This is not an anti A.A. website, please randomly read any article and you will see that. However XXX Anonymous is a friend of RFH and we have allowed her to vent in an article. If you have some helpful feedback please post it at the bottom of the article.
AN AA MEMBER WRITES “WHY I RESENT THE HELL OUT OF A.A.”
My name is XXX Anonymous and I am an alcoholic. I have struggled to stay sober for years. I have tried and tried beating myself up all along the way. Once I got ten years sober from an intense born-again spiritual experience in a church. Well I am still born-again and love Christ but I have relapsed 8 times since that experience. I am not trying to compare which is better church or AA because I have learned that 2 good things are 2 good things. They don’t cancel each other out and they are not in a race or competition. I also learned that the 3 things people use to stay sober are spirituality in what-ever way we can get it, therapy, and AA. I do know that health issues can keep a person sober and “relationships” sometimes work.
Resentment
I got sober this time on April 18, 2015. I know for a fact that I have exactly 100 days sober or 3 months 9 days sober, or 0.27 years sober due to the sobriety calculator on this site. Big deal! I do hate myself for not having more clean time!!!! Well this is what happened.
BETRAYAL
I got a sponsor who helped me so much that I had nearly a year sober. I brought her to my house and introduced her to my family and husband. Come to find out she has a lesser secondary addiction called “SEX ADDICTION“. Which okay I don’t judge her for that but It really hurt me that my sponsor betrayed me like that. I did fire her and get a new one.
Condemnation from my fellows
So I worked through the betrayal and then my doctor who knows I am an addict put me on a medication for pain. I had a bad accident and the pain was causing me to stay in bed. When I told one or two of my friends in the program about it they told others and then the whole group knew. (another betrayal) If that wasn’t bad enough a women confronted me when I picked up my medallion. She said “your not sober your on the prescription drug bla bla bla”. I had no idea that drug addicts are known to abuse the drug my doctor put me on.
FAKE PEOPLE
I get tired of so many people in meetings pretending that their lives are the picture of serenity. They never have any problems or struggles or emotional issues. They get sober and then all is well and perfect. That’s not the way that it is for me. And I don’t believe it is for them either. I know normal people who have day to day struggles. I know alcoholics that have day to day struggles why do they think they have to portray a perfect life? That makes me feel lesser than. It makes me feel like something is wrong with me. And I feel like the way that I work the 12 step program must be wrong because I do have difficulties and temptations and sad days and stress and anxiety. Yes I have good days too and lots of them sober but I didn’t join AA so I could be a social icon who everyone wishes they were because I am perfect. ridiculous that’s why I appreciate Recovery Farmhouse because it portrays real life recovery not some fake bullshit perfect life. Work the steps once then its happy joyous and free all the time, right?
I SOMETIMES GET RESENTMENTS SO I GOT AN “F” ON MY RECOVERY TEST/REPORT CARD
Really? The AA club I go to acts like if you ever get a resentment then you failed your test in recovery, you got an ‘F’ on your sobriety report card. But really in real life everybody gets pissed off at people and has to pray for them until the resentment is finally gone. So why do so many members want to make AA a place where you can’t be honest about short-comings or you will be dis-fellowshiped or labelled as spiritually un-fit?
That’s it. These are the reasons I resent AA at the moment. My sponsor says you can’t get recovery while you look down your nose at it. She says pray for everyone and do a fourth step to figure out why I am mad at myself and God.
I WON’T LET THESE THINGS PUSH ME OUT OF A.A.
I still go to meetings. I won’t stop because it’s the best thing I can do to stay sober and work the steps. I keep meeting new people so eventually maybe I will find people who don’t portray perfection and the perfect life. Because in A,A. seems there are two types of people. Perfect people, and totally worthless people. Right now you see my problem? These people don’t know the definition of balance.
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I want to thank Laura Edgar for publish this article on her website. She said that all aspects of A.A. are allowed on this website and no one will be excluded as long as they are in alignment with the “singleness of purpose” declaration which is “the only requirement for membership IS a desire to stop drinking.” And to “carry the message to the alcoholic who still suffers.” Thank God that Bill and Bob knew better than to make a bunch of membership requirements. They were the right men for the job weren’t they,
By XXX Anonymous