Ep 26 AA Brainwashes You To Fear Leaving

Episode 26

What happens when a recovery group uses fear to keep you from leaving?

In this episode, I unpack one of the most manipulative (and most normalized) control tactics inside AA:

phobia indoctrination—the messaging that to leave the group is to die.

We talk about:

How this tactic is baked into AA's structure and slogans
Why it feels so terrifying to leave—even if your intuition is screaming to go
A real-life story of receiving one of these subtle “death threat” messages in the middle of a manicure
Why this isn’t about bashing AA—but reclaiming your right to think, leave, and live

I also share how I worked through the phobia programming in therapy, and what finally helped me trust myself enough to walk away—and keep going.

👣 If you’re deprogramming and feeling the fear:

You're not alone—and you're not broken.

I created Deprogram for folks like us—people untangling from AA’s control and reclaiming their autonomy. It's a self study course (no sponsors, no meetings, no BS).

🎓 Click here for the Deprogramming AA Course →

🩷 It's safe to trust yourself 🩷

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