Category: Addiction Blog Posts
-
The Success Rate of AA Is 5–10% — Here’s Why
Depending on whom you ask, AA has a success rate of about 5–10%. And when I say “whom,” I mean people who actually study this shit — you know, scientists — not the schmuck old-timer at AA who likes to quote page 58 about, “rarely have we seen a person fail blah blah blah.” Let…
-
What Heroin Feels Like — From a Real Heroin Addict
If you’re wondering what heroin feels like, here’s the truth from a real heroin addict. Heroin is a well-known drug, but many don’t know much about it. We’ve all seen movies like Pulp Fiction or Requiem for a Dream. I gotta be honest, before I ever did any heroin, I for sure thought it was…
-
What It Feels Like to Be Drunk — From an Alcoholic
I’ve read a lot of shit on the internet about what it feels like to be drunk, and they’re always the same — they’re written by some fucking medical expert who talks about us drunks in the third person and obviously knows nothing more than what it feels like to be tipsy. Not only that, but…
-
AA Sponsor | What a Sponsor Is and Why You Need One
An AA sponsor is someone who takes you through the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Ideally, they follow the steps as outlined in the Big Book. Here’s what an AA sponsor does, why you need one, and what to stay on guard for. What an AA Sponsor Does While a sponsor’s primary job is to…
-
AA Step 12 | Carry the Message and Practice These Principles
In AA Step 12 says, “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.” When we think of step 12 in AA, we often think of the first part of the step — service, carrying the message,…
-
Step 11 in AA | The 11th Step Prayer and How Often to Pray
Step 11 in AA (Alcoholics Anonymous) is about much more than a single prayer, though the 11th step prayers are pretty solid. The 11th step in AA says, “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understand Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the…
-
AA Step 10 — Continue to Take Personal Inventory
In AA step 10 is the beginning of the “maintenance” steps. In the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, step 10 reads: “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.” Step 10 should begin while we’re working through our amends in step 9. You don’t have to wait until you’ve completed…
-
AA Step 9 | How to Make Amends to People You’ve Harmed
In AA step 9 says we, “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” In AA step 9 is humbling, and it’s hard, but thankfully, if we’ve worked through Step 8 with our sponsor, then we’re prepared. Step 8 is when we make our list…
-
AA Step 8 | How to Make Your 8th Step List
In AA step 8 is, “Made a list of all people we have harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.” What scares most people is step 9—the actual making of the amends—and they usually let that fear keep them from doing the writing that step 8 requires. Remember—you’re not doing step 9…
-
AA Step 6 — Become Entirely Ready
In AA, step 6 is one of most misunderstood and misinterpreted of the 12 steps. Step 6 in Alcoholics Anonymous reads, “Were entirely ready to have god remove all these defects of character.” (Remember, that’s a god of your understanding. You can work the 12 steps without god). When we talk about step 6, we…