Crazy - I'm sorry you're running into people with negative attitudes in AA. I was talking to a woman, she's not my sponsor but she has some serious sobriety and we're becoming friends, and she said it's been a real miracle seeing me change in the past year. When she first met me I was still in the psych hospital, out on a day pass so I could go to meetings & really messed up. she said that it was obvious to everyone that I had mental health problems beyond alcoholism. As I've dealt with those problems staying sober is getting easier.

In almost all the literature i've read around dual diagnosis it's very clear that you have to treat both the addiction and the mental health issue. If fact stopping drinking can often make the underlying mental health issue worse because we've been self medicating the symptoms. I'm pretty open in AA about talking about my drinking and my depression together, and so far I haven't run into too much grief. I have on occassion had to remind people that AA has a tradition which says it has no opinion on outside issues, and I consider my mental health an outside issue. I find reminding people of the slogan 'live and let live" while it can ruffle feathers get's the point accross.

I occassionally get grief because I did a treatment program and go for hospital councelling around my addiction once a week at a treatment program that is most decidedly not 12 step. But it worked for me. In contrast I went through a rehab that was entirely 12 step based and it didn't work for me. Perhaps i just wasn't ready, but I think it's because I responded better to a treatment model that looked at biology, nutrition, mental health and made extensive use of CBT.

I still go to and love AA. It gives me someplace to go where I'm not drinking and where I don't want to drink. It's helping me break my pattern of isolating, and I'm meeting great people who I can call and talk to when I want to drink. When you've been around longer, I suspect you'll find more people who work the program selectively and are successful. I know of several absolute atheists in AA who have good long term sobriety - they just don't participate in any of the prayers in the meeting.

I think the key is finding the balance that works best for you and not let it get to you when other people try to tell you how to work your program. A firm but very polite, thank you for the advice but that's between me and my sponsor usually works well.

the important thing to remember is that it's your recovery and your mental health. Educate yourself on addictions and mental health - it will make you feel better and help you make more informed choices as well as deal with people with narrow minded attitudes.

My attitude is, I keep asking the question, is this helping or hurting my sobriety? If it's helping it then I do it. And I was pretty %#@&#! up from my drinking by the time I got to AA so my recovery includes AA, seeing a T weekly and a pdoc once a month. It means taking meds. It means taking naltrexone to help with the cravings and antabuse to make me sick if I drink because I don't trust myself yet.

AA talks about going to any lengths necessary to achieve sobriety, well those lengths can include seeking outside support.

It may be as you said that you'll have to change groups for a while. that's ok. I just hope you find one where you can feel you can fit in and benefit from the program.

--splitimage