I believe the steps are an important tool to be used against addiction. The part of our brains that get addicted and compells us against our cosciouse will to continue to use is the libmic system (
http://its.sdsu.edu/multimedia/mathison/limbic/index.htm), in particular the hypothalamus. The limbic systemis the part of the brain that contains the dopamine rewards pathway, the part we have manipulated by the introduction of a chemical or behavior that causes dopamine release (rush). Once a rush is achieved everything about how it was achieved is recorded in the brain (triggers) and it is placed in a list order related to how much dopamine was released. The activities on the top of this list naturally are sex, eating, drinking water, ect... in other words all things that are necessary for you to live. AS an addict we have placed an action that may kill us on the top of the list of things that this part of the brain thinks is absolutely necessary for the continuation of life. Like it does for all other things it deems as necessary for the continuation of life it drives you to do them.. think about food.. If you are hungry this part of the brain will cause you to crave certain foods, feel uncomfortable or hungry, and if you have ever fasted it can cause some unpleasant emotions and the resulting thoughts...
Think about drug withdraw and its relation to this limbic system.. it controls, internal temperature, anyone who has ever had opiate withdraws remembers this system trying to drive them into using, the old blanket off freezing-one second later, blanket on roasting, Repeat-repeat.. sleep and wake cycles, again for opiates, getn sleep while kicking ha, not bloody likely. and it also controls emotions, yep.
This brings me to why i went into that above.. PAWS can be a period of turbulent emotion, By reprogramming the limbic system to think that taking that substance or performing that action is of the utmost importance it will bring out any and all of its weapons against you.. Including using the emotions it has in its control to influence your actual thought as well as mood.
http://www.listofhumanemotions.com/humanemotions the human emotions are thought to be + Anger, Disgust, Fear, Happiness, Sadness, Surprise. With all these emotions at its finger tips and it goal beinf to make you use it would be addventagiuose if you where in some way able to take away some of its ammunition.. Many of the steps do just that..
So before i get into the steps think about this visciouse circle, I believe to be the spiral of a relapse as well as how much of additive thinking occurs.. First limbic system fires an emotion to try and get you to pick up.. lets say disgust a form of disgust lets say guilt.. you then feel guilt, this causes you to think things you are guilty about which causes more guilt, wich cause you to think about more things you are guilty about.. spiralling downward untill you think you cant deal and break and use.. (TLS-will use many emotions at once or in turns, amything to get u to use, because iot thinks you will die withpout it, and it can just make you flat out crave for the drug like a glass of water after days in the dessert, consumes your whole mind)
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.
This a confessional step or admitting our wrongs.. what does it do, it get rid of the guilt and guilty thoughts that the guilt emotion sent out by the limbic system uses as ammunition to push for relapse or drug use.
These steps are also designed at anger.. another emotion at its disposal.. for we also admitted all our resentments or anger at others. taking away more of the ammunition that the limbic uses to drive use.
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.
Getting rid of more disgust with oneself as well as making sure not to accumulate more ammunition for the limbic to use in the spiral of relapse..
As far as the actual fellowship, I love the fact that it has helped so many, I hate the fact that it uses brain washing (not brain house keeping like the steps) and cultist control techniques.. my personal opinion is something like what I heard Space Firebird say.. it was something like.. If you need the fellowship in the begining then use it and buy in but as soon as you are able to regain comfortable control over your own will it might be time to head for the doors.. but better to be controlled buy a HP sobriety cult than drugs IMO. take what you need for as long as you need.
HP, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
the wisdom to know the difference.
and the ability to know when it right to move on.
EDIT: must not be time for me to move on just got back from a great meeting, most uncultish, relaxed, sober folk laphen and carrying on.. ha “If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change. As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. … We need not wait to see what others do.” in other words even in aa/na...
