I raise them my ex wife who prayed for our son to stop doing drugs, and for her alcholism. In neither case did prayers work. Hers or her family. What would have worked is her actually engaging with a sponsor and giving someone an opportunity to get between her and the desire to drink. But she did not want that.

The tenets of Alcoholics Anonymous is submission to a higher power. To say something is stronger than your addiction and subscribe to it. It can be your own thoughts written down. They don’t ask you to worship Christ. If it’s evolved that way it’s very sad to force everyone to rely on this belief. I was involved in support of an ex years ago.

After I quit drinking and drugging, I focused on work. But now I'm retired. I need a new addiction. Sex would make a great one.

Having grown up in a rough neighborhood (of white trash), I must have learned early to avoid the worst.. It stuck, as I matured and moved away, I've knowingly had few seriously addicted or screwed up friends. I agree completely with you, and appreciate you describing your reservations over the use of religion as a drug substitution.

It’s as if a replacement drug or mental illness is used to counter the one they’re struggling with. And if by chance or desperation, ‘it works,’ we’ve yet another ‘born-againer’ ...pushing the socially destructive ‘drug of religion’ on society.. Religion may appear inert, or something we can ignore or avoid, but it’s ultimate results are more insidious than any drug I’m aware of; “It is the opium of the people.”

Yes, I also think religion is a coip out. I also think that the concept of forgiveness leads many to sin mor eoften, knowing they can receive forgiveness afterwards... and they dont' have to receive forgiveness from the person they wronged, but from the priest or the churhc official that takes confessions. Any penance is doen in service of the church, not in service to those who were wronged. So, religion provides an easy psychological way to feel good when you do bad things.

I got a two year degree in Addiction Studies, when I started to go partially blind, because I didn't know how much vision I'd be losing, and I wanted to be trained in somethign I coudl do no matter how much vision I lost. I did nto count on what is is like to deal with persons who are addicted. I burned out in my internship. I do know however that there are atheists in recovery too. However it is frustrating for them, because they know Jesus isn't the answer.

When I was still studying one professor posed the idea that some addicts exchange their substance addiction for religious addiction. Loked at that way, both are diseases. You cant' cure them if you dont' deal with the underlyign issues that cause them.

For those unaware, there is this group.

[aaagnostica.org]

Since just as many quit on their own as quit because of a twelve step program, I think twelve step programs have proven to be ineffective. I've never been addicted to anything other than nicotine in my life and since nicotine has positive health effect for me I haven't really considered quitting in a number of years. Haven't smoked in a number of years though.

Struggled with addition ?

I’m a recovering heavy drinker, cocaine user, as well as a 3 pack a day cgarette smoker. It all comes down to individual strength, motivation and desire. It’s mind over matter. It’s no more cowardly to ask for help with an addiction than it is too ask for a cane or crutch to assist you in walking. I worked on my own rehab over 4 years to accomplish this by going easy and doing one thing at a time. I spent no time in rehab. Smoking was the most difficult, at least in the initial sense. Alcohol for me was totally different.
When I broke my smoking addiction, the first 2 to 3 weeks were the toughest. Then it got much easier afterward. As far as the drinking goes, that was much easier at the start, but challenges you throughout your life as your always recovering and will always have a desire from time to time. But that isn’t by any means a bad thing for me........it just feeds into motivation to stay sober, as well as the memory of all the bad hangovers and side effects. It was during this period from 1989-1993 when I became a fierce non believer because I learned that one must truly help themselves first before they can ask for any. And that was the beginning of when I became a true nonbeliever and fully in self power.

If it were me I would not be so quick to place the blame on something that didn't exist to the group, I personally would say I did it cuz I wanted to. Other than that have a nice day, unless of course you've made other plans.

If you have an "addictive-inclined personality", you almost Must replace one addiction for another, it cannot be simply removed. But you could go for sex (I knew a guy who did!) Or baking, or swimming, just anything less destructive than drugs or drinking.....

It's the same thing people do here with government. They do not worship a god in the sky. They worship at the alter of shared force of government, and all the fairy-tales of solved problems it proposes, but never fixes.

Many rehabs rely on replacing one addiction with another. It may be that for the individual at least, religion is a less harmful addiction than say drugs.

But it is funny that one of the principle objectives of ethics in mental health, is to insure that the therapist does not create a dependency in the patient on the therapist. Though of course the further you get from mainstream health-care and the deeper into alternatives, the more that is waved, until it becomes the normal thing to do. "My receptionist will deal with your bank details. See you next week."

It is simply replacing one crutch with a more socially acceptable one.