Quote:
Originally Posted by CloserToTheMid
... Surrender is the only state in which I survive any of this
I talk to my sponsor but he doesn't understand bipolar. AA folks tend to think all mental illness stem from alcohol problems. I don't talk about at meetings anymore
|
I have faced those same misunderstandings and mis-perceptions over these past 30+ years. Drinking was only a symptom of my problem, not my actual problem, and the same can be said for bottles as mere symbols...and it could also be said the obsession-for-the-effect part of my alcoholism was definitely connected to or was at least a symptom of my mental illness even though alcoholism, in and of itself, is not typically considered a mental illness. But however all of that might ultimately sort out, the facts about the original A.A. still remain the same:
Quote:
"My friend promised when [the Steps had been taken] I would enter upon a new relationship with my Creator; that I would have the elements of a way of living which answered all my problems..."
"For years we have been working with alcoholics committed to institutions. Since this book was first published, A.A. has released thousands of alcoholics from asylums and hospitals of every kind. The majority have never returned. The power of God goes deep!"
--"Alcoholics Anonymous", pages 13, 114
|