Episode 1074: Addiction to Meetings

Episode 1074: Addiction to Meetings

What drives someone to seek a life without alcohol? Episode 1074 of Take 12 Recovery Radio asks a different but very real question: can you get addicted to 12-step meetings themselves? Broadcast from the Pacific Northwest, Monty Dale Meyer – known as the Monty’man – revisits a classic 2010 conversation with co-hosts Mason C., Brad H. and guest Devon.

All are active in the 12-step recovery community, and they tackle the tricky idea of “meeting addiction”: when turning up becomes a crutch, and meetings start to replace a relationship with a higher power or actual step work. The episode opens with a vivid story of an AA meeting cancelled by a blizzard and the panic that follows.

One man insists, “Daily meetings… are all that prevent me from winding up dead in the gutter.” From there, the crew question whether relying on meetings like this leaves people vulnerable when life, weather or holidays get in the way. You’ll hear them wrestle with big questions: should the focus be on “the meetings we make or the Steps we take”? Is it healthy to feel guilty for leaving a meeting early?

What happens when meetings become a social clubhouse instead of a place to apply spiritual principles? Mason talks about working his 11th Step hard while barely going to meetings for two weeks, saying his sobriety is tied to his “spiritual condition”, not his attendance record. At the same time, nobody’s knocking meetings. The group stress how vital they are for early recovery, accountability, learning patience and tolerance, and finding sponsors and literature.

Devon shares how starting his day by talking to his sponsor keeps him grounded, while Brad points out that meetings alone “aren’t going to get or keep anybody sober” without a genuine connection to a higher power. If you’ve ever wondered whether you’re leaning on meetings a bit too heavily – or not enough – this conversation might nudge you to check your own balance. Are you meeting dependent, or God and step dependent?