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Re: AA and benzos etc

Posted by ramsea on July 28, 2004, at 6:07:21

In reply to Re: AA Recovery and Benzodiazepines » Glydin, posted by tabitha on July 24, 2004, at 3:22:11

I have about 20 years experience with AA and even worked in rehab awhile. There's a chapter in the so-called Big Book which states the formal opinion of AA. This basically says that AA is not a cure all and some people will need psychiatric help that goes beyond AA. Check A Doctor's Opinion. There's also a pamphlet, probably available online, about AA and Meds.

One of the two main founders of AA suffered terrible depression even after "sobering" up. This often gets ignored. Many times inaccurate information regarding psychiatric meds are given as gospel in meetings and I have been both the unfortunate recipient of dangerous medical advice from non-medics as well as seeing others with a psychiatric illness pilloried.

I recall one person who worked about 15 years in rehab counsling and they suffered a severe depression when the spouse suddenly left them with no warning for another rehab counselor. This person was a generous sponsor to many people and very well respected. Then this suddenly traumatized person, over 15 years without a drink or medicine of any kind, was ostracized and belittled and humiliated in meetings where the person was "confronted" with the fact of taking an antidepressant. This person had stopped eating and looked very frail--clearly they were ill. They needed AA support fellowship, but got the boot. The wounding was very, very deep.

Okay, so not everyone in AA is so judgemental and narrow, but it is true that some are. I believe it is because they are actually very frightened for their own safety so they may not be able to think less self-centeredly. Humans are often like this, aren't we? If we have a bad experience with something we generalize that everyone else will feel like we do. We may make assumptions about another person's motives based on our own experience, and it may have no baring on anyone else's needs. Just a thought.

One rehab position I am familiar with is the notion that lithium is okay if doctors feel it is necessary. This is because lithium almost never causes a "high" or even in appropriate doses, sedation as such. If you take too much lithium it will cause sickness, possible coma, possible death. And no euphoric experience with it.

Also, anti-psychotics are often okay if again the rehab team believe there is true psychosis. And anti-psychs do not have a euphoria potential either.

Some rehab units do use anti-depressants. I am not at all sure why anti-ds are so villainized, since when I have taken them all I ever got was horrible dysphoric manias which are very non-addictive. Maybe because so many alcoholics are also depressive?? And some people do get euphoria from them, usually very temporary. I guess I have, but it was so temporary I hardly remember, and how to separate that feel good factor from the fact of trying to not feel so depressed there's no will to live? It can be wonderful to feel like living again.

Benzos of course get the evil eye, perhaps rightly in some cases.

Personally as a severe social phobic I have been helped by Ativan and it hasn't led to addiction, though like my lithium it helps me live okay so I do take it as required. But nowadays the receptionist team at the GPs treat any repeat script of benzo as a cry for a fix from a addict, and it is amazingly humiliating.

The social anxiety increases tenfold when you have to go through the rigamorole that is necessary now to fill the script as specified by the pdoc.
Sorry--that last complaint wasn't what you asked for. In short, officially there is no AA ban on psychotropic meds.

Unofficially, many members consider that anyone who is on antideps etc is welcome to come to meetings if they have a "true desire" to be free of alcohol (and nowadays also illegal drugs but this is controversial too). They are however perceived to be still struggling and should not be given positions of "power" such as leading a meeting.

This is because the members don't feel that person is still "truly sober". Of course some actually abstinent members also get the humiliating treatment when they are deemed a Dry Drunk. To be this all one has to be is clinically depressed and chronically unhappy, but still not drinking (or smoking pot, etc).
Hope that helps a little.


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poster:ramsea thread:367614
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20040722/msgs/371528.html