"Spencer Recovery Center" & AA

[algeranon@hotmail.com]

There's a scam called "Spencer Recovery Center" that one of my
relatives with more dollars than sense sent me to the last time I set
out to get better or die trying. Frankly either one would have been
fine with me.

Spencer's one of those rehab joints. They basically haul you to a bunch
of AA meetings and charge more than $10 THOUSAND dollars for attending
the otherwise-free AA meetings, lol.

In the first Spencer Center group meeting I said I think maybe drug
addiction could be due to problems with brain chemistry and that maybe
I should not give up on antidepressants and some
fellow-but-less-enlighgtened-than-me drug addict said "shut up! those
are just drugs and we're here to get BETTER! If you're not then leave!
The instructor agreed and asked me to leave so I left and never looked
back.

I asked about SMART recovery and Rational Recoverywhen I was there
since I am an agnostic and they pooh-poohed that and said AA is the
only way.

$14,000 well spent, wouldn't you say? :;io)

P.S. Don't get me wrong. I met lots of nice folks in those AA meetings.
LOTS of people who really did seem to have connected with a "higher
power" or at least a higher "something" and who waned to help. GOOD
people....

but I ain't a big fan of the obviious cult aspects of AA.

[algeranon@hotmail.com]

algeranon@hotmail.com wrote:
> There's a scam called "Spencer Recovery Center"
> blah blah blah.....

Oh, yeah, by the way, only "dry drunks" need reply.

That's a term I learned at "Spencer".

A term they used to refer to anyone who'd managed to recover from
alcoholism without the dubious benefits of being baptised into the
religion of AA. ;o)

[algeranon@hotmail.com]

algeranon@hotmail.com wrote:
> algeranon@hotmail.com wrote:
> > There's a scam called "Spencer Recovery Center"
> > blah blah blah.....
>
> Oh, yeah, by the way, only "dry drunks" need reply.
>
> That's a term I learned at "Spencer".
>
> A term they used to refer to anyone who'd managed to recover from
> alcoholism without the dubious benefits of being baptised into the
> religion of AA. ;o)

Oh, and did I forget to mention all the rest of my familiy including
the one who had me "committed" to "Spencer 'Recovery' Center" are fundy
mentalist Christians?

Might as well kill two birds with one stone I suppose.

Cure me of drug addiction and save my soul for no extra charge! LOL!

At Least *I* am still sane!

[phy]

algeranon@hotmail.com wrote in news:1150078135.471411.119570
@y43g2000cwc.googlegroups.com:

> Oh, and did I forget to mention all the rest of my familiy including
> the one who had me "committed" to "Spencer 'Recovery' Center" are fundy
> mentalist Christians?
>
> Might as well kill two birds with one stone I suppose.
>
> Cure me of drug addiction and save my soul for no extra charge! LOL!
>
> At Least *I* am still sane!

"My minister said faith wasn't just believing in God,
but that believing God was sane."
~ "Desperation," Stephen King

-phy

[lestat]

Ok, explain this one to me. I thought AA were free meetings. How the
hell do they get away with that.

algeranon@hotmail.com wrote:
> There's a scam called "Spencer Recovery Center" that one of my
> relatives with more dollars than sense sent me to the last time I set
> out to get better or die trying. Frankly either one would have been
> fine with me.
>
> Spencer's one of those rehab joints. They basically haul you to a bunch
> of AA meetings and charge more than $10 THOUSAND dollars for attending
> the otherwise-free AA meetings, lol.
>
> In the first Spencer Center group meeting I said I think maybe drug
> addiction could be due to problems with brain chemistry and that maybe
> I should not give up on antidepressants and some
> fellow-but-less-enlighgtened-than-me drug addict said "shut up! those
> are just drugs and we're here to get BETTER! If you're not then leave!
> The instructor agreed and asked me to leave so I left and never looked
> back.
>
> I asked about SMART recovery and Rational Recoverywhen I was there
> since I am an agnostic and they pooh-poohed that and said AA is the
> only way.
>
> $14,000 well spent, wouldn't you say? :;io)
>
> P.S. Don't get me wrong. I met lots of nice folks in those AA meetings.
> LOTS of people who really did seem to have connected with a "higher
> power" or at least a higher "something" and who waned to help. GOOD
> people....
>
> but I ain't a big fan of the obviious cult aspects of AA.

[lestat]

That's why I hate religion. They force their beliefs on you. We don't
even talk about beliefs in my religion; much less shove them down
people's throats.

algeranon@hotmail.com wrote:
> algeranon@hotmail.com wrote:
> > algeranon@hotmail.com wrote:
> > > There's a scam called "Spencer Recovery Center"
> > > blah blah blah.....
> >
> > Oh, yeah, by the way, only "dry drunks" need reply.
> >
> > That's a term I learned at "Spencer".
> >
> > A term they used to refer to anyone who'd managed to recover from
> > alcoholism without the dubious benefits of being baptised into the
> > religion of AA. ;o)
>
> Oh, and did I forget to mention all the rest of my familiy including
> the one who had me "committed" to "Spencer 'Recovery' Center" are fundy
> mentalist Christians?
>
> Might as well kill two birds with one stone I suppose.
>
> Cure me of drug addiction and save my soul for no extra charge! LOL!
>
> At Least *I* am still sane!

[algeranon@hotmail.com]

lestat wrote:
> That's why I hate religion. They force their beliefs on you. We don't
> even talk about beliefs in my religion; much less shove them down
> people's throats.
>

Just for the record. The relative who arranged for that little foray
into cultdom set their own beliefs aside and was only trying to help me
the best way they knew how. Hey, I'd just spent 3 weeks on a ventilator
so they were desperate.

They called around and asked all the right questions and even said
"hey, he's an atheist so that God stuff is not going to work for him so
if you rely on that let me know now".

The rehab joint lied to get the business

and I guess now I've finally got that off my chest.

P.S.

I swear I will not be one of those people who comes around here week
after week trying to justify his or her latest binge. That's an
inconsiderate waste of bandwidth and storage. I will try hard to only
use what I need to get better.