Alcoholics Anonymous : Recovery Group

I did not wish to interrupt the natural flow of the meeting with my presence. However, that is exactly what occurred highlighting to me a duality in why AA can be both helpful and harmful depending ton the individual. One member spoke during the open testimony about his desire to only attend meetings with people that have 20 plus years of sobriety because he finds a newcomer to be distrustful to his experience in the group. During his five-minute monologue, it became clear to myself and other group members that he did not appreciate me observing his meeting. As other members spoke after him, he became increasingly agitated in his movements. When the group paused to collect the donations, he left the meeting and did not return. That experience highlighted the negative aspects of AA because the open honesty could be damaging or discouraging to newcomers. I tried to imagine myself a newcomer to AA, seeking treatment for something that I may not fully understand myself. After hearing his dismissal of newcomers and everyone under 20 years sobriety that feeling of “otherness” in a newcomer could push them to not return. Therefore eliminating the AA support for

What is substance abuse? According to Dictionary.com, substance abuse is a long-term, pathological use of alcohol or drugs, characterized by daily intoxication, inability to reduce consumption, and impairment in social or occupational functioning. So, what is a Substance Abuse Counselor? This is an individual who provides therapy sessions for a substance abuser who wants to overcome an addiction. Alcohol is not the only substance to which someone could become addicted; other negative elements include tobacco, over-the-counter drugs, prescribed drugs, illegal narcotics or sex.

The support group I attended was on October 19th, 2012 at 12pm at Wesley Church located on Barstow Avenue. It was in the Winterburg Education Building in room 3. A gentleman by the name of Andy was leading the group. He first said a prayer and then asked if there were any new members. There were none so he asked if there were visitors. I introduced myself and said I was a Fresno State nursing student. He then said today they were going to talk about Step 12, which was about service. Service was about introducing AA to people that could benefit from the program. Before you were expected to complete step 12, they wanted you to complete steps 1-11 first.

The meeting began as one man named Rodney read about the purpose of the AA. Hi, my name is Rodney and I am an alcoholic. “Hi Rodney”, everyone replied; this seemed to be the standard introduction for each AA meeting. Others introduced themselves in the same manner while others patiently waited or were fiddling with things in front of them since we had already been asked to remove our phones. One young man, in particular introduced himself explaining that it was his first time with the group and the group responded happily and many got up to hug him to thank him for taking the first step to being sober. I then took the opportunity for me to explain this was my first time attending this meeting also but it was due to me needing to observe for

I have never experienced what it would be like to be a part of an AA meeting. The only time I have had seen or heard someone mention meetings for alcoholics has been TV shows and movies, which would portray these meeting as a circle of strangers just deliberating stories of their life and how this disease has changed them forever. Therefore, I had no idea what to expect. I felt intimidated and had a sense of nervousness, so I decided I would not go alone and brought a friend. My expectation upon entering this meeting was to see beat up people with bad hygiene and a homeless appearance. As a matter of fact, the expectations I had upon walking towards this place was that I was going to get hit on and even get kidnapped. As crazy as it

I was the youngest one there and the meeting I attended was very casual, people were not in a circle, but just scattered around the room and they all knew each other except there was one or two newcomers in the meeting. They do indeed start by saying “Hi, I am ____ and I am an alcoholic” and everyone responds “Hi _____” before someone tells their story and when they finish everyone says “Thanks ______.’ I really enjoyed this, because it shows a sign of caring and that you are interested in what everyone has to say. When the floor first opened for discussion, I was a little shocked for how long it took someone to start talking only because a lot of them mentioned how long they have been going to this specific location for meetings. But, once the floor opened everyone started to explain their stories and they don’t play the victim, because they know they have alcoholism and they cannot change that, but work to fix it in their own lives. Everyone’s stories were very personal and the stories that hit me the most were the ones who said they lost the custody of their children and if it wasn’t for AA they would have never been able to gain that custody back. I also liked how a lot said I am sober and I know I can stay sober, but I keep coming back, because without the help of each other then we could not succeed. I enjoyed how homey it felt in the meeting, they had coffee and

Psychoeducational groups relating to additions or substance abuse are designed to assist participants in their stages of change, learn about recovery, provide information to families to understand behaviors, and to assist participants with resources and skills (U.S Department of Health and Human Services, n.d). Psychoeducational groups will support participants and encourage them to take responsibility for their actions. These groups will utilize different methods to replace addictive behavior and practice mindfulness to work on any cognitive impairment that their addiction has produced (U.S Department of Health and Human Service, n.d). In addition, substance abuse or addiction psychoeducational groups provide participants support and peer confrontation. Other members are able to support the group by offering education about what has worked well for them, or what has not work well. The group processes also provides emotional support for members to assist in personal recovery.

Attending a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was a humbling and informative experience. To be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect going into the meeting. Right before I walked in, I felt somewhat uncomfortable and embarrassed. I felt as if I was intruding on someone’s personal life with my presence, even though I knew I was welcomed since the meeting was listed as “open”. Alcohol abuse is a very sensitive topic to me, as someone quite close to me is an alcoholic: my Uncle. I know that he is a recovering alcoholic, but I never quite know what is going on with him because I don’t ask questions and he never shares what he is feeling with me. When I was younger, I remember that he was always the life of my family parties, but I know now it was because he was drunk. When I see him now, he isn’t as energetic as he used to be and often avoids situations where alcohol is involved. Although my Uncle did not personally tell me, my father has shared with me that he attends AA meetings at a church in my hometown. I never understood what AA meetings really entail and didn’t grasp how they helped alcoholics recover. Attending this local AA meeting helped shed light on what my Uncle feels, and I am more understanding to his addiction. I am thankful for this assignment because I know that my Uncle is not alone; the AA community is so supportive and the members all have the best intentions of getting

1. Write a descriptive paragraph of the physical environment, describe the room, number of people attending, ages, gender, ethnicity, etc. The Alcoholic Anonymous meeting I attended was organized by East Valley Intergroup of Alcoholics Anonymous, at Montessa Meeting Hall in Gold Canyon, Arizona. This meeting occurred at 1000 on a Wednesday morning.

According to MedlinePlus, alcoholism is a disease in which a person has a physical or psychological dependence on drinks that contain alcohol. This can last for years or even last a whole life time. There are more than 3 million cases per year. Alcohol abuse can have many negative effects on family, friends, and the alcoholic. It can damage a person’s body, such as the heart, and the liver, health, and it can affect your life decisions.

We began the meeting by introducing those who are new to AA or those who were visiting from a different group. If a person did not want to introduce themselves, they were not made to do so. The meetings were very calm and were conducted in an orderly fashion. In a support group, the leader should create a safe environment where members can share (Jacobs et al., 2012 p. 43). I felt very comfortable being there and even though I was there as an observer, the group leader always encouraged me to ask questions or comments. Regardless of the topics that were discussed, no one was judgmental. I believe the positive energy I felt while in the group was because everyone truly cared about each other’s sobriety.

Founded in 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) is a 12-step spiritual program for those who have a desire to stop drinking. It is open to all those who seek help all over the world. Thousands of alcoholics have become victorious because of the spiritual foundation it was built on. In 1939 the first book, Alcoholics Anonymous, was published. It held all of the struggles and hope filled stories of some of the first alcoholics that joined the group. This book, later called “The Big Book”, would lay down all of the suggestions for an alcoholic if he or she wanted to live a sober life. The program focuses on the 12 steps to help newcomers adjust to this way of life. Upon entering the program, it is suggested that the newcomer pick a sponsor to help guide them through the steps. Furthermore, service work within the fellowship is also recommended.

There are millions of people who have and who are suffering from alcoholism. For those seeking help with their addiction, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) may be the right for them. While this program is not promised to be a cure, and the authors of this program does not promise full recovery, it provides an atmosphere where members can be honest about their dependency on alcohol. Furthermore, AA provides support from other alcoholics, and rewards for meeting certain sobriety anniversary dates. This paper explores the history and major developments of AA. Furthermore, this paper explains the structure of meetings, and the roles the leader and members play during meetings. This paper also touches on AA’s definition of success and how it handles members who relapse. Additionally, this paper explains this student’s experiences of two AA meetings she attended, which include what she learned from attending the meetings, and what she learned from the people she met at the meetings.

I ended up going to a meeting Saturday morning at the St. Augustine church down in campus before work at 10am. It made me feel more comfortable to go to one on school campus, assuming everyone would think that I was from the school. I sat in the back of the small church, watching everyone exchanges hugs and pour themselve a cups of coffee. Sticking out like a snore them, everyone glanced at me with a welcoming vibe. The meeting commenced with two ladies sitting in front of all of us, announcing other meetings going on around town. A guest speaking started the meeting. It immediately surprised when she said that she has been clean since 1986 and stopped when she was twenty-two years old. She used the terminology of minimizing and denial during her story. She explained that she never thought that she was an alcoholic. She did not feel like she gave in willingly but instead she felt that she was captured by her family and forced. The speaker told herself that tomorrow she would stop but tomorrow never came. She smashed up companies cars and lost a few jobs in Las Vegas and Miami. She banged for money and even people’s canio chips. When she did not get the chips she thought, “man those are people are cheap”. She explained to everyone

Early one Sunday morning, rattling as per usual, I phoned someone I knew vaguely through my work who had drink in the house and begged him to bring some over to me. He refused point-blank to give me booze or money. I was raging. Instead he found out where a meeting was close to me (it turned out his brother was in AA in the USA) and took me later that day. That was my first AA meeting. I was still rattling and my head was completely taken up with how to get drink. My only real memory of that meeting was a man ranting about something. When later someone from the Social Work Dept (my son was in care because of my drinking) suggested I give AA a try that first meeting didn’t put me off and my impression at my second meeting was they were nice enough folk if a bit staid. I was welcomed, no one was ranting, a kind older gentleman quietly told me I need never drink again and some women gave me their phone numbers. I thought they must be lonely if they wanted me to phone them, I didn’t realise they were giving me their numbers to try and help me. I didn’t take on board what was being said and quite soon I was drinking again.