One of the reasons AA was so harmful for me was the emphasis on sobriety dates, and the rhetoric that a single drink (or sip of a drink) constitutes “throwing one’s sobriety away.” The chip system is a double edged sword, because while they were meaningful at the time, the shame of having to announce myself as “coming back” was so vicious that it kept me out for longer. I personally have to be abstinent to function, but I’m heavily in favour of harm reduction for most people. Those of us who get and stay sober tend to have access to power and resources that other, more marginalized folks don’t (which is also why the idea that we’re all the same and share identical “spiritual maladies” kills so many vulnerable people).