Better Than a Pill

Ben R. comments on Addiction: the documentary:

By the time I decided to get clean I had already been in and out of countless rooms and had notions about AA and how wrong it was. I was convinced that I could do it myself and the crazy addicts who were weaker than I was needed AA but I didn’t.

I spent a year dry, and feeling bad for those who depended on a program to stay sober. Around a year into recovery two things happened. First I started speaking to people who were able to get through to me (or I was finally open to listening) the message of AA, that the program is about having a spiritual experience and changing your life. As opposed to “don’t drink, go to meeting” or “listen to your sponsor” which all I had heard before and which I was “too good for”. The second thing was a friend asked me to help him get clean. I couldn’t honestly tell him to do what I did because my arrogance told me that I was strong enough to white knuckle it successfully but other addicts were not. So I gave him information about AA and sent him to meeting. Quickly I realized that I needed to explore AA.

I have now been actively working the AA program for about a year and a half. And all I can say is thank G-d I got the opportunity to do so. Obviously I am far from perfect but I try to work on myself on a daily basis regarding my spirituality and my interactions with others. Now my sobriety is part of who I am, Not something I have to fight on a daily basis. I can’t imagine what life would be like if instead of working on myself and growing into a new and better person I just took a pill. A pill never gave me anything this good.