In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, we’re breaking down the most common forms of abuse and mistreatment in Alcoholics Anonymous—from being told you have a “progressive, fatal disease,” to being convinced you’re powerless, to the gaslighting baked into terms like “dry drunk” or “denial.”

These points come from Rational Recovery by Jack Trimpey, written 30 years ago but still just as relevant today. We’ll unpack the first 10 examples from the book and talk about how AA’s harmful messaging keeps people stuck in fear, shame, and learned helplessness.

This conversation is about more than deconstructing AA—it’s about critical thinking, self-trust, and freedom.

Rational Recovery book: https://amzn.to/47AyGlh

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro Common Abuse in AA

02:22 1 — "Fatal progressive disease"

04:41 2 — "Can't abstain on your own"

05:21 3 — "AA is the only way"

06:31 4 — "AA is not religious"

07:22 5 — "Must surrender to AA ideology"

08:58 6 — "You'll relapse without AA"

09:18 7 — "Dry drunk"

11:34 8 — "Alcoholism symptoms"

12:30 9 — "Leaving AA means you'll relapse"

14:25 — 10 "Doubting AA means is a symptom"

16:12 We save ourselves

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