In one of the myriad interviews he gave over the last week, Charlie Sheen said clearly that he hates AA.
A lot of people have trouble with Alcoholics Anonymous. AA is full of people and people can be messy and flawed.
The human train wreck formally known as Charlie Sheen is a common sight in the AA meeting halls. The only difference between Mr. Sheen and other self-absorbed, delusional, frantic addicts is the size of the audience to which they rant. These people do not last long in AA. They mock the Fellowship and the 12 Steps (PDF) as too religious or simplistic. AA is beneath them.
Here are a few possible reasons why Charlie Sheen might hate AA so much.
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Charlie Sheen already said why he doesn’t like AA. It doesn’t work. It doesn’t work for him and based upon the research, it doesn’t look like it works for most people.
I am a counselor and I have chosen not to specialize in addiction primarily because addiction programs like AA are so predominant and ineffective. Why spend the extra time and money on training that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans?
1) AA is based off of the Judea-Christian God. They say prayers, sing Christian songs, use ‘Higher Power’ as a term (there are a lot of religions that believe you are kin to Gods, not lesser beings), many have Bibles in the room and so forth. In fact, US courts have ruled consistently that 12 Step Programs ARE a religious program. Others may benefit; but its recognition as a religious program is well known.
2)I agree that’s why Sheen dislikes AA; but there are other reasons:
a) AA started after Wilson’s religious revelation: a revelation induced by psychedelic drugs. He was also known for “13-stepping”.
b) AA is often hostile towards those taking needed medication – for anything from bipolar to high blood pressure. There have been recorded incidents where this has resulted in tragedy – stroke, suicide, etc.
c) Their focus on Spirituality – to strict Atheists, this can be annoying.
d) Many AAers believe that if you’re not in AA, you’re either going to relapse or a “dry drunk”.
And so forth.
I’m not anti-AA; but people who speak against it are usually bashed and silenced. Many who have personal, negative experience with it. Everyone’s treatment options are their own, and AA does not always respect that.
Again I have to ask; where in the name of God are you people going to meetings? I’ve never, ever encountered anything like this in my experience with AA. Judeo-Christian? Yes. Forced on anyone; never once in any of my meetings across North America. There’s a chapter in the big book entitled, “To Agnostics” which does not reject, but welcomes the non-believer. Bill Wilson was a frequent “13-stepper?” According to whom, please? When and how do step programs play with a person’s emotions? You sit in a meeting and can pass when asked to speak. You can listen, leave and never say a word, and no one will hound you in the street. Sounds to me like a lot of the detractors here were put into a program by court order after a incident(s) involving alcohol. I agree that forcing the recalcitrant alcoholic to face some rigorous honesty will engender some big, dark, lasting emotions. But really, some of these comments are way off the mark from my experience. If you’re considering getting help for your drink problem and you’re reading some of these very negative comments, please consider finding out for yourself. Don’t trust my opinion; if you need help, try a meeting, sit in the back, listen and ask for help if you are able, and make your own opinions.
I will have 18 months of sobriety on the 22nd of this month.
I had been to AA so many times and failed. I got tired of failing and I told myself this time if I didn’t make it, I was done. I was no longer going to see myself fail and fail again, it was not worth the pain. If I did not quit this time I would kill myself.
So, off to AA I went again. ( What do they say in AA – the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results.) Obviously I was insane to think another go round there was going to help. I decided to go to a women’s only group to avoid unwanted male attention. OMG, these women were so rude and such bitches! I did not go back.
I did the unthinkable. I saved myself at home!
I have been to rehab’s before. They involve so much drama. The one time that you need stability in your life is when you are trying to make a change. The last thing you need is a bunch of other people’s drama.
So this week my doctor brought up that I don’t go to AA and yet I have done so well. Maybe he was thinking I needed a cake or something.
I think I might drop in on that ladies group for my 18 months of sobriety. And maybe give them a taste of their own medicine while I thank them for saving my life.
You qualify your article by saying “AA is not for everyone” and these “may” be reasons why Sheen rejects AA.
Then you proceed to mirror the historic pathological, destructive organizational narcissism of the AA program which has been denigrating people who reject 12 stepism for years.
When one fails to thrive in AA it is no longer
a universal sign of their illness and personal defects etc, as you have implied via Charlie Sheen. Your personal assessment of someone you have not met will ensure that he or others who have rejected AA never go back. And rightly so.
The AA monopoly on suffering addicts is transparent and on its way out. They used to say “Go ahead! See if you can make it without us! You’ll come crawling back!” Its 2011 Elvira!
You have just used 12-Stepism’s own historical tactic to paint a huge population of people with a broad brush. Intended or not you are helping to perpetuate a bigoted and outdated notion for the sake of a sensational article by way of Charlie Sheen.
Many people (including very sober social scientists) consider AA to be a Chrstian cult, and no wonder. Meetings start with a prayer, consist of public testimony of past failings and redemption, and end with the Lord’s Prayer. Those not raised in church-going Protestant households might find these aspects off-putting.
You are exactly right. I am not in AA, but the people I know who have commited to AA, AS A PERSONAL CHOICE, are living drastically more fulfilling and joyful lives. I have seen the most wretched alcoholics, by nothing less than a miracle, discover a new life and God.
I have found that the haters of AA have resorted back to drinking and denial and excusing their problem. Also, many haters come from the mandatory crowd.
Yes, it is not the only solution and may not be for everybody. They don’t just accept Christians because not all people with alcohol problems are Christian.
It is irresponsible for Sheen to knock an outlet where people ca get help and a support base if they need it.
I think a ton of the haters come from the mandatory crowd. Had a DUI, not my fault, had to do 30 days, hated the people, who are they to force me to say prayers, I’m an individual, I drink because I’m special; I need to be able to switch off “the hot light in my head”….and all the excuses people use so they can use. So, go use! I don’t bash you.
Could your please post your scientific evidence about the “haters”?
-10 years sober WITHOUT AA
Uh, seriously?
Hello, I am in my 30th year of sobriety thanks to AA. I am not a religious person, I am not a Christian—never will be. I hated God when I came into the program. I bottomed out with a gun to my head and pulled the trigger. My addiction took me to the sub-basement of life. It is a miracle that I am alive and more of a miracle that I am ‘happy, joyous and free’ as the promises say. I sponsor gals that want the program and some that are thinking about it. Some will make it and some will not. AA is not an easy path. Being spiritual is not easy these days. It’s not popular or understood in my opinion. But I am writing this simply to testify that there is one more success story due to the program. As far as Charlie I think he clearly stated AA is not for him and I agree with Dr. Aletta’s article. I too was a counselor and many did not want to work the program and some stayed sober. Well, I write for the Portland Addiction examiner.com and did a short article on our dear Charlie. I hope he finds his path. Thanks, Grace
AA principals are based on a spiritual. They are not telling you what god to believe in just one of your own understanding.I myself used to bash it on that reason alone. Until I was so far at the bottom, I was willing to do anything and approach it with an open mind, it is not a christian cult, you can leave anytime you want, there are suggestions not orders. People fall short all the time, including alot of members of AA. Theres alot of people that have come from the abyss of all faiths that have gotten sober with the help of AA. And it is not the only way to get sober, but it has been proven for 75 years to work if one surrenders gets honest be accountable for past and future mistakes, and tries to maintain a conscience contact with some kind of high power. Bill W didn’t do psychedelics till the early 60s or late 50s
Well it works for me… has for nearly 7 years and I’m not the least bit Christian (or religious at all for that matter). But not it’s not for everyone and it only works for those who want it.
There has been a lot of talk about the “success or lack of” of AA in the last week. The truth is that AA is not a treatment program. It is is group of sober alcoholics and addicts who use each others’ experiences to learn about themselves and stay, not get sober. I have personally seen hundreds of people who now live productive and happy lives. These people credit AA for their success and have failed repeatedly in the past without AA. There is no requirement for religious faith, although most members are not atheists. No one I have met in AA knows why the programs works, only that it does. And it only works for those who truly wish to get and stay sober. As far as AA members “denigrating” those who reject non 12-step programs, nothing could be farther than the truth. Everyone knows someone who has stayed sober without the help of AA. Those people, however, don’t seem to be as happy in sobriety as those who regularly attend AA meetings. I don’t understand how those, who have not been a part of AA as part of their recovery, feel they can make any kind of educated statement or having an opinion on the matter at all.
I am a member of AA but do not represent AA. I did not belong to a religion nor do I now. I belong to a 12 Step program that has allowed me to remain sober because of its open-mindedness towards religion.If you do not know the program or have gone to but a few meetings then please do not speak of what you believe to be its failings. Check out the stats!
So, as someone who has been in AA for 16 years (as of tomorrow), I can honestly say a lot of what is posted in these comments is just incorrect information about AA as a WHOLE, based on my personal experience going to meetings all over the country and outside of the US.
First, let me make haste to say that AA is NOT a religious program. It accepts people of all religions and people with no religion (like myself). It kills me that meetings sometimes (NOT ALL) end with the Lord’s Prayer as this is a religious prayer and using this prayer in a non-denominational group is absurd. I myself never say it if a meeting has this prayer at the end, because I don’t consider myself religious and I don’t think religious prayers should be used. With that said, AA is not saying this prayer should be used at meetings – its members decide which prayers are said at each meeting they attend. As the majority of people in the world are of Catholic or Christian following, it makes sense then that the majority would pick such a prayer. I usually go to meetings that end with a non-denominational prayer instead, and there are plenty of them around (about half of them, I’d say, in my neighborhood). That’s just a personal preference of mine, but I can understand how one meeting’s ending in the Lord’s Prayer could be interpreted as AA itself is religious. Which is the whole point why it annoys me.
Secondly, to the person who said that we sing Christian songs and that there are Bibles in the meetings…um, no and no. First of all, a lot of meetings meet in churches, so if there are Bibles present, they belong to the church, not the meeting. AA as a WHOLE is very strict about not allowing outside literature to be sold or read at meetings because that would confuse people (although AA encourages reading all kinds of other literature for all kinds of religious and philosophical convictions, it’s just not done at group level). I have NEVER in my 16 years sober, averaging 3 meetings a week, been to a meeting where the Bible is read, quoted, or there was any singing (and I would leave if there was!!). Just the opposite, actually. Most meetings I’ve attended (90% easily) have a fair amount of cussing involved in the sharing. Not exactly “Christian”, right? The topics discussed are not supposed to be in relation to one’s religious, political, educational, or occupational forays unless it specifically has to do with one’s disease, as to do so otherwise would break one of AA’s traditions (which are AA as a WHOLE’s suggested guidelines but which are interpreted by each meeting’s unified members to suit the needs of the group, unfortunately).
Lastly, it cannot be a cult, based on the definition of a cult. I thought it was when I first started going because I was afraid to be a part of anything that “happy”. To be classified as a cult, though, AA would have to:
1) have a leader that is typically charismatic and powerful. AA has no president, no one person who is put on a pedestal (although don’t get me wrong, some people put themselves there) and no one “in charge” or “to answer to”.
2) require that members give up certain things in order to be a member – such as money, friends, family, general common sense, what-have-you. To be a member of AA you don’t even have to give up drinking, although the steps make more sense if you do (to qualify yourself as a member, you just have to have the DESIRE to stop drinking. You don’t even have to say you’re an alcoholic if you don’t want to). Everything in AA is voluntary and suggestive.
3) mandate any particulars about anything any of it’s meetings partake in. There, again, are suggestions, but they don’t govern individual meetings and there is no law book of AA (although I think sometimes there should be).
AA is a non-profit organization. And it does not accept any donations from outside, only from members who voluntarily contribute (usually $1 per meeting, which isn’t much and meetings often have coffee and donuts/cookies for free, so really a pretty fair deal).
The founders of AA – Bill W and Dr. Bob were both very flawed men. As such, they wrote books that are not deemed perfect but very helpful to a lot of people. They found that helping someone else was the way they recovered from their seemingly hopeless state, because it required them to get their own heads out of their asses long enough to even think about someone or something besides themselves. Most non-alcoholics should try this. Charlie Sheen is probably a narcissist and therefore unable to do this. There is no spotlight in AA, so people with big egos can’t thrive on their ego. The entire program centers around humility, which I’ve heard as described as “not thinking less of yourself, but thinking of yourself less”. If this is not up one’s alley, then one wouldn’t do well in this program.
Maybe the people who say AA is full of sick people should go to Wellpersons Anonymous instead. Of course no one gets to AA on a winning streak. Duh. But the majority of people that work the steps actually do get better than before they became alcoholics. I’m not saying there aren’t plenty of sickos in AA – but it’s the same percentage as the rest of the world, so don’t expect it to be exempt from the crazies. Alcoholism is not a mental illness, but most people do see it that way because people who are mentally ill often self-medicate with alcohol and other drugs.
At any rate, those who don’t know the good that AA can do for people can feel free to find another way to get sober as AA has no monopoly on sobriety, nor should it. It’s just another way that people find help, and why wouldn’t we want alcoholics to have choices in their recovery programs? Wouldn’t that ensure that there is one for everyone that WANTS it?
Oh, and by the way, AA as a WHOLE is not hostile against people taking medication. In fact, the text of AA says that it is necessary and useful for mental and emotional disorders (as is therapy, etc). I think what the main problem here is that people on this discussion board are looking at people INSIDE AA as a representation of AA as a WHOLE. AA takes clear stances on many matters, but that doesn’t mean that members will also act accordingly. Just like the Catholic church has a clear stance on child molestation, but there has obviously been a number of its members to engage in such activity. Just as many people blame the Catholic church for the acts of its fallen members, I guess it’s natural to blame the whole of AA for the failings of some of its participants. It is just sad to me that it has to be so black and white. I don’t look at every Catholic as a sexual deviant because a number of priests were convicted of crimes as such. But, then again, I am more open-minded to see the gray areas between the black and white, and I am able to do so because I am a sober and sane member of AA.
Addicts, and our culture in general, are often of the “all or nothing” attitude.” It’s ashame programs such as ‘Smart Recovery’ do not get more attention.
Of course it is all or nothing. AA is an abstinence program. If you want to “learn how to drink like a lady” then go to SMART because that isn’t what AA is about and never was. To me, SMART is where you go if you want to josh and SAY you are in recovery but still continue to use.
I too tried AA without success, Part of the problem was the higher power issue, I couldn’t in all honesty stay, because I felt I was compromising myself and my beliefs.
The other thing I felt, was that AA teaches that the alcohol was the thing that had the power. With the help of the higher power I may succeed in defeating the all powerful alcohol. But take care because it was always there to bite you on the a** when you least expect it.
I felt that if I was to successfully combat addiction I had to control the alcohol. I was the one with the power not it, and I could defeat it.
AA always made me feel like a victim. My way meant that I was in charge.
AA saved my life. Period.
The fact is: Millions have gotten sober and stayed sober through AA. AA is not Christian. NOT all meetings end in the Lord’s prayer, most end in a non-sectarian prayer. It is up to the group. AA is a NON-
Religious organization. It is a spiritual program. AA is not hostile towards taken medication prescribed by your Doctor, they have no opinion on this. Atheists are welcomed and in the AA Big Book there is a chapter dedicated to them, however it is a spiritual program and thus may not work for them. Many Atheists are in the AA program and have learned to interweave the program with their own philosophies. Buddhists, Hindus and Native American religions for example pray, as does 10,000 other religions on the planet, it is an integral part of living a spiritual life. AA does not work for everyone,just a few million. I once read that 12% who stayed sober did so not through AA. It is but one option. It has been my option for 25 years. I was just like Sheen for 8 years, then I got it…I am one of the lucky ones.
It didn’t work for Sheen because he chose to pick back up. He’s on record as saying he was sober for 5 years and was bored. This way is more fun! He cannot honestly say that AA didn’t work. It worked when he worked it!
People can bash whoever/whatever they want. But in the end, the real hopeless alcoholics (and addicts) have been able to turn their lives around with the 12 steps. These people baffled doctors before AA until it was recognized to be of great help in the battle against alcoholism.
In 1951, AA was awarded the Lasker award signifying its success in treating those who were chronic and could not stay sober for X-number of days.
There’s a reason AA has been around for so long and will continue to be around long after us – yes, even after charlie sheen. Look at rapper Eminem, notice his necklace at the grammys? AA member. That is a man who admitted he was defeated and would do whatever it took to rebuild his life – and it would appear its happened for him, and many others.
I have found AA to be just as you describe.. open-minded, accepting and loving. And it has helped me, and dozens in my home group, as well as thousands in my city, to have wonderful, sober lives.
Wow! I am in shock to some of the ignorance that people have toward AA! I am a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, thank God! That is MY GOD! Not yours or anyone elses! God is just one of the MANY terms used for a power that we can draw on to be lifted from the obsession of drinking. It is used as it is a generally convenient name. AA is not a religious program, and sorry if your contempt holds you to that. It is though likely the greatest spiritual movement of at least the last CENTURY!
To those who are going to school for counseling and have chosen to stay away from addiction because of your ignorance of the program, GOOD! Speaking only for myself, I would never want you for a counselor anyway. If you haven’t walked in my shoes, so to speak, I would be counseling you on this baffling disease! To say that this mutual support society is anything less than a miracle for MILLIONS of people is only contempt prior to investigation. I also do not believe AA is for everyone. Good luck Charlie! You Rock!!!
More AA mythology:
“I have found that the haters of AA have resorted back to drinking and denial and excusing their problem.”
The NIAAA’s 2001–2002 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions interviewed over 43,000 people. Using the criteria for alcohol dependence found in the DSM-IV, they found:
“About 75 percent of persons who recover from alcohol dependence do so without seeking any kind of help, including specialty alcohol (rehab) programs and AA. Only 13 percent of people with alcohol dependence ever receive specialty alcohol treatment.”
I was unable to stay sober with AA, the powerless and the disease concepts remove all responsibility in becoming an alcoholic and instill helplessness, the idea that a ‘Higher Power’ is required to remove the desire on a day by day basis if a person works the program properly means any crisis of faith can trigger a relapse and any relapse a crisis of faith.
It wasn’t until I turned my back on AA, took responsibility for my addiction that I was able to take responsibility for my recovery.
Alcohol and drug free since 8/4/01.
I have read every comment. I believe everyone is entitled to their opinion and do not have to agree. With out offense of someonone elses opinion, this allows me to feel what I want without pressure to conform to someone elses ideas. Whether you like AA or not doesn’t matter to those who want to use it to improve their lives. That is just it… It is for those that want it and not necessarily those that need it. I needed a system to teach me about the tools one would use in life. To be a better mother, wife, friend, worker and ME! I have found it in AA. I am not religious. I was abused by religious people but I do not hate religious practices. I have my own idea of SPIRItuality. That doesn’t matter to anyone in a healthy state. I learned that AA is “a la carte” TAKE WHAT YOU WANT & LEAVE WHAT YOU DON’T! My way doesn’t have to be your way. It has saved my soul and my relationships. If you have found another way and it is working then that is fabulous. I know this works and if I forget… It will still be there when I remember again! Greatful Recovering Alcoholic & Addict!
I tried AA for over twenty years and started to get jaded from all the dogma and rude personalities. I came back after another lower bottom and have stuck for almost 8 years. I am a drug and alcohol counselor and it can be very disapointing and difficult. But it has worked better than anything else I have tried and I can feel the presence of what I like to call God, truth and love there. I try to do what they say to do which is take what I need and leave the rest. I sometimes think it all is corny and lame but I actually enjoy going more than church and feel like I am accepted and belong there.
This is the reason that AA, as an organization, has no opinions on outside issues. I do have an opinion based on my own recovery.
For a number of individuals posting comments, I am not surprised at how ignorant and skeptical their opinions sound, they simply are reacting based on a lack of knowledge.
Talk to pastors, judges and families of recovered alcoholics. They know the miracles and sometimes tragedies involved in the disease of alcoholism.
Alcoholism kills more individuals than most people will every realize.
The fact that even a small number of alcoholics survive by accepting a spiritual, not religious, lifestyle should be celebrated and spread by word of mouth. Just as in the early days of AA. Note that the organizations involved in alcoholism reform prior to AA never survived, they were too public and opinionated.
Recovering alcoholics are just as susceptible to the pscho-babble that comes out of every talking head media show as the rest of society. As a recovered alcoholic of 25 years, I don’t appreciate the media spouting off with their ignorance.
Do you want to know how to help celebrities who are self-destructing on substance abuse issues, SIMPLY SHUN THEM FROM THE PUBLIC EYE AND LET THE DISEASE EITHER TAKE THEM OR LET GOD HELP THEM.
To recovering alcoholics reading this, I joint with you in keep on the straight and narrow road of spiritual growth, making sure that I am walking with other AA members, and not leading them or poking them with a sharp stick. Your spiritual higher power will guide you.
I really think the problem is that this man has a personal problem that needs to be successfully addressed. Love 12 step programs or not something needs to change or deeper tragedy will occur.
I agree with Sheen about AA
It disgusted me so much I decided Id let God help me and he did.
If they drop the boo hoo hoo stuff at meetings and get over it about the disease concept..the BIG LIE..it would be acceptable.
Disease my rump..no pathology no medical indications and no clinical diagnosis..wheres the disease?
Disease was what doctors lined their pocket swith in the 60s with the widespread advent of group health plans.
The whole “higher power” bit from AA was presented to me this way:
It is Not(but can be) God or Allah or whatever deity you perceive it is..although many select God here in America….it can be “AA” as a whole…meaning the entire group of “self” counselors that can be your “higher power”.
The best bits of YOU can be the higher power…instead of your addictive-thinking mind.
Just something ..or some group ..or some spiritual peace of mind ..that is able to assist you in visualizing that you are NOT in control when you persist in your self-destructive behavior.
Instead of battling to “control” …your battle actually becomes avoiding “uncontrolled” behavior. Do you see what I mean? You are giving up your “out of control” ..giving over to a more healthy “spiritual” frame of mind.(Spiritual in the NOT physical sense…NOT spiritual in the religious sense)
You are accepting that you are powerless over your addiction..meaning that you are not able to stay “IN CONTROL” while behaving in your addictive state. Sort of like someone that is allergic to peanuts..they have to accept that they can not control the peanuts..it will always have bad consequences…so they have to give up the peanuts and accept that they do not have power over peanuts..that they can not MAKE peanuts Not Injure them. They have accepted that they are powerless over this area…so they will try to make peace with that. Now… substitute your addictive drug of choice for the word peanuts. THAT is the powerless part.
Not that you are not in control of yourself…it is that you are not(nor ever will be) in control of your Addiction.
As far as opening or closing prayers in a meeting..you can always find another meeting that suits Your needs..or you can ignore what they are saying about God with capital G and substitute Your own spiritual representation. Really the spirituality/higher power quest .. is all about believing/having faith.. that healthy and honest behaviors will net you a more healthy(mental and emotional)self.
Here are seven more reasons Charlie might hate AA:
1) AA’s insistence upon an admission of powerlessness is just plain wrong. People choose to use or not use.
2) AA embraces humiliation under the guise of false humility.
3) To eliminate bad using outcomes, one merely needs to quit using. If other areas need addressed, do so.
4) Alcoholics Anonymous is neither. People are mandated to AA for violations ranging from killing a presidential candidate to cannibalism, often quite publicly.
5) Many people achieve abstinence without reliance on the invisible smiling guy in the sky insisted on by AA.
6) AA blames all problems on the made-up disease of addiction, and prescribes the same non-solutions to all of life’s situations.
7) For many, true gratitude is achieved only when they break away from the mindless dogma and parroted rhetoric of the 12-step movement.
Hi, Some information from the AA web site.
Some say AA does not work for everyone, but it does for my wife(28 yrs) & I( 27 yrs) and we met in AA!!
“How It Works”
Rarely have we seen a person fail who has thoroughly followed our path. Those who do not recover are people who cannot or will not completely give themselves to this simple program, usually men and women who are constitutionally incapable of being honest with themselves. There are such unfortunates. They are not at fault; they seem to have been born that way. They are naturally incapable of grasping and developing a manner of living which demands rigorous honesty. Their chances are less than average.
There are those, too, who suffer from grave emotional and mental disorders, but many of them do recover if they have the capacity to be honest.
Our stories disclose in a general way what we used to be like, what happened, and what we are like now. If you have decided you want what we have and are willing to go to any length to get it — then you are ready to take certain steps.
At some of these we balked. We thought we could find an easier, softer way. But we could not. With all the earnestness at our command, we beg of you to be fearless and thorough from the very start. Some of us have tried to hold on to our old ideas and the result was nil until we let go absolutely.
Remember that we deal with alcohol, cunning, baffling, powerful! Without help it is too much for us. But there is One who has all power that One is God. May you find Him now!
Half measures availed us nothing. We stood at the turning point. We asked His protection and care with complete abandon.
Here are the steps we took, which are suggested as a program of recovery:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Many of us exclaimed, “What an order! I can’t go through with it.” Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.
Our description of the alcoholic, the chapter to the agnostic, and our personal adventure before and after make clear three pertinent ideas:
(a) That we were alcoholic and could not manage our own lives.
(b) That probably no human power could have relieved our alcoholism.
(c) That God could and would if He were sought.
This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature Copyright © 1952 by
Works Publishing, Inc.
(Now known as A.A. World Services, Inc.)
All Right Reserved
Reading the story a bit more closely, I find myself asking a question:
Who is a more reliable informant regarding the 12-step approach? On the one hand, we have Charlie Sheen, an admitted substance abuser who has over twenty years experience with the movement. On the other, a therapist specializing in other areas with no history of substance abuse, but who attended some meetings as part of her training. While there, she was granted an honorary thirty-day sobriety chip which has become one of her most cherished possessions.
As an ex-AAer with about four thousand meetings and nearly thirty years AA experience, I have to say, Charlie seems like the more reliable informant on this one. He may very well have other issues beyond substance abuse, but he stands every bit as much a chance of success with addictions the new, untried method as he does returning to the single-digit success rates he has already experienced in AA.
I would suggest to the author of this piece the following:
Pick out one daily AA meeting and attend every day for ninety days. Watch closely, and pay very close attention to the coins awarded each day. At the end of ninety days, I guarantee you will have seen about thirty 24 hour chips handed out for every one year or multiple chip distributed.
Charlie spent alot of time on his addictions, including 5 sober years in AA that he called the most boring in his ife, and he chose to pick up again. Can you honestly say this man behaved in a way that was normal? H ran around blaming everyone but himself for his professional problems, loss of income that he claimed his family needed (never mind that they could have used the money he spent on coke and crack), made a complete fool of himself yet he can get sober because he has tier blood.
AA does work. It worked for him, too, until he decided to leave it.
Lucky for me that I spoke with a fellow at my forth AA meeting who responded (when I said I was having trouble with the “G word”) “The only thing you need to know about God is that you’re not it!”
27 continuous years of sobriety later, that is the extent of my spiritual belief system. It has worked for me. It may not work for anyone else. I do not “work the steps” in any formal manner. I do not pray although I try to practice mindful meditation. I do, however,on a daily basis, extend my hand towards anyone reaching in it’s direction and offer assistance in any way I can. To me, that is what spirituality looks like. If that is cult-like behavior, so be it. Thanks to AA for making room for me.
AA is for people that not only need help, but “WANT” it…if someone refers to himself as a “High Priest Vatican Assassin Warlock”…this person definately needs the help, but its if he wants it!
http://bit.ly/fv6XxO
As a “member”of AA(for lack of a better term) and sober since my last drink 11-28-83….I can see both sides of the story.
I was only 22 when I stopped drinking, and I am now 49(a successful Realtor, SAG Actor, good father, etc). AA, while undeniably has helped thousands of people over it’s life span, is not the “cure-all/miracle pill) for everyone’s addiction issues.
I was taught early on in AA to take what I could use, and leave the rest behind. After all, in an AA meeting(a room full of alcoholics), it truly is the blind leading the blind. Some good and often amazing things do happen there(even a broken watch gets it “right” at least once a day). But just as often, those with good intentions, don’t always give the “soundest of advise”.
Regarding the “God thing” in AA….God DIDN’T get me drunk, and God WON’T keep me sober. That’s all I have on that.
Underneath it all, when one gets truly honest with themselves about their drinking, addictions, etc…then and only then does recovery take place. Stopping by an AA meeting occasionally may indeed offer comfort & support, but the recovery is truly an inside job….between the person and perhaps a “Higher Power or God” of his or her understanding(no one else’s).
Over the past 27 years of sobriety, my life has improved immensely, “beyond my wildest drunken dreams”. While AA has been a part of my recovery, it in no way defines me or my sobriety.
I wish Charlie Sheen the best….
Regards, Michael-Shawn O’L
Orange County / Los Angeles
Reach me at: actor4you@msn.com
It’s always interesting reading opinions about AA. One of AA’s traditions – one of the reasons it has been around for 75 years – is that it has no opinion on outside issues. Charlie Sheen and his views are an outside issue. The central facts are these: AA is for people who want it. If you don’t want it, that’s fine. AA does not say it is for everyone. AA does not say that it is the only way to get sober. If you find another way, great!Statistics are or can be rathr misleading. Many people go to a few meetings and never go back or apply the suggested program of recovery in their lives. Does that mean AA “failed” them? If it does, then the same logic would apply to any treatment. Psychotherapy, for example, could be said to have failed the person who goes to only one or two sessions but never goes back.
I agree with him some way. I rather have self recovery. People told me go to N.A. meetings. I cant apply because of GOD which I dont believe. Therefore those kind of A.A and N.A. not apply to me but I like dual recovery. I stop because they dont have available interpreter.
but I am fine. I quit almost everything but I am still here. 
Wow–it is amazing to me how hostile people are to AA. If it works for someone, I say it is a “success.” Having grown up w/2 alcoholic parents, I suggest that any method that works is a good method. If it gets you to live a sober & stable life & you can actually be a functioning member of society (like maybe raising children without all the drama, pain & “craziness” of having alcohol rule your home, I’m all for it).
Of course, it will not work for everyone. But cancer treatments don’t work for everyone either. Both are “deadly”, whether you want to call them “diseases” or not. To the family members & especially the children, the jargon is immaterial. Disease, moral failure, condition, addiction, weakness, whatever…
What is important to the children is living with the fear of the drunk parents, the out-of-control chaos that reigns in the house, the shame, being totally at the whim of these adults who have no regard for how their alcohol-abusing behaviors are impacting the helpless children. It is so scary to grow up like that. Please, do not denigrate AA as it helps some people combat this terrible problem.
If alcohol, drugs, etc. are causing major problems in your life & your relationships, it is a problem & you need to find some method of addressing it.
I really wouldn’t be taking much advise from Charlie Sheen at the moment about “recovery”, ways to effectively manage your life, etc. He is not a reliable source at this time. I fear he has an untreated mental illness (my mother had schizo affective disorder in addition to the drinking problem). Charlie Sheen desperately needs some help & I hope he gets it & that his children are in a stable environment while all this turmoil is going on. It would be beneficial for everyone who has problems with drinking/drugs/or any addictive behaviors that he or she would get help to relieve that problem behavior. AA has helped many, but so have many other methods of dealing with alcohol problems.
My accolades go to all that are attempting to address their addiction problems. Please do not give up if one method does not work. Keep seeking & trying to find relief for yourself, your family & for society as a whole. We are all individuals & all react to different methods in our own way as we do to different medications. It took 4 tries to find a medication to help my high blood pressure.
My heart just goes out to all who suffer in this way. It did not end well for my mother (suicide) & my father was never able to form lasting emotional attachments to anyone, including his children. The bottle was his companion, his love, his demise…
AA has a 5% success rate, The Sinclair Method (TSM) has a 78% success rate. I have been involved in both methods of treatment interventions and TSM wins hands down. The good word concerning this revolutionary treatment has got to get out. Many are suffering/struggling needlessly with attempts at willful abstinence and/or control. No one makes any money from TSM (all the info is free online): no rehab, no expensive meds,no outpatient therapy required. The signs of success come almost immediately and cure/control is obtained within six months. Let’s educate our physicians and substance abuse professionals.
Maybe he hates AA because it is annoying and it doesn’t work.
Did you know that AA will continue to hand out chips — for YEARS — if you switch from alcohol to another substance? No need to argue the point with me. My ex has a 25-year chip, and our marriage ended five years ago after his home group decided to give him that 20-year chip knowing that he had been abusing Ativan, Ambien, hydrocodone when he could get ahold of it, that his marriage and family were suffering from it, that his health was deteriorating from it…. But dang, they got themselves a new high priest!! This wasn’t the only group I knew of — another on the other side of the country — that got technical about whether someone got chips for switching substances. I hate AA. If I decide to head in the direction of addiction, I’ll use SMART, which doesn’t cherry-pick substance abuses.
Fried, AA is for alcoholics. That is why it is called Alcoholics Anonymous. Your husband was cross addicted and should have also gone to NA. What I understand of SMART is that it tries to be all things to all people, has less than 400 meetings in this ENTIRE country, and seems to be the preferred method for those that really just want to “maintain.” I’ve been on a board that seems to espouse SMART, and it doesn’t seem to be for people that want to abstain.
I am sorry for your hurt feelings and the loss of your marriage, but you have to go to places for the help you need and AA isn’t for pilpoppers.
Admitting powerlessness over a substance simply means that once you start drinking/using it again,it can gain power over you sooner or later – tonight, tomorrow, next week,or next month – & you’re back where you started.You’ve been beaten again & you have to go on back down into your addiction.It’s got you & overpowered you – again!
Been there, done it,many times.
Bottom line ,the only thing that helps for me is being with people who understand alcoholics & drug addicts, because they’re alcoholics & addicts themselves. They know where you’re at.
I’m not religious. Some things & people around AA have irritated me in the past.It’s not perfect.
BUT IT WORKS for those who want it.
It works if you work it!!!!stay right sized and admit there addiction and yes there are some counselors who do not understand addiction so you made the right move in getting out of the field.There are alot of people I no who have been sober for a long time..not an easy task but what is the alternative jails, institutions or a horrible death and destroying your family.I think being sober going to meetings and beiong honest openminded and willing is the key to be teachable..
People who are in AA no if they are abusing drugs not for medical reasons is a slip..so get your facts straight.they should not being getting a chip start from day one..it is not condoned in AA to abuse drugs it is not sober behavior..
Thank you TW
you are right on the nose.
My personal opinion of the above article is that it is not helpful to anyone, and may be harmful to Mr. Sheen. He may not have hit his personal bottom yet. He may not survive it. Another program may be what fits him best. AA is a wonderful program,It has saved many, many lives,and continues to do so.
Continuing to shame Mr. Sheen, is of no help to him, or really explain the underlying cause of his addictions. It does help your article to circulate more rapidly,thou the use of a celebrity name, and blatant character assassination. All of this while pointing out to this disintegrating man that AA is no longer an option,and will never work for him because he is beyond their help.
Sliced, Diced and vacumed packed, forensicly disected, labled, taged and boxed off neatly into the the mind of others, and juxtaposed with as many differant perseptions as there is people. I like the fact that Charlie has the right to chose. I dont like to see him suffering, I spent most of my life being distructive to myself with alcohol & drugs, my life was compleatly unmanagble. I found AA & NA to be powerful tools in helping me rebuild my life, nobody ever told me what to do, people shared there experiences with me and made some suggestions that might work for me and asked me to be open-minded. For me…. The Compassion i felt rather than all the words proved itself, I only knew how to think one way and as i stayed with the fellowships i found out just how compleatly lost i was without a drink, So in AA/NA i found myself, I am to be very simalar to other alcholics, I have learnt so many spiritual principles such as Patience & Tollerance, I am no longer compleatly befuddled and self centered, I have found(((GOD)))’Good Orderly Dirrection’ and i help other people who want to help themselves stop drinking/druging, Very simpley …. ‘My life has improved and i am growing spiritualy’ not a bad deal for someone who couldent get a day clean/sober…… My religion is called ‘Kindness’…. but i will borrow sbit of anyone elses if it helps me become a better person, because then i can be a better person for others, How others spell God is intirely up to them. My attitude is gratitude and no longer blame and resentment, thats the change that was on offer when i came to the fellowships for help, They believed in me until i could believe in myself, they loved me until i could properly love myself, now i can love others. I sincerly hope that Charlie finds contentment and ease withen himself and takes the help offered to him if he thinks he needs it, from wherever.
I don’t think that AA is a safe place for those of us with Mental Illness. Charlie most likely is experiencing alcoholic drinking, trying to control his mood swings, that was my experience. I have been in AA for 30 years, of continuous sobriety. Charlie will most likely not find continuous sobriety until he is properly medicated. The 12 steps are great and a wondrful way to live, but they are of very little value to someone with Bipolar Disorder, until properly medicated. I tried for 15 years to have the steps manage my Bipolar, and although I stayed sober, I struggled to experience the promises. Had I been properly DX and medicated, the steps would have been much more beneficial to me during those years. It has been my experience that many AA members, tend to shame people that need medication for mental Illness and beleive that the 12 steps should fix everything. I can see why Charlie is angry with AA, because it doesn’t work for Bipolars until they are medicated. Even after I was medicated I was insulted quite often for taking my perscription medication, by fellow AA membeers. Fortunately for me I had a sponsor that was a Psychologist and was really supportive and understood bipolar Disorder. AA is not the place for Charlie. It is not a cure all. It is a fellowship that works great for recovering from Alcoholism. Just as one would not go there to get their cancer cured, People with Bipolar disorder need a Psychiatrist. Tom
Why AA is Religious not spiritual:
http://stinkin-thinkin.com/2011/03/09/4-reasons-why-aa-is-religious/
Why “It Works if you work it” doesn’t mean anything:
http://stinkin-thinkin.com/2011/03/05/it-works-if-you-work-it/
I don’t understand. You say that you are not an alcoholic yet you have and cherish a 30 day chip from AA. Did you pose as one?
7 reasons why Charlie might not like AA
1. Religious conversion is not a substitute for legitimate medical treatment.
2. Charlie’s twenty two years with AA has not worked for him. He is aware that it is not about him, it is ultimately about AA, and it’s high failure rate.
3. Empowered people accomplish goals. Powerless people feel denigrated, shamed, valueless.
4. “Hypocrites,” abound in AA, as well as, prison cons.
5. AA is a closed system and does not allow discussions on, healthy boundaries, therapeutic treatment or alternative support groups for abstinence.
6. There is no means currently to measure sobriety within the rooms of AA. The fact that someone declares it does not make it so.
7. The rehab industry is in itself a sham, keeping people ill, by using the disease model.
I have experience with AA. It is a cult. As crazy as Charlie Sheen appears to be, he isn’t even half as nuts as some of the old-timers I know who run the show in AA. I would rather be a drunk, than be a member of AA again. Fortunately, I was able to shake loose of the dogma and free myself from those nutjobs. I also quit drinking on my own, and have been happily sober for years.
It’s nice getting sober without resigning myself to a lifetime of meetings, placating some AA God who gives people sobriety for only 24-hour stretches.
This article is a sad joke.
I love it when people go to AA, shake loose of it and then claim they got sober on their own. Why didn’t that happen before going to AA?
As someone who has been in AA for 25 years, let me say that Elvira has not only diagnosed Mr. Sheen as “alcoholic” without ever having seen him and has ignored the symptoms of bipolar disorder that he has shown for the past 22 years, but that she has done so in a way that is both sanctimonious and self-aggrandizing. Elvira, get a life and if you believe in the 12 steps, keep your mouth shut about other people and go to Al-Anon. People like you do more harm than good, and if you got your head out of the AA sky, you would know that.
The whole problem here seems to be media attention and hype. AA is not the problem, the problem is 12 Step programs in general. AA just happens to be the founding a member of that group. You do not hear stories of Alcohol binges, you hear stories of Drug binges. In many AA groups it is strictly forbidden to discuss drugs, even though they use nearly the same exact Steps.
Charlie is lashing out at AA because they are the symbol of the 12 Step industry and the majority of rehabs use this. People would not understand if he said 12 Steps had a 5% success rate because the majority of people have never heard of that term. Most people have never been in one of these programs and have no idea what it is like. The only information they have about it comes from the media which right now is feeding the frenzy in an attempt to boost ratings.
12 Step programs play with a persons emotions in order to make them comply with some need. The problem with AA/NA is that the people who are playing with a persons emotions are not Doctors, they are Amateurs who often have a hidden agenda on their minds. AA/NA members will be continually put through a tearing down and building up of their emotions. This is enough to make anyone crazy if done long enough, especially when done by an amateur.
I do not agree that a Psychologist should be sending a patient to an untrained AA group for after care. Much like I can not agree with a Cardiologist sending a patient to a plumber for after care. True this care may work for some, but the percentages will be very low. Both have a high probability of ending up like the drama we see unfolding in the Charlie Sheen affair.