How to stop drinking without aa! Here's everything you don't know about AA, and the secrets you should about overcoming alcoholism!

According to Dr. Lance Dodes, Psychiatrist, author, and director of the substance abuse treatment unit at Harvard’s McLean Hospital, the Twelve-Step Program of AA has a success rate of 5-10 percent. In addition, a study conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, concluded that approximately 75 percent of those who recover from alcohol dependence do so without seeking any kind of help, including specialty alcohol treatment programs and AA. So, can you stop drinking without AA? You bet! In fact, it is more probable.

Let’s take a look at how Alcoholics Anonymous was started, and then I’ll provide more information about how to stop drinking without AA.

Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 by William Griffith Wilson. Bill grew up in a in a small quarry town in Vermont. When he was ten, his hard-drinking father abandoned him and moved to Canada. Bills mother followed suit when she left him with his grandparents and moved to Boston to study osteopathic medicine. He was educated at the prestigious Burton and Burr academy before joining the Army at the onset of US involvement in W.W. I. It was in the military that he discovered that he didn't just like alcohol, he loved it. As a soldier, and then as a businessman, Bill drank to alleviate his depression and celebrate his Wall street Success. From the outside looking in, Bill appeared to have the world in the palm of his hand. However, he had become an unemployable individual who had a severe drinking problem. Starting in 1933, he was committed to the Charles B. Towns Hospital for Drug and Alcohol Addictions in New York City on four occasions. He was eventually told that he would either die from his alcoholism or have to be locked up permanently. According to Bill, while lying in a hospital bed for the fourth time, depressed, he had the sensation of a bright light, a feeling of ecstasy, and a new serenity. He never drank again for the remainder of his life.

Encouraged by a friend, who stopped drinking; Bill attended meetings offered by the Oxford Group - an evangelical society founded in Britain by Pennsylvanian Frank Buchman. Bill joined the group with the hopes of helping others overcome alcoholism; however, his efforts were less than successful. During a failed business trip to Akron, Ohio, Bill was tempted to drink again and decided that to remain sober he needed to help another alcoholic. He called phone numbers on a church directory and eventually secured an introduction to Dr. Bob Smith an alcoholic Oxford Group member.

Their meeting lasted for hours. A month later, Dr. Bob had his last drink, and that date, June 10, 1935, is the official birth date of A.A., which is based on the idea that only an alcoholic can help another alcoholic. Dr. Bob who was familiar with the tenets of the Oxford Group decided to pursue Bills spiritual remedy for his habitual behavior. He achieved sobriety and never drank again. Bill and Dr. Bob began working with other alcoholics. After that summer in Akron, Bill returned to New York where he began having success helping alcoholics. After about 100 alcoholics in Akron and New York had become sober, the fellowship decided to promote their program of recovery through the publication of a book. In 1938, Bill was chosen as primary author. The book was given the title Alcoholics Anonymous and included the list of suggested activities for spiritual growth known as the Twelve Steps, which ultimately led to the success of today's Alcoholics Anonymous movement.

However, I believe that up until the last several decades much of Bill Wilson's life had been shrouded in secrecy and the success of Alcoholics Anonymous has been often misrepresented! In fact, James Houcks, one of the oldest members of the Oxford Group, commented that "Wilson was never interested in the things we were interested in. He only wanted to talk about alcoholism, he was not interested in giving up smoking, and he was a ladies man! He would brag of his sexual exploits with other Oxford members." I believe Wilson's preoccupation with the other sex was a source of problem for him even while attending the Oxford Group. His interest in younger women increased with his age, and motivated Barry Leach and other friends of Wilson to form a "Founders Watch". People were assigned to keep an eye on Wilson during the socializing that followed AA functions and to separate and steer away those young women who caught his interest. In Susan Cheever's Book "Desire" she seemingly compares Wilson's behavior to those who are sexually addicted. In my opinion, Bill Wilson suffered not only from alcohol addiction, but he also suffered from sexual and nicotine addictions. And, even though he overcame alcohol addiction, he continued with his other habitual behavior until the day he passed away from emphysema and pneumonia on in 1971. It was reported by several sources that Bill continued to suffer from depression for the remainder of his life.

Both Alcoholics Anonymous and mainstream recovery claim that alcoholism is a disease. However, there simply is no empirical evidence to support that claim. I have proven not just in theory but also in practice that alcoholism is a form of emotional escape. Alcoholism is a machine which consists of four gears – Generators, Catalyzers, Paralyzers and Drivers.

The drivers are anxiety, emotional distress, and or depression. For years, specialists believed that anxiety and depression were induced by alcoholism. In my opinion, they’ve had it backwards.

When it comes to Alcoholics Anonymous, most members simply transfer their behavior from one addiction to another. This is commonly known in the psychology field as a behavioral transference. In a nutshell, they trade alcohol for AA ideology. In the end, most don’t really achieve addiction freedom.

Bottom line, you can learn how to stop drinking, and restore your life, without ever attending a single AA meeting.

To learn how to stop drinking without AA, download my free e-guide "Stop Drinking Secrets, Revealed." Stop drinking without AA

Best wishes,

David Roppo
Alcoholism Specialist

Author's Bio: 

As a life coach, Roppo has helped addicted clients learn the secrets of how to stop drinking, and he has established his unique five-step process as a potential benchmark for recovery. His success has overwhelmingly convinced him that the mainstream approach to alcoholism is fundamentally amiss because traditional 12-Step Programs attempt to defeat the effects rather than eliminate the cause.