AA May Not Be For You If You Are....

...An Atheist

"I looked for secular groups in my area, but there were none," one former AA attendee shares. "Jesus was mentioned far more often than any generic 'higher power', and it was assumed that you were Christian — which indeed most people were." Before you start attending Alcoholics Anonymous, it is crucial to recognize that the organization's foundation is deeply Christian. Though some secular groups do exist, they may be hard to come by, and even then, you're talking about a secularized version of an organization that is religious in nature. 

Read the 12 steps, and you'll see that the goals of AA go beyond getting sober — indeed, spiritual awakening is an integral part of Alcoholics Anonymous. People who do not feel comfortable with praying, spirituality, or constant references to God and who do not have secular groups in their area may find that AA is not a good fit for them. 

...Not A Smoker

After talking to many people who had attended AA meetings, I found out that AA meetings are very frequently packed with chain smokers. If you are asthmatic, hate being around smoke, or are trying to quit smoking along with alcohol, be prepared. Try to look for a group that doesn't practice smoking during meetings if you would still like to attend AA. However, be prepared to be met with an army of smokers once you leave the meeting place. 

...Vulnerable

"After a while, my brother started using AA to pick up chicks," one former attendee of Al-Anon, for family members, told me. It isn't the first time for me to hear that story. People who find themselves at the beginning of their road to recovery are vulnerable, and AA meetings are led and run by those who have experience, but no professional training. Some even refer to having sex with other, more experienced members, as "the 13th step". This problem is so common that it is really very easy to find horror stories about AA members — some of whom weren't even alcoholics to start off with — preying on new members. A book, Her Best Kept Secret, was even written on the topic of predatory sexual behavior within AA groups. Beware. 

...Not Into Being Judged

"Others judged and openly criticized me when I missed a meeting, even though I wasn't court-ordered to be there. They criticized me for driving other members home, even though those other members were my own relatives. Those who had been sober for longer than I had were condescending and had an attitude of superiority."

What's more, AA's chip system and emphasis on counting days of sobriety means that if you have a slip-up, you're seen as being back at square one, a total failure.

This is part of Alcoholics Anonymous' philosophy that addicts are powerless in the face of addiction, and it's by surrendering their will, rather than gathering their willpower, that they succeed. The philosophy works for some, but certainly not for all. Research suggests that addicts who sober up or get clean are far from powerless — their own determination to change their life is the single biggest predictor of success. If you'd like to eventually be able to proudly refer to yourself as as ex-alcoholic whose recovery depended in large part on willpower, Alcoholics Anonymous may not be for you.

...Into More Scientific Solutions

How well does AA really work? Due to the anonymous nature of the organization, stats are hard to come by. Nonscientific studies conducted based on AA's own figures show mixed and contradictory results. It isn't, in other words, at all clear how likely AA is to help you get sober and stay that way.

AA's own "Big Book" is rather telling this way — it claims that Alcoholics Anonymous works for 75 percent of those who "really try". The problem is, who gets to define whether someone really tried or not?

You may want to look into medical treatments for alcoholism, such as naltrexone, or into individual or group counseling not based on a 12-step approach, instead of attending AA meetings or in addition to doing so — if, that is, other members don't criticize you for seeking solutions elsewhere. 

READ How to Detox Your Body from Alcohol and Drugs

Finally, the very same fact that makes AA so successful for some spells disaster for others: groups aren't run by professionals, but by fellow alcoholics. This means a reliance on the organization's traditions and philosophy, rather than on more recent scientific advances made in the field of addiction recovery. It also means that leaders may not be equipped to keep you safe from unhealthy and even downright dangerous group dynamics or problems with other individual members.

In Conclusion

We're not here to try to make you think AA isn't a viable option — it certainly can be. We are here to encourage you to look beyond the organization that has become the untested gold standard in alcohol recovery, however, if you feel you need to. Becoming sober and staying that way is a highly individual process, and you should feel absolutely free to shop around for different treatment options and stick with those you find helpful.