5 ms·
Unfortunately 12-step dogma has persuaded a lot of people that addiction is an inescapable fate, an innate disease/magical curse that can only be managed by joi
by nemo 12y ago
Unfortunately 12-step dogma has persuaded a lot of people that addiction is an inescapable fate, an innate disease/magical curse that can only be managed by joining their religious program for life. The worst part of this is that the 12 step myth of powerlessness creates a self-fulfilling prophecy. It's so colored the popular imagination of what addiction is and how to treat it that when the fact that the majority of people who are addicted to some substance do so by spontaneous remission, it seems surprising, even though that's what's normal.
- csorrell 12y agoI feel the same way about the 12 steps. I sat in on a number of meeting when I was younger and it was clear to me at the time that a many of the people there were really involved with the scene because they enjoyed wallowing in self pity and powerlessness. NA/AA gives people an excuse to be weak, and it's often used as a crutch that further enables the "powerless" in avoiding real responsibility.
- smcl 12y agoThis exact subject was covered in South Park in the episode "Bloody Mary": http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s09e14-bloody-mary http://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s09e14-bloody-mary Often they layer it on pretty thick but South Park can be pretty incisive satire, especially as many quickly dismiss it for crass\childish humour.