our modern world... We would be foolish to think that our social system is so much better than theirs when measured by many standards...

There were plenty of stories of whites abandoing their culture to go live with the native Americans. But it took pressure and often violence to get the native Americans to give up their way of life.

a friend, "Sam" who tried psychedelics, Ayuhuasca I think, and became more flaky than ever, wanting to live only in pure immediacy, not planning or managing his large farm property. Storm damage took out the power line to his house, and he's stayed off the grid since 2021 or so, firing up his generator when he needs to flush his plumbing, etc..

Maybe not such a bad thing... Though it looks crazy to you, he might like it that way. Many Amish also don't have electricity hooked up to the grid. They seem to get along just fine without it.

 

[tomstrees]

Seriously? I'll just assume the above post was not.

Step 2: “We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

On the off the grid living, if you can afford solar panels you can have a high quality of life and circle of comfort.