Op-Ed I was told the 12 steps would cure my addiction. Why did I end up feeling more broken?

[thegreenhand]

I was told the 12 steps would cure my addiction. Why did I end up feeling more broken?​

Oscar Quine
The Guardian
4 Dec 2021

Eight of us sat together in a circle in a wooden shed, an outbuilding at a large country house, somewhere in the south of England. The door was ajar, and spring light flooded the room. “Can anyone name any treatment methods for addiction, other than the 12 steps?” asked a counsellor.

“Cognitive behavioural therapy?” offered a patient.

“These other methods come and go,” said the counsellor, with a wave of the hand. “But it’s only the 12 steps that truly work.”

I later found this to be questionable, to say the least. My 28-day stay in a 12-step rehab receiving treatment for substance misuse was defined by a series of moments in which I was told things that just didn’t sound right. But I wasn’t in a place to argue.

Read the full story here.

 

[darvocet21]

AA/NA is not a cure. That an article starts out with a falsehood doesn't bode well for its conclusions

 

[thegreenhand]

I would encourage you to read the full article. It details the story of someone finding that 12 step was in fact not the cure all for them, and cites sources backing up its inefficacy for many. The author shares their own path to recovery that was wholly independent of AA/NA