Heroin addict gets clean without 12 steps

by Bills Friend
(Chicago)

Lets call me a friend of Bill. I'm 25 now, and drug addiction caused me to drop out of college, lose a golf and hockey career, and obviously cause major problems in my life and families lives.

I was a daily weed smoker from 17 to 23, but my real problems started when I injured my knee and shoulder playing sports, and my opiate addiction took off.

From ages 20-24 my addiction ran my life. 5 expensive rehabs, 5 heroin overdoses, and brief stints of homelessness. Ive been in AA and NA since 19, with a couple stints of active "recovery", or working steps.

My comments are in no way intended to bash 12 step programs because I've seen first hand many peoples "lifestyles" change for their betterment. Now, I've been involved in 12steps for a while, worked with sponsors and got deeply into the literature for AA and NA.

In my opinion they are great books with very useful info to depressed and angry addicts, but the "general" philosophy that ONLY A BELIEF IN A HIGHER POWER, active fellowship, and abstinence from all drugs (alcohol included) is the only way for an ADDICT to change his/her LIFESTYLE. This is not true in my case. Tommorrow morning will be Jan 1, 2012, which will give me around 14 months clean from heroin and all hard drugs.

I still drink socially, and smoked weed a handful of times during this 14 months. The standard response I get from people in the program is, "tell me how that works for you". And honestly, when I was deeply involved in the literature and fellowship, I said the same thing to many people who proposed alternate ideas of staying clean.

In my opinion, this is what's wrong with the PROGRAM, this one size fits all for recovery just did not work for me. The constant thoughts, slogans, and meetings wore me down, and after years of involvement I seriously thought my bottom was death.

Good luck, good fortune, 5 years of near death experience and the lifestyle of addiction, I finally had enough of it. Bouncing from halfway house to rehab, stealing from loved ones, hospital visits, and the lose of purpose in my life was finally enough for me to just say no.

NA and AA say I'm a dry drunk, or my relapse is around the corner. BS. My history with opiates is not good, and taking a couple pills just doesn't work for me.

I KNOW I HAVE TO STAY ABSTINENT FROM OPIATES, and my social drinking has not affected this train of thought at all. I don't want to do it anymore. So to those out there that have struggled and tried to get better with 12 steps and haven't had success, hope is not lost, and this is just my experience.

Many people have had addictions and RECOVERED without 12 steps Ex: Robert Downy Jr, Oprah Winfrey, Charlie Sheen, Angelina Jolie...