The philosophy behind The Twelve Steps

Hi Phat,I'm glad to hear that you are well and, whatever my misgivings about twelve step, I'm glad that you are able to stay on an even keel. I wish you every success now and in the future.I was wondering; are you any happier about the "surrender" and "powerlessness" aspects than you were when you made the previous post? I have to say that I agree with what Crashfrog had to say on the matter. Telling an addict of any stripe that they are powerless seems to me like the worst advice imaginable, the polar opposite of what they need to hear. That's my biggest objection to twelve step.I'm also none too keen on the focus on God, but I guess that's not so problematic for you. Still, doesn't it seem a little... creepy. Addicts in recovery are at a very vulnerable time in their lives. Attempting to proselytise amongst such people seems like getting them whilst they're down, a bit of a dirty tactic in my view. What do you think?My other criticism is not just aimed at twelve step, but at a good many addiction treatments. Cold turkey.Suddenly going from twenty beers a day to nothing is not only a bad way to go about things in pragmatic success/failure terms, I believe that it is actually very dangerous for the person involved. A very dear friend of mine died after coming off heroin. She gave up rapidly and completely and a few days later suffered a heart attack in her sleep. I know that this is only anecdotal, but I can't help but speculate that the sudden dramatic change in body chemistry contributed to her death.I would strongly advise anyone who has been a heavy drug or alcohol user to to attempt sudden cold turkey. Try and reduce the dose bit by bit. I think that approach is both safer and more likely to work.

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Mutate and Survive