Is Working The 12 Steps When You Have Bipolar Helpful?

I was referred to a 12 step group by a counselor. It was a big mistake for him to send me to this group. I listened to scandalous behavior stories that I had never heard of before. My counselor died of cancer and, in honor of him, I continued to go to meetings. Eventually, not right away, I started acting out addictive myself. You can learn a lot of bad behavior from the war stories that get shared in groups by individuals who are still sick.
On a more positive note, I certainly learned to listen and empathize with others.
It's a shame my counselor and I never got to talk about his decision to direct me to 12 step groups. My advice: be careful. 12 step groups can be breeding grounds for addiction. Sad to say, but true in my experience.

Bipolars who are suffering during the manic phase should avoid all and any group meeting until the episode has past. Most aa or na groups are responsible and follow rules and guidelines. Other support groups under the same name are very relaxed on the rules such no dating ( sleeping around, intimate partnership) with the 1st year attending the group. I’ve witnessed bi polars become swept into these group (usually at their therapist suggestion) and preyed upon by elder men in na support groups. later destroying a family, a marriage, and a long trail of regret and confusion afterwards.
Watch out for 13 steppers.

I have been in alcoholics anonymous for 30 years. I was diagnosed bipolar a year after. I did what was suggested went to the doctor and got medication to treat my chemical in balance. How ever I was staying clean and sober but my life was unmanageable. My sponsor suggested we try working the steps for bp people. That helped me tremendously. The first step was about me addmiting that i am bipolar and that my life was still unmanageable. The second step gave me hope. The third step is about God. Trusting him. That was a hard one for me because I had pray so hard for God to cure me or show me a better way to deal with my hypermedia .eventually I started using the steps that I knew so well. It worked for me.

Its one thing to go to aa meetings, its a whole other thing to actually work the steps with a sponsor that will facilitate the proper working of the steps and wont co sign yer bull. The literature makes it clear its simply a program of rigorous honesty, with oneself. One must be WILLING to give the process an honest chance. Positive affirmations come directly from the revelations one can come to by thoroughly working the steps. Even with a legitimate chemical imbalance i find 12 step to be very beneficial to allowing the symptoms it causes to not be made worse by character defects that can be remedied by proper step work. If someone has legitimate chemical imbalances that cause severe mental illness, theres nothing in the aa or na program that says you arent supposed to take drugs as prescribed by a doctor. If one is truly honest with themselves they will know if theyre taking them for the right reasons or not. Surely there are exceptions, but we need to be careful that we dont use phrases like the latter as an excuse to cosign some bs, fear, or weakness, which is in large part what 12 step work aims at resolving. In my opinion, 12 step can only help, opinions may hinder, like thosd youll find in the rooma from thr many talking heads, but if you be patient and talk with enough people youll find thkse that understand the program and work it right and can help others do the same. The only downfall i have seen in my experience with aa, ma, cma ,ha, ca, etc 12 step prpgram, is that anyone is allowed to share, and within the fellowship itself theres a lot of people who just go to meetings and have yet ro work the steps and what they share albeit still valuable tp the prpgram as a whole, can inadvertently co sign others bull. Just depends on the meeting and the people really. I found it very helpful by being in a residential treatment that had 12 step as a requirement, 6mo program. Anyways, lots of factors here, LOTS.

Angela,
The idea that everything in A.A. must be followed or else a person faces ruin was a past attitude of A.A. as a whole (if you've ever read the Big Book, it seems to make the point that you are doomed if you don't work the program).
I believe that most A.A. groups have become more modernized and realize that there are many paths to sobriety. However, there are going to be some members that prefer the "old way" of doing things.
There are secular recovery groups, in particular S.O.S (Secular Organizations for Sobriety) which doesn't use the concept of religion in their program.
As well, the concept of a Higher Power can be anything. It can be God, Jesus, Buddha, Allah, even science. Of course there will always be a fundamentally Christian basis, but it's up to those who don't ascribe to Christianity whether or not this prevents them from taking ideas from the meetings to heart.

I've heard of "take what you want, leave the rest." Unfortunately, I have run across some A.A. members who insisted that the entire philosophy must be ascribed to or you are doomed. I wonder if that is A.A. take on it, or just individual members?
Please don't get me wrong; I do feel that there are many valid points in A.A. In particular, I really like the idea of making a fearless moral inventory and then making amends, except when doing so would hurt others.
I do wonder what is available for people who do not believe in God, or those of other faiths such as Judaism, since the Lord's Prayer is recited after every meeting. Do they feel uncomfortable, or do they just accept it as part of A.A.? I mean, I'm okay with it, but then, I am a Christian.

As a (very new) professional in the addictions field, as well as someone who has bipolar disorder, the Twelve Steps can be useful to some. Like you said, the structure and guidance that is provided by the Twelve Steps can provide both comfort and a healthy level of challenge to someone with a mood disorder.
It really all depends on what the individual needs, and what they feel will help them. Twelve Step groups have helped many people, but they're not right for everyone.
One philosophy within A.A. and other Twelve Step programs is "take what you want, leave the rest" This, of course, is less publicized than other philosophies. I find that in both my professional and personal life, I take what I need from different theories and methods, and leave what doesn't work for me.
It's all about making whatever it is you do work for you.

Powerlessness.
That word sums up why, after years of struggling with anorexia, anxiety, and alcoholism, I do not take part in A.A. or other 12-step programs. I started attending A.A. meetings in November 2011, but I never felt a real connection with the program. Don't get me wrong — I met wonderful people in A.A. I just never felt myself moving forward, and things rang false for me. I kept trying to fit into A.A., finally realizing that A.A. doesn't fit me.
Another problem I had with A.A. is the program's insistence anyone who doesn't follow the 12-Steps is doomed. There are alternatives to A.A. and 12-Step programs, and frankly, A.A.'s rate of success is not that good. I am currently focusing on meditation, walking, and taking part in a program called Women for Sobriety. WFS uses positive affirmations and seeks to re-build the addict's self-esteem, while fostering personal responsibility.
After I decide to leave A.A., I felt this weight lifted off of me. I finally realized it was not me, it was the program.