How do drug rehab centers get you to stop doing meth/ and or beer?

[polarthedog]

I knew a guy that went there too. Said it was a scam. They made him bring in all of his prescriptions and illicit drugs on admission and forfeit it to them. He thought that was a little fishy. He said that the whole resort (Passages of Malibu) was owned by the guy in the commercial and was inherited from father. He described the place as a complete scam to make money and have people give this guy all their drugs. I think it was the money that motivated him honestly. He said his time there definitely didn’t cure him and was complete bullshit. I don’t think that place is in business anymore.

LOL, sounds about right

 

[Snafu in the Void]

AA is a cult and courts are ordering people to join as part of their sentence. Fuck that shit, their are plenty of non 12 step groups that aren’t as cultish,

just wanna be the voice of balance here

it's not an actual cult lol, and the courts send people there because it actually helps some people

and (in)correctly say addiction is an incurable disease.

It's one way to look at it. I don't really agree with it myself - yet I can't argue against it's effectiveness.

What else do you say to these people? You'll get over this one day, keep drinking?

I think it's valuable information later into recovery but is very scary/intimidating early on. Whether it's true or not is for neither of us to say, IMO.

 

[Snafu in the Void]

I don’t like AA at all. There are better fellowships out there.

I have my own beefs with it, but I have a lot respect for it. I attribute it for building a foundation on which I have my own level of sobriety now. I don't live a sober life, but much much closer than before AA.

I agree with 10/12 of their tenants. It's not all bad. I've met some really cool people through AA.

I don't go to AA, but I will defend it to a limited extent.

 

[polarthedog]

I have my own beefs with it, but I have a lot respect for it. I attribute it for building a foundation on which I have my own level of sobriety now. I don't live a sober life, but much much closer than before AA.

I agree with 10/12 of their tenants. It's not all bad. I've met some really cool people through AA.

I don't go to AA, but I will defend it to a limited extent.

I knew a super devout religious guy in jail that claimed that aa is based in the occult or some shit lol

 

[Just a little pinprick]

I have my own beefs with it, but I have a lot respect for it. I attribute it for building a foundation on which I have my own level of sobriety now. I don't live a sober life, but much much closer than before AA.

I agree with 10/12 of their tenants. It's not all bad. I've met some really cool people through AA.

I don't go to AA, but I will defend it to a limited extent.

To me the thing that fucks NA/AA up is simple it’s the people ,not all but the ones that are chasing spiritually, (NA nazis) it’s like drug to them , every time they open their mouth they feel they’re helping someone and it brings them closer to knowing gods will for them ,it’s in one of the steps , I’ve seen them run people out right out the rooms just from something they shared , basically punk’d them right out the door .


Yeah I’m far from sober too ,NA helped me leave my decades of dope and coke use in the past and open up a new chapter , life’s good.

 

[polarthedog]

To me the thing that fucks NA/AA up is simple it’s the people ,not all but the ones that are chasing spiritually, (NA nazis) it’s like drug to them , every time they open their mouth they feel they’re helping someone and it brings them closer to knowing gods will for them ,it’s in one of the steps , I’ve seen them run people out right out the rooms just from something they shared , basically punk’d them right out the door .


Yeah I’m far from sober too ,NA helped me leave my decades of dope and coke use in the past and open up a new chapter , life’s good.

I agree, I think it’s good for people, it definitely helped me, but I mainly learned from the big book and ignored the na natzis, I sponsored myself and took myself through the steps, I obviously still get high, but I’m much better off than I was

On that note, any of you guys read russel brands 12 step book? It’s pretty fucking funny, it’s an atheistic version basically

 

[Just a little pinprick]

I agree, I think it’s good for people, it definitely helped me, but I mainly learned from the big book and ignored the na natzis, I sponsored myself and took myself through the steps, I obviously still get high, but I’m much better off than I was

On that note, any of you guys read russel brands 12 step book? It’s pretty fucking funny, it’s an atheistic version basically

That’s great ,I only wrote out the first three steps which you can do solo , I didnt buy into the sponsor thing , that would mean I’d have to become close to someone deeply involved

it’s just a resource that’s available for folks that might have a problem

The steps are

Steps 1-3 = Trust God
Steps 4-10 Clean House
Steps 11-12 Help Others


6 words .
It’s a spiritual program, get off the ride whenever you like.

 

[polarthedog]

That’s great ,I only wrote out the first three steps which you can do solo , I didnt buy into the sponsor thing , that would mean I’d have to become close to someone deeply involved

it’s just a resource that’s available for folks that might have a problem

The steps are

Steps 1-3 = Trust God
Steps 4-10 Clean House
Steps 11-12 Help Others


6 words .
It’s a spiritual program, get off the ride whenever you like.

Haha, this thread has turned into a discussion about AA/NA

 

[Keif' Richards]

I'm now moving this over to the recovery forums. I just want to add my opinion. I think the biggest disconnect between people and the 12 steps is feeling like they are being forced into something. Being forced to do something is never enjoyable and doesn't give you a fair shake at actually experiencing it and making those hard decisions for yourself.

AA is a lot of things to a lot of people, which may seem like a cop-out answer, but please follow me here. For some people, it's an extremely basic, primitive level of accountability for their emotions. At the lowest of the levels, you might walk into a room and consistently hear "you're behaing like a dick to your wife man" or whatever and start to realize that you want change. For other people, yea, it clearly takes on something akin to a religious element, but that's fine too.

At the end of the day, it's a totally voluntary program and I believe 90% of its benefit is not found in "the books" or any of that shit, but just in having fellowship and accoutability with other people who are as fucked up as you are. The rest.... the big book, sponsorship and all of that, I also believe are some really powerful and strong ideas that help people get better all the time. I just believe that the vast majority of the power is in the group itself.

I think a lot of people have run away from 12-step meetings becasuse they feel coerced, either by friends, family or the law. I totalyl get that. The last thing I want to see though. is people not giving the program a chance simply beacsue it wasn' their idea originally.

 

[Jabberwocky]

my rehab wasn't NA/AA based, though we did have the option to go to meetings we weren't forced. i went cos on those days it was the only way to get out of the place. hated AA, NA is much more my vibe. it does vary from place to place though. i've just moved back to the place i was doing NA just before and after rehab, after moving to a nearby city for a few years. i am genuinely looking forward to getting back into the fellowship here. its not why i moved, but its so much more friendly and caring here than in the city i was in. even within one place meetings vary.

i don't think you have to do the 12 steps to get clean but i do think that mutual support groups of some flavour are really really helpful. you need people who understand and places you can share openly.

my rehab focused on the underlying problems driving our using. i had specialised trauma therapy and i'd have scored the second i got out without that. they concentrated a lot on reframing our destructive behaviours. i found the therapy great in general. things like writing your life story and drawing self portraits seem dumb until you do them and see how powerful it is, especially when you then have to go through it with a very good therapist.

we also got gym sessions twice a week, cooking and a walk one afternoon, like those normal people things you haven't done for years before rehab (well in my case anyway). meditation also, we just had 5 mins every morning cos most people in early recovery cannot sit with themselves, but i noticed effects to the point that i started doing it of my own volition.

it didn't make me magically forget what drugs are like, nor is my recovery perfect, i've had 2 lapses on smack and crack since then and am now struggling with drinking and a relapse of eating disordered behaviours. but it gave me the foundation i needed to be able to rebuild my life. for the first 6 months after my recovery was more than a full time job- practiclly every hour of every day was recovery based activities.

one thing that i think made a difference was that i went with the attitude that i was going to fucking try. i didn't want to, i was basically forced, but my parents were paying and i knew it was basically my one shot cos they don't have infinite money. so i put my all into it. still hated them for agfes for taking away my drugs, but they saved my life.

 

[Just a little pinprick]

I'm now moving this over to the recovery forums. I just want to add my opinion. I think the biggest disconnect between people and the 12 steps is feeling like they are being forced into something. Being forced to do something is never enjoyable and doesn't give you a fair shake at actually experiencing it and making those hard decisions for yourself.

AA is a lot of things to a lot of people, which may seem like a cop-out answer, but please follow me here. For some people, it's an extremely basic, primitive level of accountability for their emotions. At the lowest of the levels, you might walk into a room and consistently hear "you're behaing like a dick to your wife man" or whatever and start to realize that you want change. For other people, yea, it clearly takes on something akin to a religious element, but that's fine too.

At the end of the day, it's a totally voluntary program and I believe 90% of its benefit is not found in "the books" or any of that shit, but just in having fellowship and accoutability with other people who are as fucked up as you are. The rest.... the big book, sponsorship and all of that, I also believe are some really powerful and strong ideas that help people get better all the time. I just believe that the vast majority of the power is in the group itself.

I think a lot of people have run away from 12-step meetings becasuse they feel coerced, either by friends, family or the law. I totalyl get that. The last thing I want to see though. is people not giving the program a chance simply beacsue it wasn' their idea originally.

I agree being court ordered sucks ,it happened to me twice that I had to get a paper signed , I was in the legal system plenty so getting a paper signed was better then sitting in a cell anytime , I just happen to continue going after my court order and here we are today.
Being pressured or questioned by family or friends is annoying enough never mind them telling you to go to a meeting.

oh yeah, I feel better inside spiritually by contributing to this thread and if that’s brainwashing,I’m brainwashed.

 

[Just a little pinprick]

my rehab focused on the underlying problems driving our using. i had specialised trauma therapy and i'd have scored the second i got out without that. they concentrated a lot on reframing our destructive behaviours. i found the therapy great in general. things like writing your life story and drawing self portraits seem dumb until you do them and see how powerful it is, especially when you then have to go through it with a very good therapist.

we also got gym sessions twice a week, cooking and a walk one afternoon, like those normal people things you haven't done for years before rehab (well in my case anyway). meditation also, we just had 5 mins every morning cos most people in early recovery cannot sit with themselves, but i noticed effects to the point that i started doing it of my own volition.

it didn't make me magically forget what drugs are like, nor is my recovery perfect, i've had 2 lapses on smack and crack since then and am now struggling with drinking and a relapse of eating disordered behaviours. but it gave me the foundation i needed to be able to rebuild my life. for the first 6 months after my recovery was more than a full time job- practiclly every hour of every day was recovery based activities.

one thing that i think made a difference was that i went with the attitude that i was going to fucking try. i didn't want to, i was basically forced, but my parents were paying and i knew it was basically my one shot cos they don't have infinite money. so i put my all into it. still hated them for agfes for taking away my drugs, but they saved my life.“my rehab focused on the underlying problems driving our using”

mine was too but I still felt it was AA based, they sling recovery lingo in everything.They got you for just a few weeks and they just wanna give you something to think about while they got you ( use to call it the beat down), I’m sure you preferred listening to a certain counselor over others ,I know I did. Plenty of free time with things to do in that free time was vital ,volleyball,football,frisbee,cards,sex…. For me rehab was a positive experience.

You speak to 100 people and you’ll get that many opinions and they’ll all apply.

Yeap no magical pill no hocus pocus once you leave it’s up to you there’s nobody to blame but yourself for your decisions and you can take full credit for your accomplishments.

^^^^
That’s what rehab thought me.

 

[n3ophy7e]

On that note, any of you guys read russel brands 12 step book? It’s pretty fucking funny, it’s an atheistic version basically

Yes!!! I love him, always have. I listened to the audiobook version the last time I was in hospital detox.

 

[JTemperance]

Sometimes I think the only way I'm ever going to really get 'clean and sober' is to leapfrog over AA's milquetoast higher power ("it can be anything, even the concept of sobriety!" ) and start my new life as a Bible-beating, holy-rolling, born-again (in the blood of the lamb hallelujah!) Christian.

Old time religion seems like a much more satisfying replacement than AA meetings for the sense of certainty and community that drug addiction brings to your life, however perversely.

I guess at some level you're supposed to actually, you know, 'believe in God' before you can become a fully-immersed Evangelical... but as a wise man once said -- in a room somewhere that I don't remember, reading from a book I can't quite recall -- "fake it 'til you make it," right?

 

[Burnt Offerings]

I don’t like AA at all. There are better resources out there.

Such as?

Serious question btw, I’m not trying to be a jerk. The thing about AA/NA is, even though it’s mostly ineffective and often irritating in a variety of ways, at least its around most places. The only alternative model for sobriety that I can think of off the top of my head is the SMART recovery method (iirc?) but I don’t know anyone irl who has even participated in that. There seems to be a real dearth of information regarding the effectiveness of non-12 step routes to sobriety. And there’s definitely room for improvement and experimentation because 12 step doesn’t work for everyone or even most people

With that being said I wouldn’t categorize it as a “cult” necessarily because it’s difficult to leave a cult once you’re in...whereas with AA/NA, no one will really give a shit if you stop showing up to meetings