Kirsten Johnson Podcast

Keller shares his experience inside Full Circle, a 12-step program for teens and young adults, and how years of indoctrination, gaslighting, and pressure to conform left him questioning his own mind.

We discuss how autism can intersect with high-control groups, the psychological toll of being taught not to trust your thinking, and how receiving an autism diagnosis helped Keller make sense of his experience. We also explore the role of parents, the challenges of leaving, and what it takes to rebuild self-trust and connection afterward.

More about 12 Step teen cults The Group documentary

Support for those navigating Enthusiastic Sobriety abuse.

Timestamps:

00:00 12 Step Teen Cult Intro

04:06 Leaving 12 step

07:34 Speaking Out About 12 Step

09:05 Going to AA at 19

13:15 Recruited into 12 Step Teen Cult

21:08 Autistics Vulnerable to 12 Step Indoctrination

43:21 12 Step System Over People

51:12 12 Step Teen Cult Worse Than AA?

59:28 Advice For Leaving 12 Step

1:04:43 Autism Diagnosis After Leaving 12 Step

1:15:50 Transitioning Out of 12 Step

1:19:54 Finding Connection Post 12 Step

1:25:31 Advice For Parents

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

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⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

Did Bill W., co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, consume alcohol after getting sober in 1934?

According to his wife, Lois Wilson, yes—but there's a catch.

In this episode, we examine the rumors about Bill's drinking, his requests for whiskey on his deathbed, and an incident involving alcohol documented in Lois Remembers.

I also share my own experience with a “freelapse” and explore what these stories reveal about one of AA's core claims.

Timestamps:

00:00 Did Bill W Drink intro

00:42 Why People Think Bill W Drank?

05:21 Lois Said Bill Drank Alcohol

11:57 What is a "Freelapse?"

13:30 The Time I Freelapsed

16:15 Bill W. Wasn't Powerless?

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

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❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

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⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

No more groupthink and being "powerless" over critical thinking... This episode is our reminder to not turn our thinking and judgement over to "authorities" outside ourselves. Critical thinking for the win.

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

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❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

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📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

I saw a comment in a Facebook deprogramming group that asked if that group was a cult. So I thought we'd dive on in and discuss it on the pod today...

Timestamps:

00:00 Is deprogramming a cult intro

02:30 What is a cult?

03:56 What is coercive control?

07:07 What is dogma?

11:00 Cult tactics to look out for

15:47 What is DARVO?

21:27 1 - Can you question it?

26:36 2 - Are you told what to think?

28:00 3 - Are people controlled?

29:01 4 - What does it cost you?

30:33 5 - Can you leave?

31:41 Are deprogram AA groups cults?

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

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❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

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📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

Carrie is back! Between the two of us, we have 54 years of recovery—and a lot to say about AA old-timers. What even makes someone an old-timer, and why does time sober so often translate into authority?

We talk about the hierarchy around sober time, “AA math,” sponsorship and service, the difference between longevity and expertise, predatory old-timers, and the recovery beliefs we once accepted and passed on ourselves. We also get into what happens when you stop treating sober time as a measure of wisdom, healing, or how much someone else should listen to you.

Carrie's Substack

Timestamps:

00:00 What AA Old Timers Get Wrong Intro

04:24 Good People In AA

07:53 54 Years of Recovery

14:48 Sober As Long As You Drank

16:23 Counting Recovery Time

22:22 Quitting w/o Centering It

25:19 Sponsors Who Shame You

30:16 What is an AA Old Timer?

42:31 AA Gurus and AA Hierarchy

46:50 AA Sober Time vs. Addiction Expertise

56:15 Bill W Says Recovery Requires Religion

56:51 When Old Timers Hit On You

1:01:54 What Half a Century of Recovery Means

1:08:58 Getting an AA Old Timer to Leave AA

1:22:14 Saying "AA is BS" Out Loud

1:33:10 Old Timer One Liners

1:35:49 Sobriety Chips and AA Tattoos

1:46:31 Good AA Old Timers

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

🧠 Brain optimization tools → here

❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

Come vibe with me:

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📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

Today I join Victor from Quackaholics Anonymous for a wide-ranging conversation about Alcoholics Anonymous, indoctrination, and what happens when recovery becomes an identity.

We talk about why people are drawn into AA, love bombing and belonging, shame and the “alcoholic” identity, neurodivergence and mental health being mislabeled as alcoholism, the religious and cult dynamics of the program, predatory behavior and accountability, amends, and the difficulty of questioning a system you were taught you needed to survive.

We also explore what it means to deprogram, rebuild trust in your own experience, and speak openly about both the help—and the harm—people can experience in AA.

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

🧠 Brain optimization tools → here

❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

Come vibe with me:

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📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

Why are conversations about leaving AA suddenly going viral? People who have left are speaking openly about deprogramming, shunning, fear, loss—and the relief of realizing they’re not alone.

Meanwhile, AA defenders are flooding the comments with personal attacks and “conspiracy theories” about dissenters.

Is a cultural shift happening?

Timestamps:

00:00 Leaving AA Going Viral Intro

00:48 Facebook comment section

02:36 1 - Feeling Validated

13:55 2 - Leaving is Frightening

18:20 3 - Years of Deprogramming

22:20 4 - AA Made Recovery Harder

26:11 5 - Someone in AA Died

30:49 6 - We Are All Powerful

31:57 AA Members Make Deprogramming Viral

35:55 AA Troll Conspiracy Theory # 1

38:10 AA Troll Conspiracy Theory # 2

41:48 AA Troll Conspiracy Theory # 3

43:05 Hyper Agressive AA Trolls

43:55 Does The Algorithm Spark Hostility?

45:48 Dissenting For The Clicks?

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

🧠 Brain optimization tools → here

❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

Come vibe with me:

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📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

What happens when a leading addiction expert acknowledges that AA is a cult, says that’s precisely why it works, and then dismisses criticism of 12-step programs as “bashing”?

In this episode, I examine the dangerous blind spot around AA in the addiction field, how the language of “AA bashing” turns people raising concerns into the aggressors, and why openly discussing risks and harms is essential for harm reduction and informed consent.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro experts dangerous AA blind spot

01:47 Critiquing a cult is "bashing?"

03:10 AA works because it's a cult

07:02 Calling criticism "bashing"

11:05 Anti-harm reduction centering

14:31 Applying the same logic to cults

19:10 Recovery narrative needs updating

Sources:

Why 12-step programs work for addictions | Peter Attia and Anna Lembke

Understanding & Treating Addiction | Dr. Anna Lembke

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

🧠 Brain optimization tools → here

❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

Come vibe with me:

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📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

I read an interesting piece of AA history this week and thought I'd share it with you to see what you think. The book is Not-God: A History of Alcoholics Anonymous book by historian Ernest Kurtz.

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

🧠 Brain optimization tools → here

❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

Come vibe with me:

Kirsten's Facebook

Kirsten's Instagram

Kirsten's TikTok

📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.

What if the way we’ve been taught to think about addiction and recovery is actually getting in the way of helping people? In this episode, I sit down with harm reduction pioneer DeeDee Stout to talk about autonomy, moderation, abstinence, AA, treatment, and why meeting people where they are can make the difference.

Timestamps:

00:00 Change your drinking intro

06:21 S*icide in AA

09:09 Unraveling AA beliefs about recovery

16:36 How AA became the default

20:17 Relapse prevention, harm reduction + abstinence

28:22 Addiction treatment w/o abstinence

36:00 AA: mainstream recovery narrative + policy

46:39 D*ath threats from AA members

53:16 Brad Pitt drinking moderately

58:14 Thinking about drinking again

1:00:00 Bill W was her grand sponsor

1:04:24 Getting support w alcohol addiction + moderation

1:14:15 S*xual trauma, addiction + recovery

1:21:39 Informed consent: addiction recovery + AA

1:41:35 A shift in the recovery world

1:51:14 Books to help change your drinking

1:56:00 Working with Dee-Dee Stout

🔥 Free Deprogram Course + leaving AA resources → here

🧠 Brain optimization tools → here

❤️‍🔥 If you’re ready to stop holding yourself back → here

Come vibe with me:

Kirsten's Facebook

Kirsten's Instagram

Kirsten's TikTok

📱 My content creation setup (camera, mic, lighting, etc.) → here

💻 Tools + software I use to run my business and create online → here

⚠️ Disclaimer: I’m not a therapist, doctor, or licensed healthcare provider. Everything shared is for educational purposes only and not a substitute for professional care.

💖 Some links may be affiliate links. I only share what I genuinely use and love.