Tag: 12-steps

  • About Alcoholics Anonymous

    A.A., then and now:  After 75 Years, We Don’t Know How It Works.  David Brooks weighs in here. In a culture that thinks of itself as individualistic, A.A. relies on fellowship. The general idea is that people aren’t really captains of their own ship. Successful members become deeply intertwined with one another — learning, sharing,…

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  • Chronic Pain Anonymous

    Added to the resources page here, Chronic Pain Anonymous.  New and not huge, you’re more likely to find online or phone meetings than one nearby.  From the site: How do I know if I may benefit from Chronic Pain Anonymous? If your life is managed around your experience of pain and if you make choices…

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  • Workaholism and Chronic Pain

    Take a look at the Workaholics Anonymous Brief Guide (pdf). In addition to the 12-steps (pretty much the same as A.A.’s, with “work” replacing “alcohol”) and a quiz (“How Do I Know if I’m a Workaholic?”), there’s Tools of Recovery list.  What’s especially striking about them to this reader is how completely they sync up…

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  • 12-Step Meetings in Los Angeles

    Building a list of 12-step groups, with websites and phone numbers, on the resources page.  Another bigger–but possibly outdated–list is here.  See something crucial missing? Please let me know.  Here, in the meantime, are the biggies: Alcoholics Anonymous: (323) 936-4343 www.lacoaa.org Cocaine Anonymous: (310) 216-4444 www.ca4la.org Narcotics Anonymous: (818) 773-9999 www.todayna.org Al-Anon: (818) 760-7122 www.alanonla.org…

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  • Substance-Assisted Spiritual Awakening?

    A piece of Bill W’s story that didn’t make the Big Book, reported by the New York Times: Were Bill Wilson’s spiritual awakening and influential sobriety the products of a belladonna hallucination shortly after his discussions with his friend Ebby Thacher? Could they have been incited by his alcohol withdrawal symptoms? Or did something else…

    Read more: Substance-Assisted Spiritual Awakening?