In the substance use disorder field, harm reduction aims to minimize the negative consequences of using mood altering chemicals without requiring their cessation. Harm reduction has evolved as a key strategy in public health, particularly in areas like, sexual health, and environmental impact. Advocates tout it as a compassionate and rational approach to societal challenges. Critics have raised concerns about its limitations, unintended consequences, ethical dilemmas and mixed messages. This article explores harm reduction, examining its assumptions, and challenges its application for the real alcoholic.
Maj Donovan
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Recently, a service entity was asked to take a recovery meeting into a homeless shelter. Representatives went to the homeless shelter to determine the need and request. They didn’t want to be guilty of “rushing in where angels fear to tread.” At the following business meeting it was reported that they wouldn’t bring a recovery meeting into the shelter because of “safety concerns.”
This didn’t sit well with my recovery group. We had been asked for help, and we said, “no.” This seemed contrary to the principles of the program.
One of the oldest continuously running Young People's AA groups in the state of Minnesota, is the Thursday Night Young Peoples' AA Group, affectionately known as TNYPAA (pronounced Tin E Pa). This article describes how the group has survived for nearly a half-century.
When I think about the history of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) I am reminded of three significant transformational moments. The first moment occurred in late November 1934, when Bill Wilson’s old drinking buddy Ebby Thacher dropped in on Bill for a visit. Bill was looking forward to tying one on with his old friend, but Ebby refused Bill’s offer to have a drink. Ebby told Bill he had found religion and didn’t need “the drink” anymore. Bill wasn’t impressed and surmised that his gin would outlast his friend’s preaching (Alcoholics Anonymous, pg. 9). Ebby pressed Bill encouraging him to develop a relationship with God.
In the suggested closing of Al-Anon Family groups we find the following phrase…
“Talk to each other, reason things out with someone else, but let there be no gossip or criticism of one another. Instead, let the understanding, love, and peace of the program grow in you one day at a time.”
Chess masters know exactly how to move each piece on the board to bring about the desired result. Master chess players employ certain strategies like the Blackburne Shilling Gambit, which can bring about a victory in just seven moves. However, if one of the pieces in the master’s strategy is unexpectedly removed from the board by the opponent, it can result in a prolonged game or loss of the match entirely.
This phrase, taken from an essay written by AA co-founder, Bill Wilson, describes the philosophy Bill wanted AA to adopt when it came to cooperation with the professional community. Bill understood that for people to find the AA program, AA needed to have good relations with the medical community, law enforcement, religious organizations and the like. This is as true today as it was in AA’s early days.
I started going to recovery meetings when I was 15. I heard in the meetings, “What the hell are you doing here? I lost my wife, my kids and my job because of my drinking. What the hell did you ever lose?
“What a task, I can’t go through with it,” said many a newcomer in recovery. Expectation mitigation is important during early recovery. It’s important to remember that we “eat the elephant one bite at a time.” We apply ourselves every day and we reapply after temporary setbacks. We strive for progress rather than perfection.
