[Willcat]

In ancient Greek mythology there was a roadside bandit named Procrustes who had a bed in which he forced all travelers to lie. Those who were shorter than the bed, he stretched until their bones cracked; those who were longer, he cut off their feet.

Most alcoholism and addiction programs are like Procrusted and his bed. Everyone has "The Program": one size fits all. In AA, everyone does the Twelve Steps. In Rational Recovery, everyone does AVRT. In SMART, everyone does REBT. And so on. Each vendor promises that its particular Program is the Answer. In fact, some people are helped by the Steps, some are not, and the same is true of the others. There is no such thing as one Program that works for everybody, and we doubt there will ever be.

LSR is unique in the alcoholism and addiction movement in deliberately not offering a capital-P Program. We have no Program, no panacea, no one-size-fits-all, no cookie cutter, no miracle cure, no magic pill to sell. We reject the whole dichotomy between Program and alcoholic, in which The Program is the active, knowing, healthy protagonist and the alcoholic is the passive, dumb, sick raw material to be stamped and molded into the desired shape. We think that any approach that acts on the alcoholic over time as an outside compulsion, a Program, is doomed to fail with most people most of the time.

No program, including the LSR self-empowerment approach, will work if the person doesn't have an inner desire to escape from addiction. LSR rests its entire chance of success on the encouragement and rational nurture of that desire.

We hold that each alcoholic or addict needs to construct their own sobriety based on their own experiences and needs. We think each alcoholic not only needs to, but is able to constuct his or her own personal sobriety program, if afforded the support and the tools. The work of puting a program together must be and is done by the newly recovering persons themselves, just as each of us with long-term sobriety has done it for ourselves. We have confidence in the ability of alcoholics and addicts, no matter how serious our history, to pull ourselves together with peer support. We have seen it work. Conversely, we are quite certain that we cannot get and stay sober unless we construct a sobriety program for ourselves. That is why we say that we have no one (big-P) Program; we have as many programs (small p) as we have participants.

Hello, Willcat. Thanks for sharing. Ultimately, the efficacy of any program will be based on the results.

[madisgram]

if the p group works for you that is the ultimate solution. i feel there are many successful theories, that P word keeps popping up in my wee brain, lol, on how many ppl stay sober. if the goal is met then that's the most important thing.

[Willcat]

I think that having any program is better than none. Yet one estimate is that 80% of all alcoholics quit on their own. I would say I'm in good company with those that succeed living an alcohol free life no matter how its done.

"There is a high rate of recovery among alcoholics and addicts, treated and untreated. According to one estimate, heroin addicts break the habit in an average of 11 years. Another estimate is that at least 50% of alcoholics eventually free themselves although only 10% are ever treated. One recent study found that 80% of all alcoholics who recover for a year or more do so on their own, some after being unsuccessfully treated. When a group of these self-treated alcoholics was interviewed, 57% said they simply decided that alcohol was bad for them. Twenty-nine percent said health problems, frightening experiences, accidents, or blackouts persuaded them to quit. Others used such phrases as "Things were building up" or "I was sick and tired of it." Support from a husband or wife was important in sustaining the resolution."
Treatment of Drug Abuse and Addiction — Part III, The Harvard Mental Health Letter, Volume 12, Number 4, October 1995, page 3.(See Aug. (Part I), Sept. (Part II), Oct. 1995 (Part III).)

As for the numbers, that may represent 10's of millions of people or more! Again I'm sticking with the winners .

From the looks of things, whatever floats ones boat will work.

[madisgram]

i think a lot of the present day success stories stem from not pushing these problems under the rug anymore. there's an awareness today and ppl are more willing to stop their self destructive behavior re alcohol/drugs.
i agree, whatever "floats one's boat" to gain their life back is a good thing. works for me . thanks willcat for your thread.

[Willcat]

Originally Posted by madisgram

i think a lot of the present day success stories stem from not pushing these problems under the rug anymore. there's an awareness today and ppl are more willing to stop their self destructive behavior re alcohol/drugs.
i agree, whatever "floats one's boat" to gain their life back is a good thing. works for me . thanks willcat for your thread.

I do believe addiction awareness has been heighten over the years. People seem to be more open about discussing their problems of alcoholism with family and others. And what I have found increasing encouraging that a simple small-p as maybe in "I was sick and tired of being sick and tired" can boast the greatest recovery rates that any one formal P recovery program. Thus the ultimate solution and the greatest results look like to me are born out from the individual and the 'floating of the boat'.

I'm reminded of Project MATCH. In that study it was found fitting a person into a recovery modality was less effective as suiting the recovery method to the person.

Anywho, for me the point is supporting a person in recovery no matter what program they use or no program at all. As I have heard in self-help groups: "the power of one addict helping another is without compare". There is no wrong way to recover from alcoholism. However there are certainly many dysfunctional ways to live alcohol free. That's why my small-p mirrors some of the big-P's so as to live happy, joys and free.

I thank you all for participating on my thread. I do appreciate the fellowship as I travel the road to wellness, I hope I'm able to do the same for others like yourselves.

[gma45]

Thanks for the posting! Anything I can read on recovery no matter who,how,where,or why is alright by me! Thanks again!