Addiction Recovery: From Victimhood to Empowerment

A Hilton Head share at the world-famous YANA Club let the air out of the topic of the meeting, which was, the AA Program is a simple program for complicated people

Our AA brother said, “Victimhood is at the heart of a claim to being complicated. Like the famous comedian saying, the devil made me do it, we whine; you must understand; we are complicated.

“We addicts are no more complicated than anyone else. We are simple, and our problem is simple: we drank too much. We are people with a simple but powerful allergic reaction to our drug of choice. It is a simple pathology. AA is not a simple program for complicated people; it is a simple program that looks complicated, and it is for simple people who like to think they are complicated.

“And our pathology is not unique. The rest of the world suffers from versions of the same problem. Humans seize on things and take them to extremes. It is called addiction. And it applies to many habits, activities, drugs and beliefs.

“Our 12–Step Program works for these addictive behaviours, which is why so many 12–Step organizations thrive: Overeaters Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, and Gamblers Anonymous are just three of the hundreds.

“So let’s get over ourselves; we are not special or different. We are not complicated. We are straightforward, self-deceiving, self-absorbed people.

“Once we lose these myths about ourselves, we can see ourselves as brothers and sisters with everyone we deal with and share our message of a spiritual solution to the human problems of addiction.

“So stop with the whiny I am complicated and get on with carrying the message of hope that we have. Thanks.”