Kirsten Johnson Podcast

AA Makes You the Problem — Culty Comments Breakdown Today’s Culty Comment is packed with manipulation tactics straight out of the AA ideology playbook. We’re going to break it down so you can see: ✅ Dissent is pathologized ✅ They question your motives ✅ You become the problem if you see through the ideology ⚠️ Remember — this isn’t about the commenter. It’s about the ideology that speaks throug...

How he rebuilt his life after leaving AA (Bob's story) is our first episode in what will be an ongoing series of sharing real stories of people who have left Alcoholics Anonymous and are building vibrant lives beyond the rooms. You know.. a little what it was like, what happened that made us leave AA and what it's like now... Some of you requested to hear other people's stories of leaving AA, so l...

Why do AA members deny your experience? Why do they say, “I never saw that, so it didn’t happen” ? In today’s Culty Comments episode, I break down a classic AA defense tactic — and show how it’s rooted in AA ideology, not reality. If you've ever had your experience dismissed by someone in AA… this video will help you see what’s really going on — and why it’s not about you. Want to dive deeper into...

AA’s most brainwashing line? Let’s break it down. In today’s Culty Comments episode, I respond to a comment defending the classic AA identity statement: “Hi, I’m [Name], and I’m an alcoholic.” We’ll dissect the culty ideology behind this humiliation ritual and why it keeps members trapped in obedience and free labor for Bill’s program. If you’re on your own deprogramming journey — or wondering if...

Yes AA is a cult. For me, leaving AA was harder than getting sober — it can take serious courage to break free. In this final video of my Yes, AA is a Cult series, we finish walking through the International Cultic Studies Association’s 15-point cult checklist . Timestamps: 00:00 AA is a cult intro 02:10 13 – Inordinate time demands 08:30 14 – Insular social circles 13:40 15 – No life outside the...

Welcome to Part 3 of our Yes, AA is a Cult series. Today, we're breaking down Points 9–12 of the Cult Checklist from the International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) — and diving deep into how guilt, shame, recruitment, and financial manipulation are baked into the culture of Alcoholics Anonymous. Timestamp: 00:00 AA is a cult intro 01:09 9 – Guilt & shame as control 08:01 10 – Cut ties &am...

AA made “obsession” a bad word — but for many of us (autistic, ADHD, neurodivergent), deep focus is just how our brains work. My work since 2012 has been to solve a major problem I went through then turn around and guide others through it on social media and in paid online courses. This is literally my job. So to call me "obsessed" with my current topic is like calling a barista obsessed with coff...

In this episode of Culty Comments, we break down a classic guilt-laced message straight from the AA playbook — and unpack how emotional debt keeps so many people stuck. Is it really “help” if you’re made to feel forever obligated? Is it service… or subtle control? Let’s talk about what’s actually going on underneath the slogans. If you've ever felt like you "owe" AA your life — this one's for you....

YES, AA is a cult. This is art 2 of a 4-part series comparing Alcoholics Anonymous to the “Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups” by Michael D. Langone, Ph. D. (International Cultic Studies Association). In this episode, we'll cover checklist points 5–8 with how they can show up inside Alcoholics Anonymous. If you’ve ever heard “don’t trust your thinking,” or “outside help won’t work,” you...

Welcome to our AA is a cult series. You came to get sober. You got indoctrinated. This series is explores Alcoholics Anonymous as a cult. We'll go point by point through the “Characteristics Associated with Cultic Groups” by Michael D. Langone, Ph. D. from the International Cultic Studies Association, comparing AA to cult characteristics. This episode covers the first 4 traits on the checklist to...

Welcome to our new series: Culty Comments — where we break down real AA dogma defender comments from the internet and unpack the Alcoholics Anonymous ideology hiding underneath. This isn’t about the commenters themselves. It’s about the thought reform they’re parroting — and how it keeps so many of us trapped. This series is for anyone deprogramming from AA and waking up their critical thinking ag...

How AA Is Controlling Your Mind part 8 of 8. Today we unpack one of the most disturbing tactics of all: Dispensing of Existence. 😳 Inside Alcoholics Anonymous, you’re either a disciple or you’re in danger. If you stay, you’re “spiritually fit.” If you leave, you’re erased. Labeled a ticking time bomb. A danger to others. Spiritually dead. This episode breaks down: 🔹 How AA makes you fear life ou...

Welcome back to our Deprogramming AA series — 8 Signs AA Is Controlling Your Mind . In this episode, we’re diving into Doctrine Over Person , a hallmark of mind control tactics from Dr. Robert Jay Lifton’s thought reform framework. 🧠 Inside AA, your personal experiences, trauma, instincts, and emotions are often dismissed if they conflict with the doctrine — the Big Book, the steps, the slogans,...

What happens when a trauma survivor is told inside Alcoholics Anonymous that they need to make amends… for their own abuse? Today we're looking at the disturbing truth about how the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous can retraumatize survivors, especially women. From misguided sponsorship to silence baked into AA culture, this clip from the Group Thinking Podcast exposes the emotional and psychologi...

I was in AA for 10 years then something began to shift, AA started to no longer seem true. If you’re in that in-between space—questioning, unraveling, sensing that something’s off—you are not bananas. You’re waking up. Want help deprogramming, check out my Deprogram AA course: 🌀 Deprogram AA 💬 Let’s Connect @SobrietyBestie DM me or comment on any Sobriety Bestie socials. I’m here for the convers...

AA’s language isn’t just weird — it’s weaponized. In Part 6 of this 8-part series on How AA Controls Your Mind, we break down Loaded Language — one of the most powerful (and dangerous) tactics used in high-control groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. From phrases like “Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic” to “Feelings aren’t facts” and “It works if you work it,” AA uses thought-stopping slogans to...

🎙️ 8 Signs AA Is Controlling Your Mind – Part 5: Sacred Science Welcome to the Sobriety Bestie Podcast . I'm Kirsten, your hostess and friend in this deprogramming adventure—where we’re reclaiming our minds from AA ideology and taking our power back. In today’s episode, we dive into Sacred Science , the 5th sign in Dr. Robert Jay Lifton’s thought reform model. We explore how Alcoholics Anonymous f...

AA Comes for You — What Happened When I Told the Truth I was in AA for 10 years. I left in 2020. But when I started talking publicly about it in 2025, everything changed. This episode is about the backlash. The DMs. The control disguised as concern. The friends who got weird. And the culty energy that came pouring in when I finally spoke the truth. If you’ve felt the pressure to stay silent… If yo...

In this episode, we dive into Lifton’s fourth marker of mind control: The Cult of Confession — and how AA uses this tactic to break you down and keep you dependent . We explore how Alcoholics Anonymous normalizes emotional exposure to unqualified sponsors , reframes trauma as your fault, and builds a culture where silence is seen as dangerous, boundaries are seen as defects, and outside help is of...

Welcome to Part 3 of our 8-part series: “8 Signs AA Is Controlling Your Mind” — today we’re diving into Demand for Purity 😇➡️🩸 In high-control groups, purity isn’t about health — it’s about obedience. In this episode, we'll dive into how AA creates an all-or-nothing mindset: 👉 Character defects = normal emotions labeled as flaws 👉 Self-policing and shame are spiritualized 👉 Outside help is di...

AA is worse than I thought — 5 weeks of speaking out is changing everything. I was in AA for 10 years — from 2009 to 2020. I left five years ago. But it wasn’t until I started talking about it publicly that I realized how deep the indoctrination really went. Now that I’m five weeks into sharing my truth online, I’m seeing AA with new eyes — and honestly, it’s worse than I thought. The control, the...

— Here's 10 ways Alcoholics Anonymous benefits from keeping you trapped inside the rooms of AA. Ever wonder why AA wants you to stay forever? In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, I’m breaking down 10 ways AA benefits from keeping you inside — from book sales to free labor to spiritual obedience disguised as “God’s will.” This isn’t just a support group. It’s a system that uses fear, gui...

Mystical Manipulation is when AA reframes your emotional responses, coincidences, or discomfort as “spiritual guidance” to keep you loyal to the program. It’s when sponsors are treated like prophets, emotional highs are assigned religious meaning, and everything—especially harm—is justified as “God’s will.” I even share the most disturbing thing my sponsor ever said... and how weaponized spiritual...

Welcome to a powerful 8-part mini-series based on Dr. Robert Jay Lifton’s Thought Reform and the Psychology of Totalism — originally used to study brainwashing in Maoist China, and disturbingly relevant to high-control groups like Alcoholics Anonymous. In Part 1, we’re breaking down Milieu Control — how AA controls your physical environment, your relationships, your thinking, and even your identit...

I was an AA true believer. I cried on Bill W’s grave. I did AA across the world. But once I saw the truth—it all fell apart. In this episode of the Sobriety Bestie Podcast, I break down how AA hooked me with high-control tactics, outdated 1930's ideology, and identity-based manipulation… and why I’ll never go to AA again. 🔍 Topics we cover: The sales tactics hidden inside the 12 steps Why “real a...