Well, some bad news. Long time problem drinker, and coke addict, Bob Probert was arrested for violating his parole and being in an establishment that serves alcohol. This guy has had lots of bad stuff happen to him and he can’t stop his drinking - he was even on that drug that makes you vomit when you drink.
I seem to recall that the success rates for both AA and GIA (going it alone) are around 12% (although I suspect the figure came from Penn and Teller’s Bullshit, so who knows?), and I’ve read sources that say the most important deciding factor is not the method the subject chooses, but the level of motivation maintained by the subject. Obviously, some stuff will work for some folks, some for others.
A lot of the antagonism towards AA (and there is a lot of it about, especially, I suspect, outside of America) is to do with the way it has become so institutionalised as the “only” way to get sober. Simply put, it isn’t. But for some people, it probably is. Addiction is a bloody complex business; it needs complex and varied solutions.
Congrats to all the recoverers out there. Oh, and sorry for resurrecting a thread which had probably run its course!
(Oh, and seosamh - yes, it’s Steve Coogan. Baby’s in for an interesting time of it.