 | When is someone "recovered?" |
| | Question: | When is someone "recovered" according to the Big Book of A.A.? |
| | Answer: | There is a bit of room for debate here. Some might argue that anyone who has quit drinking has "recovered" others would argue that the Big Book emphasizes the need for a spiritual awakening.
Many hold the view that we are never recovered - that we only have a "daily reprieve" contingent on the maintenance of a fit spiritual condition. Meanwhile the subtitle of the Big Book is describes us as "recovered." Whether or not "recovered" is an apt description is a debate as old as AA itself. AA is seemingly of two minds on this issue.
In that context, here are some places where the Big Book touches on when "recovered" happens:
1. when the obsession to drink is lifted; (this would seem obvious from the context) and/or
2. when one experiences an "entire psychic change" (per the Doctor's Opinion on p. xxix) and/or
3. when one experiences a "vital spiritual experience" as described by Dr. Carl Jung on p. 27 and/or
4. when once experiences the psychic phenomenon known as "the 9th Step Promises" on p. 83-84 and/or
5. when one experiences "a personality change sufficient to bring about a recovery from alcoholism" as described on p. 567 in Appendix II where the difference between Dr. Jung's spiritual "experience" and a spiritual "awakening" are explained as the same phenomenon; an awakening is a slower process that might take days, weeks, months, or even years; an experience is a sudden transformation, taking only seconds or minutes.
To accomplish this, the "certain American business man" learned from Dr. Jung what he needed to achieve. Unfortunately, modern medicine is unable to provide the necessary vital spiritual experience; the business man went forth on a quest for a vital spiritual experience, ending up with the Oxford Groups in New England where he met and mentored the "old school friend" described in Bill's Story on p. 8.
Much of this is described in more detail in "Alcoholics Anonymous Comes of Age", "Pass It On", and "Dr. Bob and the Good Oldtimers."
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