Guest guest Posted June 27, 1998 Report Share Posted June 27, 1998 >Date: 27 Jun 1998 19:34:52 -0000 > >Subject: newbie >To: 12-step-free@... > >I have been in AA for 4 years and haven't attended a meeting for 2 months. I am currently experiencing a lot of anger from my 12 step involvement, specifically anger toward my sponsor. I realize I have been brainwashed. There have been so many red flags that have gone up in the past 4 years, but because I thought I had " flaws " in my character, I decided to obey the steppers. Now I am angry, especially with my sponsor. What makes it really hard is that we have become good friends and now she is giving me the cold shoulder because of my " attitude problem. " >I don't understand how people can be so phony. It is almost sub-human behavior. Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do?? I miss my sponsor, but I know that it was not a healthy relationship. When will I feel better? I don't want to drink and I don't buy the " disease " explanation of the steppers. Maybe I am NORMAL!! I just feel very angry and disappointed in all the people I have come to know in AA. > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- I've been out of AA for about two years now and I bump into my old sponsor now and then. He always seems to be looking for my devil horns or for a 666 tattoo on me. He or the other groupers I see around town just can't fathom someone simply not drinking because they don't feel like drinking. Since I left AA all of the " friends " I made pretty much give me the cold shoulder because I guess sober isn't good enough for them unless you're program sober. Oh well, I still have all my real friends so the loss of a few hypocrites doesn't really make too much difference. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 1998 Report Share Posted June 27, 1998 >Date: 27 Jun 1998 19:34:52 -0000 > >Subject: newbie >To: 12-step-free@... > >I have been in AA for 4 years and haven't attended a meeting for 2 months. I am currently experiencing a lot of anger from my 12 step involvement, specifically anger toward my sponsor. I realize I have been brainwashed. There have been so many red flags that have gone up in the past 4 years, but because I thought I had " flaws " in my character, I decided to obey the steppers. Now I am angry, especially with my sponsor. What makes it really hard is that we have become good friends and now she is giving me the cold shoulder because of my " attitude problem. " >I don't understand how people can be so phony. It is almost sub-human behavior. Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do?? I miss my sponsor, but I know that it was not a healthy relationship. When will I feel better? I don't want to drink and I don't buy the " disease " explanation of the steppers. Maybe I am NORMAL!! I just feel very angry and disappointed in all the people I have come to know in AA. > > ----------------------------------------------------------------- I've been out of AA for about two years now and I bump into my old sponsor now and then. He always seems to be looking for my devil horns or for a 666 tattoo on me. He or the other groupers I see around town just can't fathom someone simply not drinking because they don't feel like drinking. Since I left AA all of the " friends " I made pretty much give me the cold shoulder because I guess sober isn't good enough for them unless you're program sober. Oh well, I still have all my real friends so the loss of a few hypocrites doesn't really make too much difference. ______________________________________________________ Get Your Private, Free Email at http://www.hotmail.com ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 1998 Report Share Posted June 27, 1998 At 07:34 PM 6/27/98 -0000, stevie wrote: >I have been in AA for 4 years and haven't attended a meeting for 2 months. I am >I don't understand how people can be so phony. It is almost sub-human behavior. >Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do?? I miss my sponsor, but I >know that it was not a healthy relationship. When will I feel better? I don't >want to drink and I don't buy the " disease " explanation of the steppers. Maybe I >am NORMAL!! >I just feel very angry and disappointed in all the people I have >come to know in AA. It's a cult, like an emotional pyramid scheme. The people you know in the program themselves also bought into it. But yes, I believe everyone is 'normal' and anger is a normal response when you find out you've been misled for years. Part of my reading that helped me deal with AA (actually I'm still dealing with it, and when I read messages like yours it brings up the anger I have at sponsors and others in AA), is of cours all the usual heretical books, but also some things on the net by people who were involved with various other cults - Scientology and Amway come immediately to mind. Yahoo has direct links to such sites. ----- http://www.mindspring.com/~benbradley ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 27, 1998 Report Share Posted June 27, 1998 At 19:34 27/06/98 -0000, you wrote: >I have been in AA for 4 years and haven't attended a meeting for 2 months. I am currently experiencing a lot of anger from my 12 step involvement, specifically anger toward my sponsor. I realize I have been brainwashed. There have been so many red flags that have gone up in the past 4 years, but because I thought I had " flaws " in my character, I decided to obey the steppers. Now I am angry, especially with my sponsor. What makes it really hard is that we have become good friends and now she is giving me the cold shoulder because of my " attitude problem. " >I don't understand how people can be so phony. It is almost sub-human behavior. Has anyone else experienced this and what did you do?? I miss my sponsor, but I know that it was not a healthy relationship. When will I feel better? I don't want to drink and I don't buy the " disease " explanation of the steppers. Maybe I am NORMAL!! I just feel very angry and disappointed in all the people I have come to know in AA. Hi Stevie, and welcome. I think it is fairly natural to feel some anger when you discover that most of what you have been told isn't really true. The trick fro me anyway, is to try to grasp what really IS true, and focus on that. I couldn't think of one of my old sponsors without feeling angry towards him for quite a while. But ultimately the joke was on him- he still thinks he needs to go and sit in meetings in the evenings instead of doing something he enjoys. He doesn't realise that since he stopped using fifteen years ago he no longer has a drug problem! No-one can tell you when you will feel better simply because no-one can predict future events. But it could be very soon! What I found helpful was to remind myself that one some level all those people are sincerely deluded. It functions like a cult- they get sucked in and im a sense it wasn't their fault- not that they aren't responsible for what they believe- they are- they just don't realise it! And when someone leaves a cult it is supposed to be very dangerous and they will naturally avoid too much contact with you. They think you have a disease that is running rampant because you are now thinking for yourself (they have been taught this is dangerous) and they don't want it to affect (infect!) them. Now I'm out of it, have been for a while, and I feel REALLY good about that. They say the best revenge is to live well. Its true. BTW I needed to read a few books to confirm that I was right to leave and drop the disease philosophy. There are some good books out there now. Yes, you're normal. Welcome back to the human race. Joe Berenbaum Don't keep it simple- keep it effective ---- Read this list on the Web at http://www.FindMail.com/list/12-step-free/ To unsubscribe, email to 12-step-free-unsubscribe@... To subscribe, email to 12-step-free-subscribe@... -- Start a FREE E-Mail List at http://makelist.com ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted July 24, 2004 Report Share Posted July 24, 2004 Hello. My name is Bethany e, I am married and have 3 young children...I have no time for fatigue! LOL I found this group through doing a search on the internet and am hoping to find some answers. I have almost all of the symptoms of hypothyroidism...yet my blood tests aren't showing a problem. I just got the test results back yesterday from my ob, she will call back on Mon and I'm going to ask what the numbers are. There's a checklist on a thyroid site and I have almost all the symptoms, that's why I find myself so stumped and frustrated and even confused about all of this. It's very frustrating, actually. Anyway, thank you for letting me join, especially since I haven't been diagnosed or anything yet. Bethany Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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