My alternative

[Michaelj]

As a long-time agnostic I am uncomfortable with the religious themes inherent in AA. I do not criticise AA in any way, if people get benefit from their approach to gaining and maintaining sobriety then that can only be a good thing for them.
I believe that for me alcoholism is a simple physical addiction to an addictive substance. When I developed my addiction through excess consumption the effects of alcohol harmed me, my physical and mental health as well as my family, friends and work. I got myself addicted and I believe that I can get myself sober. To get sober I need willpower and the support of people in similar situations that I can learn from.
I got great benefit from Sober Recovery, Smart, and other sources and continue to apply the lessons I learned there.
The greatest lesson I learned was to recognise what others call the addictive voice. This is the voice inside your head that demands, wheedles, creeps and rationalises its way back to alcohol. Once recognised it becomes easy to deal with for what it is, a base desire for the physical buzz from alcohol.
When all is said and done we all fight an individual fight against our addiction. We can call our fight whatever we want but in the end I believe that it is our own willpower that gets us through.
T keep everything as straight and logical as possible in my head and so I do not believe in the disease theory of alcoholism. How could I defeat a disease by willpower? By maintaining my belief in the simple straightforward addiction theory I can maintain my commitment to sobriety.
Michael