Hey, I also work at a Catholic hospital, and I agree with you about people dying from addiction, no hope,no friends ect. But you are wrong to think that God and a 12 step program is the only thing that can help overcome addiction. What about Drug addicts who live in the middle east or India perhaps? Or how about in Africa? What your saying is people are unable to overcome addiction unless they are christian? hahahaha yeah fucking right! You are overly self righteous and it’s sad that you completely dismiss everyone Else’s faith because you are so caught up in your own. People can only get help if they are willing to help themselves. God may be a good placebo but ultimately it’s the persons own free will that helps them through.

Yes. It is called Will Power.

someone that is drowning will cling to ANYTHING if they think it will keep them alive. god is no different they are just accepting Pascal’s Wager…

I can’t believe how you change colors.

Either you are a psycho or a strong christian.

I suppose both.

I like your thinking. :)
But God will allow unbelievers to “pull” themselves up. The thing is, is that they will only be able to rely on their own strength for so long. They fail to know that when a friend or family member does something to help them that it actually came from God putting it on their friends heart to help them.

All good things come from heaven and it will surely rain on the just and the unjust.

i had an alcohol problem by the time i was 14. i was also anorexic and used drugs frequently. guess who helped me pull through? ME. not god, not my friends, not even my family. i had nobody but myself.

Unrealistic? No, just not what you wanted to hear. I suggest you re-read the answers you received.

I have friends who are sober from working the 12 Steps…and I have just as many who have been successful “on their own”. It depends entirely on the individual.

This is going to put your god theory to shame .I Am an Atheist who was addicted to drugs when i was in my twenties .I cured “ME”
I made up my mind to stop hurting myself and shaming my family .” I ” did it with no help from anyone but me .
I am also still an Atheist that believes in the power of self – esteem .

The problem rises when you go claiming exclusivity for your methods yet again.

“Only the spiritual path of a 12 step program leads people to sobriety…”

You see, there it is again, the righteousness that turns people off. I have known many people who have healed themselves of addiction, and not all of them took that route. And some that I know took that route remained addicted, or returned to it.

Yes they can get sober without the 12 step program, in my experience. I know one person who did it by going and spending six months wilderness camping, I know another who did it by assigning himself a difficult physical task that took all of a summer, I know one person who did it by entering into a zen retreat. I know one person, myself, who did it entirely by facing truth and accepting it.

I know some people who are on the 12 step program who gave up booze, and doubled their cigarette habit. Not much of a victory there, IMO.

Why do you Judeo/Christians always want all the credit for everything?

You know, it is said Noah invented wine and beer. Shouldn’t your religion then take some of the blame?

I’m christian and personally Don’t believe someone NEEDS God to overcome that sort of thing. I know plenty of people who ‘found” God and started __(insert drug of choice). God gave all humans free will…we use that to our advantage or disadvantage. It can benefit or hurt us regardless of our beliefs. Btw people can believe in God with out being Christian (I.e Muslims/alla, Jews, Other) Christianity=belief in Christ. (Some answers sound like they don’t know this)

No rehabilitation program or 12 step based recovery program could withstand the scrutiny of an independent research study of success rates because such a study would most certainly expose these programs as being no better than no treatment at all. In fact, independent studies have been conducted and reported that conventional treatment and 12 step based programs are frequently less successful than no treatment at all.

Did you know it is being spread that you may be a troll!

Have you ever heard of the crusades?

Religion brings about as much pain and suffering as it relieves!

There are other recovery programs out there that are not spirituality based. Secular Organizations for Sobriety is one. They have people who come through them and get sober. They are relatively new I believe and I don’t know of studies comparing success rates. I bet the relapse rate is unfortunately high for spiritual and nonspiritual programs. Addiction is tough. At any rate no one is saying people can’t choose to be religious if they want to be just they shouldn’t force it on others or that people have to be religious. I know a lot people claim to find religion after making huge mistakes in life and trying to get through addictions but that doesn’t justify selling people fantasies. There are other ways of helping people overcome addictions, take responsibility for themselves, and make better choices but I guess they may take a bit more effort and work.

This is a logical fallacy called “noble lie”. Some people get well due the hope in god doesn’t mean that god exist.

So are you telling me people can get sober without the Spiritual Path of a 12 Step???
Yes they can it is called placebo effect, and it has been scientifically demonstrated also.

I have two Uncles and one Aunt who got sober without the Spiritual Path of a 12 step. And they’ve been sober for years.

Yes they can, but it’s not as easy.
However much I’ve tried to believe in God, I find it impossible.
In the 12 step programme God replaces the “dependence”, which is at the heart of addictions, it’s not much to do with physical dependence, (that is over fairly rapidly) He also does your willpower for you.
God fills the hole that was previously filled by alcohol/drugs. It works very well for very many people who retain sobriety.
I see nothing essentially wrong with that if it works for them.
However some people, like myself, prefer to deal with problems ourselves, and with help from the temporal world, as we cannot delude ourselves to the extent of believing in some sort of personal God, or the Higher Power as he is refered to in the 12 step programme.
The way that I regained sobriety was with cognitive behavioral therapy, it was the hardest “thinking” work I have ever done in my life, it is not easy, and you need to really want to “get sober”.
Having been to AA meetings, and heard about people doing the steps, I thank God that I didn’t have to involve him, or go to those meetings, which were just not me.
Good luck to those that it works for, and also good luck to those who want to get sober by other means, it is pure propaganda to say that the 12 steps is the only way to retain sobriety.

ummm 3 years straight painkiller habit. When no oc was available, I substituted with smack. Quit- dealt with the withdrawls (“clean” since early 2005- but I still smoke weed). No 12 step… once again- you’re full of it.