Join Joe McDonald as he reads and expands on the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, offering deeper understanding and practical advice for those on their recovery journey. In this Step 3 AA session, Joe dives into the key symptom of alcoholism: the abnormal response to substances. The Big Book describes how alcoholics experience an abnormal effect when they put alcohol into their bodies—what the authors call a “manifestation of an allergy.” Joe breaks this down, asking the group to reflect on their own experiences. For many, alcohol, a sedative, can paradoxically energize them, while for others, substances like meth or opiates produce unexpected reactions, such as calming or energizing effects.

These abnormal responses are a critical sign of addiction, revealing that substances affect us differently than they do others. As Joe emphasi ...