Answered questions(2)
Experiencing Emancipation
Why does it take so long to work through the 12 steps of AA? I believe in God already and I am ready to submit my will to him have Him heal me. I know that I have harmed a lot of people over the years and I am ready to start making amends now for what I have done but everyone says that I need to be patient and ‘work the steps’ a bit first. I have been sober now for more than 2 weeks and I feel great and am ready to do this. Why should I wait?
Read answer →Why "All or Nothing" Thinking Fails
I am an atheist but my sister is a very devout born again Christian and I respect her beliefs. She got addicted to vicodin after a number of small elective surgeries a few years back. Things got very bad before she finally admitted to having a problem a few years ago but she eventually did go to a detox center and then a couple of months in a faith based drug rehab facility. Unfortunately, since that time she has been on a roller coaster ride of relapses and she just doesn’t seem able to give it up for good. From what I have read of opiate addiction, this is a very normal thing and for long term stability she would be best to go on methadone or Suboxone and use these drugs for a long time as stabilizers. Unfortunately, she seems to feel that anything but totally quitting is somehow a failure and that if she has enough Faith and tries hard enough and prays that she will be able to keep it together this time, despite all evidence to the contrary. I feel like her faith should be something that strengthens her, but instead she somehow feels that only quitting completely on her own is ever going to be good enough to be the person she is supposed to be. I think the people at the centers she has been to have filled her up with these lofty ideals about abstinence and then they just leave her to live with the fallout after she relapses. Is there any faith based reason why this ideal of total abstinence (which is not working) is better than a harm reduction strategy based on methadone or something similar? How can I convince her that she doesn’t need to be perfect – she just needs to get better?
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