I recently attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in a comfortable house in Santa Monica, California. The room was occupied by approximately 70 attendees, and even more sitting on the outside porch. The focus of this particular day’s meeting was step six of the 12-step program. The sixth step is stated as follows: “We’re entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character” (Wilson, 1939, p. 76). Following the definition and interpretation of the sixth step, the main speaker of the day came up to the podium to tell her story. This woman was a recovering alcoholic and ex-heroin user. She had been sober for 14 years before she relapsed, and as of now she has been sober for 16 years. She explained that she has struggled with alcohol…
Alcoholics Anonymous is an organisation dedicated to helping people recover from alcoholism. Open meetings are open to anyone, while closed meetings are only open for recovering alcoholics. Meetings are about one hour long. A major component of AA are the twelve steps as outlined in The Big Book:…
1. I did not really know what exactly to expect before the meeting, because I never been to a AA meeting and I was kind of excited to go and hear peoples stories about their addictions and dependency.…
On Sunday, March 6th, I went to an AA meeting in the Heights Vietnam Veterans Memorial Building between Manhattan and Summit Avenues in NJ, Jersey City. The meeting started around 10:30 AM and ended around 11:30 AM. Before the meeting, lots of coffee, tea and donuts were served to the people. There were about 50 people that showed up to the meeting, 35 of them were males and the other 15 were females. Most of them were either old or middle aged. The meeting consisted of a podium which had about five rows of metal folding chairs facing it. On the wall behind the podium to the left of it, was a list of the twelve steps and to the right of it, was a list of the twelve traditions. The meeting began with someone reciting the twelve steps and then with the introduction of new members. After that someone else comes up to the podium, but this time with a calendar in his hands and he goes over the upcoming events. The meeting ended with everyone quietly listening to Billy’s and George’s life stories.…
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A) meeting, I felt in love with those meeting. I attended a meeting on April 23 at 6 pm. Location 1773 Griffith Park Boulevard, Los Angeles, California. A.A membership ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence the may refuse none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. Membership to ever depend upon money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for sobriety may call themselves an AA group, provided that, as a group, they have no other affiliation. This particular AA group was mix, men, women, young people, doctors, gays and others. They were all alcoholics, seek help, have different profession.…
This is about staying sober and the many programs that are available to help people become sober. Staying sober is a choice and takes will power to maintain sobriety. The many stresses of life are the reason that most people drink on a daily basis. Some behaviors that people have that drink or use drugs are a compulsive behavior. Many programs to becoming sober are costly, in the end if sobriety can be maintained it is worth it in the end. The hardest thing about staying sober is getting sober. Going through detox can be the worst. Most counties in the State of Indiana have a drug and Alcohol program. In Jennings County however the program…
The type of meeting I decided to attend was an Alcoholics Anonymous held on campus by a fellow University of Cincinnati student. She said that she decided to begin to hold the meetings on the UC main campus because she has had a long history of being an alcoholic and she knew that out of a university of 30,000+ students, she could not be the only person suffering from this condition. There were two additional people who attended the meeting (a male and a female), as well as six classmates who were observing the meeting, and a baby (the child of the woman holding the meeting).…
Alcoholics Anonymous came to be in Akron Ohio in 1935 It was formed by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob out of a desperation to stay sober and not quite knowing how to do so. Bill W. had the idea that maybe one drunk trying to help another stay sober might be the key.…
Alcoholics Anonymous, AA, is an open discussion meeting with anyone who wants to be a part of it or learn options for help. Many people join AA for the idea that they can relate to others and not feel judged on their past and present life choices. I personally, have a hard time understanding alcoholics and what their need for over use of alcohol. I went to an AA meeting with the hopes of understanding and being able to put myself in “their shoes” so that I can learn to help more. From the beginning I was scared, nervous, and confused with the thoughts of attending an AA meeting; therefore, my brain was constantly racing with thoughts on who, what when, where and why would happen while I was at the meeting.…
Just like the AA meeting, I felt very uncomfortable with attending an Al-Anon meeting. I have been fortunate enough where no one close to me has ever been addicted to alcohol. I wasn’t sure how well I would be able to relate to the members of this meeting. I was very nervous walking in the meeting and I felt out of place. One thing that brought me relief was the smiling faces and happy conversation I encountered as I entered the room. These people looked like they were trying to make the best out of the situation that their loved ones put them in.…
“Come on just one more, you’ll be fine!” This is just one tiny example of how one drink can turn into your last. To know your limit is the basis of knowing how far is exactly too far. The time may be fun in between the blackouts but the payment is far more than a nasty hangover the next day. The medical consequences with just one night of drinking can add up over time and shorten your life considerably. In the end all we ask for is more time and to be surrounded by the people you love. With the chances that you are a long life drunk your loved ones will be driven away with all your priorities set on your drinking habits. As the days turn into weeks in a row with you coming home drunk you could lash out on the people…
Alcoholics Anonymous is a program that is used worldwide that helps individuals recover from an alcohol addiction. Anyone is welcome to attend the meetings and there is never a fee or charge. There are two types of meetings an open and closed. An open meeting means that anyone can show up to the meeting with the alcoholic such as family members, students, or anyone interested in the topic. A closed meeting is just for the individuals with the addiction. Everyone that participates in the meetings has suffered or is currently suffering an alcohol addiction. It is an informal meeting and there are no doctors or psychologist that attend. It is the responsibility of the individuals (alcoholics) to hold the meeting. The purpose of Alcoholics Anonymous is to provide a supportive environment to achieve sobriety. The origin of Alcoholics Anonymous dates back…
Addiction is a condition that outcomes when someone ingests a substance or takes part in an action that can be pleasurable yet the proceeded with use/demonstration of which gets to be enthusiastic and meddles with customary life obligations, for example, work, connections, or wellbeing. Commonly, the users may not be mindful that their conduct is wild and bringing about issues for themselves as well as other people. Somebody who is dependent or snared mentally trusts that they can't work without this substance in their bodies. Medication and liquor enslavement and destroy families, they change people who once were the best individuals to be around with. Most addictions begin at a people immaturity age where they simply realizing who they are…
I seem to have been going to alcoholic anonymous a group meeting that overcomes alcoholic addiction. I do tend to indulge in alcoholic tendencies to become more aware of my emotions and the stress of life. The meeting in these groups starts out when one or two members tell their stories, while discussion meetings allocate most of the time for general discussion. Some meetings are devoted to studying and discussing the AA literature. So every day of the week I would go to these seminars and group studies so that I can better my self-everyday. The Instructor did inform us that in this condition, would interfere with normal everyday functioning as it worsens. I found out during a couple of months that I might have Delirium Tremens, which is an…
What I learned from Alcoholic Anonymous is that AA is meant for people who promise that they will never drink again and they drink again anyways. Its singleness purpose identifies that alcoholics work best with other alcoholics and the only difference from the twelve step fellowships out there is the first part of the first step and the middle part of the twelfth step. What I am powerless over and who we carry the message too? Many alcoholics in AA raise their hands introducing themselves as alcoholics, but never knew what it meant. In the Speakers meeting the groups felt really connected with the speaker, and gave him their full-undivided attention. The groups focused solely on the speaker and no one else, it was mainly white, black, and Hispanic men and women of all different ages starting from their early twenties up to their mid fifties. Around thirty people attended on October 21st at eight o’clock. The meeting was very humorous the speaker knew how to relate to the AA members by bringing his personal life experiences with alcohol to distribute his indication on the importance of sobriety. The speaker knew how to make the environment funny, happy, and outgoing.…