Quote Originally Posted by Slacker Mom
Alcoholics are pretty powerless against alcohol. That's like #1 on the AA list, isn't it? Somewhere close to the top. I know alcoholics and, once they get hooked, it isn't as easy as saying, "This is a conscious choice and I choose no!" It's more complicated than that. Any addiction is more complicated than that. I used to work with a woman who was dying of emphesyma and as soon as she'd walk out the door at work she'd turn off her oxygen and light up a cigarette. If it were as simple as "having the power" she wouldn't have continued, but she wasn't able to break free of it. Our brains control all our behavior, including the behavior "buying alcohol". It is very hard to overcome that. It can be done, thankfully, but it's a constant battle for people who stop drinking.
it's step 1... admitting that you're powerless over your addiction

I think Nivek's saying though that twelve step programs aren't the best solution either and alot of it is self-fullfilling. Personally I've seen twelve step programs do good for people who hadn't found any solutions elsewhere. It doesn't matter how scientific or effective it is in this case... just that it works for those it works for is enough to make twelve step systems worthwhile IMO.

however... they've never worked for me... I've tried going at it from that angle and it doesn't do anything for me besides making me jones even more.I hear war stories and no matter how many kids they sold for rock I still want to go out and get high after hearing it.