Ever wonder why people in AA get defensive — even when you’re calm and factual? 🤔

Turns out, there’s a neurological reason behind it.

In this clip from a LIVE Deprogram Q+A inside the Deprogram Lounge, we dive into the science of amygdala hijack, nervous system activation, and why cultic ideologies trigger emotional, not rational, responses.

If you’ve experienced backlash for speaking your truth about AA, this one’s for you.

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, Book Club + Escape Kit)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.

Leaving AA can feel impossible — not because it’s physically hard to walk away, but because of phobia indoctrination and the total lack of outside validation.

When the whole world believes AA is the only way, it can feel like you’re crazy for questioning it. In this episode, I break down why that fear is programmed, how experts still miss it, and what it really means to reclaim your freedom.

📚 Reading from “Cults in Our Midst” by Margaret Singer

⏱️ Timestamps

00:00 Intro – Hard to Leave AA

01:44 The #1 Reason It’s Hard to Leave AA

03:33 AA Mention in Cults in Our Midst

06:15 “AA does not recruit deceptively”

08:48 Informed Consent & Deceptive Recruitment

09:53 “AA does not hide what membership entails”

13:40 “Members can leave at any time”

18:27 “Cults use members to grow the cult”

24:46 Indoctrinating Others + Self-Forgiveness

27:54 Warning Label on AA

👉 Deprogram Lounge (Membership with courses, LIVE Q+As, Zooms, book club. + more)

🧰 Escape Kit (resources to Deprogram AA)

📚 Deprogram Book List (my fave deprogram, cult recovery and critical thinking books)

🌀 Deprogram AA Course (free your mind at your own pace)

Let’s get f*cking free.

After years in Alcoholics Anonymous — and a lifetime of seeking belonging in controlling systems — Teri realized she didn’t need to dim her light or outsource her thinking anymore.

This raw and powerful conversation explores what it’s really like to leave AA, find your voice again, and build a new life rooted in freedom, truth, genuine connection and self-trust.

Timestamps:

00:00 Best Thinking Got Her Out Of AA Intro

01:08 Leaving AA

05:33 Staying Silent, Guilt + Mormon Roots

08:24 AA Was Helpful + Also Emotionally Damaging

10:35 Deprogram Lounge

13:10 AA Cult Within A Cult

17:04 Teri's Evolution After AA

26:02 Healing Trust Issues + Group Trauma

36:21 Hardest Part of Leaving AA

39:48 Making Friends After AA

49:09 Scared to Join a Deprogramming Group

58:32 Speaking About Leaving AA

1:14:17 Drinking Around Social Issues

1:17:04 Leaving AA Was Harder Than Getting Sober

1:30:04 Deprogramming Course + Group

1:46:54 Is Deprogramming a "Cult" or Forever?

1:55:46 Freedom From Group Think

2:02:45 Still in Recovery?

2:13:14 Best Part of Leaving AA

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.

You’re Angry. You’re Resentful. You’re a Dry Drunk. You’ll Be Drunk in Five Years.

Have you ever heard things like this? 👀

Today’s episode dives into the #1 way AA defenders come for you (and why it’s actually a logical fallacy).

This one’s a total game-changer in our Critical Thinking Series, because once you see this pattern — you can’t unsee it. We’re breaking down how ad hominem (Latin for “to the person”) and appeal to authority show up in arguments, manipulation, and cult-like thinking — not just in AA, but everywhere.

00:00 Way Angry AA's Come For You Intro

01:28 Ad Hominem

04:35 Appeal to Authority

07:24 Staying Safe From Manipulation

14:18 Dry Drunk Mythology

18:06 Ad Hominem Deeper Dive

Whether you’re deprogramming from a high-control group, rethinking recovery, or just learning to trust your own brain again — this one’s for you.

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Get free tools, community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.

Today’s episode is called “I’m Sorry (My Amends)” — but this isn’t the kind of amends you think. 🕊️

I just got off our Deprogram Zoom Call inside the free Deprogram Lounge, and someone said something that hit me hard:

“I don’t agree with everything you say.” And honestly… that’s exactly what I hope for.

This episode is about learning to think for ourselves again — after indoctrination, after dogma, after groupthink. It’s about realizing that disagreement isn’t danger. It’s freedom. 💥

In this episode:

• Why I want you to disagree with me
• How critical thinking cracked my AA brainwashing
• What “recovering from recovery” really means
• Why blind faith feels like safety — but isn’t
• How we find truth together through dialogue

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Get free tools, community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.

You're invited to our first ever LIVE stream episode featuring Tara Grace from Burn The Stigma and Kirsten (me, Sobriety Bestie) discussing all the addiction and recovery things.

We went live on Sunday November 2nd and are thinking about making this an ongoing thing (let me know what you think!).

Burn The Stigma channel:‪@Burnthestigma420‬

Tara's Stanton Peel interview

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Get free tools, community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.

Escaping AA: Halloween Special with Carrie (AA Escapee 👻)

Your best thinking got you here — now let’s get you free.

In this Halloween jam, Carrie and I riff the AA clichés we lived, how we actually left, and what life’s like now without the daily-reprieve hamster wheel.

Critical thinking, self-trust, nervous system regulation, and writing a new story — no chips required.

Carrie's Substack

Timestamps:

0:00 Escaping from AA Intro

0:19 What It Was Like (in AA)

08:36 What happened (to leave AA)

10:59 No Daily Reprieve Needed

15:36 Escaping AA

18:49 What It's Like Now

28:33 Reinventing + Reconstructing After AA

31:34 AA Escapee Awakening

34:34 Normalizing Leaving Recovery

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Get free tools, community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.

There are many harmful aspects of Alcoholics Anonymous, but today we’re diving into what I believe is the most damaging paragraph in the Big Book of AA — and how it quietly stripped away my self-trust, autonomy, and personal power.

If you’ve ever wondered why you still doubt yourself, feel “selfish” for wanting things, or have trouble trusting your own instincts after AA — this episode is for you.

In this podcast, I break down how this one paragraph shaped my thinking for years and how I’ve been rewiring my brain since leaving AA.

Timestamps:

00:00 Intro Harmful Line in AA Big Book

02:42 Most Harmful Big Book Paragraph

03:55 Why It's Harmful

07:15 How The Harmful Brainwashing Happened

🌀 Deprogram AA Course

📚 Deprogram Book List

🪩 Get free tools, community, Zooms and book club to deprogram 12-step ideology 📚

👉 Inside the Deprogram Lounge

Let’s get f*cking free.