The Myth of Powerlessness and Disease
April 17th, 2009 |
A GoodTherapy.org Featured Column written by Mary Ellen Barnes, Ph.D. & Ed Wilson, Ph.D., MAC
Click here to contact Mary Ellen and/or see her Profile
Click here to contact Ed and/or see his Profile
Last year we wrote a free download that we posted on our website entitled “6 Secrets Ex-Drinkers Know That You Don’t, And 12 Step Programs Don’t Want You To Find Out. It’s been popular, though not without controversy. Indeed, one Canadian who described herself as a “Therapist, Counselor, and Alcoholic” declared we were downright dangerous and had to be stopped!
That made us think we needed to get the facts into wider circulation so here’s a newly minted rendition of the first two “Secrets” for you consideration.
We started with the notation that AA/12-Step based programs, 98% of US treatment programs, are based on premises that both research and experience indicate are not only unfounded, but actually prevent you from getting over your problems and leave you with less than a 5% chance of recovery over five years.
Myth #1 – “You’re Powerless”!
What happens if or when you attend your first AA meeting? Shortly after you arrive you sit down and then one of the first things you’ll hear is that you’re powerless over alcohol. And just when you’ve finally taken the initiative to do something about your drinking problem, you’re told you’re powerless. Probably not exactly what you want or need.
Are you truly powerless? Is it even helpful to see yourself as that way?
Does this basic principle of AA apply to you? Or is it complete nonsense?
Are you truly out of control in other aspects of your life? For over 95% of us the answer is a resounding NO. Like all of us, you’ve experienced both success and occasional disappointment. But you were hardly powerless.
And you are no more helpless today. Quite the opposite.
When someone tells you you’re powerless to deal with alcohol it’s a cop out, an easy way to deny your responsibility and never actually make any progress in resolving the problem. But once you’re hooked on the idea that you’re a victim and the only people who can help you is the 12-Step group, how much progress do you think you’ll make?
In a word NONE!
You actually do, however, have the power to change. What you need is expert guidance in how to exert your personal control.
Imagine if you were struggling to lose weight and someone told you that you were powerless. You’d be doomed to failure. That’s what will happen to you if you buy the idea that you have no control over alcohol.
Is that what you want? Or do you want to be someone who is in charge of your life and on the track to success? If it’s the latter, you’re thinking is going in the right direction and you can achieve your goals. The real “first step” is to ignore the idea that you’re powerless.
You have the power to make choices and changes and don’t need groups, labels, and more irresponsibility to go with it.
Research shows that people who believe they are “powerless” are far more prone to relapse into destructive drinking than those who don’t, and actually increase their binge rate four to seven times what it was before they “admitted they were powerless.”
Don’t let failed models keep you from seeking help in the early stages of alcohol abuse.
And…
Myth #2 – You Have An Incurable Progressive Disease!
If you have ever been to alcohol rehab or AA or talked to almost anybody about alcoholism, you have probably noticed that nearly everybody immediately puts on solemn faces and then they say “Well, you know, it’s a disease. You’ll need to stay “clean and sober” for the rest of your life, or it will kill you.” Wrong!
There is no evidence that it’s a disease and ample evidence that it isn’t progressive. Alcoholism is a symptom and a coping mechanism that’s gotten out of control.
It’s easy to forget that alcohol is a drug, and, as its popularity shows, an extremely effective one. It reduces anxiety and tension with speed and effectiveness – not to mention availability – other drugs can’t hope to match.
So stop thinking about alcoholism as a disease and think about it as a symptom of other things in your life that are not working. Drinking too much is a behavior that needs to be modified or eliminated. You do it with other behaviors all of the time, you can do it with alcohol, too.
You might be asking, “So where’d this “disease of alcoholism” come from?”
Partially it came from treatment programs hoping to cash in on medical insurance – if it’s a disease insurance should pay to treat it. The problem was the insurance companies quickly realized that “disease” based programs didn’t worked, so they quit paying for them.
What the disease concept does provide is an “out” for people who wish to continue an alcohol centered life under the guise of being “powerless” victims – people who wish to maintain the behaviors but escape the criticism of spouses, employers, and judges while they “work their program.”. You have to admit there is some appeal there.
But what if you actually want to fix your life? Then it simply becomes a stumbling block, one which, if you embrace it, will kill you. You will just keep going to meetings, relapsing, bingeing, and “recovering” until you’re dead, never realizing that quitting is a choice you have – a choice you can exercise.
Don’t you want to be a fully functional person who re-asserts control over your life?
So skip being powerless over a non-existent disease. Instead, do as one recent client summed it up, “Get a grip. Get a life.”
You can, you know. It’s your choice.
©Copyright 2009 Mary Ellen Barnes, Ph.D. & Ed Wilson, Ph.D., MAC. All Rights Reserved. Permission to publish granted to GoodTherapy.org. The following article was solely written and edited by the author named above. The views and opinions expressed are not necessarily shared by GoodTherapy.org. Questions or concerns about the following article can be directed to the author or posted as a comment to this blog entry. Click here to contact Mary Ellen and/or see her Profile
Click here to contact Ed and/or see his Profile
18 comments so far
I am not powerless over anything. When I set my mind to it I know I can do what needs to be done in order to be a success. Alcoholism is a problem but not one that cannot be overcome. It is the 12 step programs that perpetuate this powerless issue not great blogs like yours. Keep up the great work!
Thanks so much for this informative article. It is thoughts like these that I have been thinking for years but never have the guts to say aloud because all of the avid 12 steppers are sure to shoot you down. I have been thru a 12 step program, not for alcohol but for another addiction, and I swear these programs are like moving from one sick coping mecahnism to another. They make you feel like this is the only way to heal and get strong, whereas my experience gave a whole different perspective on the issue. The 12 step program actually wore me down because it made me come to believe that I was powerless to do anything about it without them behind me. That is simply not true. I found so much love kindness and support from my friends family and my faith that I found more success after I actually stopped going to the meetings and began focusing more on the things and the people that I loved the most. It may work for some but I think that overall it is just a scam to keep you on your painful cycle and no closer to recovery.
Thank you so much for your comments, and you are correct, it is largely a scam perpetrated by the treatment “industry” which relies on on recycling clients time after time after time until there isn’t another dime to be squeezed out of them – then blaming the client for “not working their program.”
I have not forgotten being terminated 25 years ago from a still famous and operating MN residential program at the end of my probationary year because my clients weren’t relapsing! I was proud of my 60+% success rate and was told that anything over 10% was unacceptable.
Unhappily that hasn’t changed – it’s actually gotten worse with the target now more like less than 5% “success.”
So, congratulations on finding your way out of the traps! And back to life.
Ed
I think this article made a lot more sense than any advice on dealing with alcoholism. It’s so true that we are conscious and in control of everything that happens in our life unless we suffer from a debilitating illness. Bad habits are just that. Habits can be broken with determination, change of environment and social set up if necessary.
My son is fighting drugs and alcohol abuse. This article made me realise why he doesnt seem to knock it off for good. It’s sad that conventional therapy has never targetted the confidence level of an addict. The cure has to come from self motivation.
I find it fascinating that AA seems to be the only route that many people try to take when overcoming a drug or alcohol problem. It is almost like the creators want you to fail at it so they can constantly tell you that this is a disease, it is progressive and that you need tham to hold your hand for the rest of your life to help you find your way out of the darkness of addiction. Why not church? Why not faith or friends? Like Carla I think that many things like this when done in as much earnest as some give to their AA participation could be very useful in helping them to overcome their fears and turn their lives into a success.
What’s up with all of the AA bashing? My brother would have never stopped drinking and stayed sober without it.
It’s hardly “bashing” to report the actual research – perhaps you’re right in you’re brother’s case, an maybe you’re not. He’s sober, it doesn’t matter to him. But it does matter when myths – and both the “powerless” and “disease” concepts are proven myths – prevent others from getting over their alcohol abuse because they’ve been misinformed.
Let’s remember, AA “works” for about 3% of the men who try it, and less than 2% of women. That’s hardly a success in anyone’s book.
But for those it has worked for I find it a little dismissive to say that it perpetuates the powerless myth. Can’t we just agree that different approaches work for different people and that there are people out there that AA gives credible support to? I do not think that it is the right program for every single alcoholic out there- nothing ever is. But it has been around for a long time now, and I would have to think that much of that longevity is because of the help that it has offered to so many in their times of desperation and need. My brother relapsed many times before getting sober for good. And maybe you are right- maybe AA was not the cure all. But it helped him at the right time when he needed it and for that he and my whole family are grateful.
We agree that there are people whom AA has helped. However, there are also those whom AA has harmed and those who have been grossly misled.
If the treatment industry AA has spawned was willing to say, “With our AA 12-Step philosophy, we offer you the possibility of success at 4% for men and 2% for women,” then we would be happy to include them among resources to try. But of course they don’t.
It’s good to remember that those “going to AA” have a lower rate of maintaining abstinence (5%). Frankly, the research shows that AA has prevented more people from getting sober than it’s helped. Indeed, most people who begin attending AA actually increase their alcohol consumption.
Again – our aim to to provide individuals with accurate information, which, in the treatment industry is virtually nonexistent. Why would you want us to continue to perpetuate the false concepts that harm those seeking help or relief from alcohol abuse?
it is difficult to imagine but I was once the raging alcoholic and I can tell you from my own experience that until I was ready deep down inside to make the changes that I needed to make to control my addiction then there was no program in the world that was going to save me.
We understand that, both personally and professionally – though the point at which change occurs varies dramatically from one person to another as do the routes back to health. We have never had 2 clients whose “after alcohol life” has matched another’s, though the real underlying problems – loneliness, boredom, anxiety, fear, etc. – are frequently similar.
Congratulations on finding your way to a good life!
I think there are 2 sides 2 every coin.
Perhaps, but it helps if the coin isn’t a wooden nickle…
I think I agree with u on AA. I actually had to get into therapy to kick the habit as I kept returning to it with every attempt at deaddiction through AA. This was exactly what I was advised. I realised I was in control of everything in my life. It took a lot of grit, family support and a great therapist but I’ve been clean 2 years now.
Very good piece of info that needed to be shared. Anyone can do anything if they set their mind to it. It takes work and will power. I totally believe that we do have the power to control some things in our life and make it better. thanks for the great article
As a specialist in the treatment of substance abuse and co-occurring disorders, I am pro choice. I honor all models of recovery and simply make sure that the model and the client are a good fit. We don’t have to argue over who’s right and who’s wrong. Our jobs as therapists are to meet the client where they are and to skillfully work with them from there. I find when I do that, there is no controvercy, even within the context of group therapy.
Thank you, Bryon,
It’s a point well taken, and if every facility operated on your basis the piece would be unnecessary. However, 97+% of all facilities operate on a “powerless” model which is, at best, marginally effective for less than 15% of their clients. Simply because you, and we, operate on an actual matching model doen’t change the underlying problems of treatment generally.
Nor does it change the public’s preception that the AA/12-Step model is somehow more than it is: a route for about 4% of the men who try it, and 2% of the women.