Has anyone here ever been to an AA meeting?

[hers]

I went to one with a friend, much better than going to ANALON. ANALON is for friends and families of alcoholics.

 

Al-Anon is the program you are talking about. I'm a member of it.

 

I've been to one AA meeting, as part of my own Al-Anon program, and it was very much a place of strength and hope and sobriety. Just go and have a listen. You don't have to talk if you don't want to.

[TheSmilingTurnip]

Hi - I'm in a 12 step group - OA, for people with eating disorders. What will you find at a 12 step meeting? Acceptance, not judgement, for one. You can tell you have a problem if your substance starts impacting your life negatively.

 

You can go to a local meeting if you want - anonymity is the spiritual foundation for everything in any 12 step group. But if you feel more comfy farther away, do you what you have to do. You won't be the first.

[kaoticbaby]

I think I have developed a dependence on alcohol in the past year. During my affair with a married man, I started needing to numb the pain of what I was doing, and dealing with the stress. Or maybe I dated a MM because I was drinking.I don't know.

 

I haven't drank in a week, and I was thinking of going to an AA meeting.

But I am scared, because someone I know might be there.lol

Plus it means admitting I am an "alcoholic".

 

If I go to AA what can I expect? Thanks for any advice.

if you know someone there, so what? they're there for the same reason that you are. so it's not like they will judge you.

 

my dad has been to what feels like hundreds of AA meetings. I've never gone with him, but he's told me about a few. From what I hear, it is very casual, like some posters say. Once in a while they will give them "homework" (stuff to read, or journal to keep.)

 

but yeah, my dad seems to enjoy it when he goes. in his case it doesn't seem to help though... (it's because he doesn't WANT it to. ugh.)

[hers]

if you know someone there, so what? they're there for the same reason that you are. so it's not like they will judge you.

 

my dad has been to what feels like hundreds of AA meetings. I've never gone with him, but he's told me about a few. From what I hear, it is very casual, like some posters say. Once in a while they will give them "homework" (stuff to read, or journal to keep.)

 

but yeah, my dad seems to enjoy it when he goes. in his case it doesn't seem to help though... (it's because he doesn't WANT it to. ugh.)

 

I've run into people I know at my Al-Anon meetings (a client once! Someone who pays me for work!). It was awkward at first, but we were there for the same reason.

 

The "homework" isn't really that at all...that's usually between you and a sponsor, someone you work closer with who's in the program themselves. The meetings are just to share your experience, strength and hope with other members. It focuses completely on anonymity and personal progress but not perfection.

 

Definitely try it. You shoudl go to a few different ones, b/c they're all different. Try about 5 to see if it's the right program for you.

[jettison]

My ex girlfriend attended AA meeting in our neighborhood for about a year. She was a child of an alcoholic father, and although she didn't drink often, when she did drink she would binge drink, and it would get her into trouble.

 

These meetings helped her out quite a bit. She was strong for having done something proactive to help her situation. I always felt like AA attendees were a brave lot in general because it's a signal that you care more about yourself then you do what someone else may or may not think of you.

 

AA = self love.

[hers]

My ex girlfriend attended AA meeting in our neighborhood for about a year. She was a child of an alcoholic father, and although she didn't drink often, when she did drink she would binge drink, and it would get her into trouble.

 

These meetings helped her out quite a bit. She was strong for having done something proactive to help her situation. I always felt like AA attendees were a brave lot in general because it's a signal that you care more about yourself then you do what someone else may or may not think of you.

 

AA = self love.

 

Very true that AA is self-love. It's showing that you love yourself enough to get healthy for your sake and for those around you. So many people suffer from alcoholism, not just the alcoholic. It takes a major test of character to get help, and I think it's great that you want to.

[chigal28]

My two cents, for what it's worth...

 

About two years ago, I had pretty much exactly the same thoughts you've been having. I'd had a problem with drinking for much longer than that, but going into therapy made me realize how much of a problem it was, and that I wanted to change.

 

My therapist actually suggested AA, and I was very reluctant, for the same reasons you are. What if I know someone? What if I feel like I have to talk? Etc. My therapist didn't force me to go, but she strongly suggested it.

 

She also gave me a GREAT piece of advice. She said "if you do go, don't look for excuses to not go back. Don't look at the differences between you and the other people there. Look at the similarities."

 

And she was right. Many of the others there had certainly gone further "down the road" than I had, but they started off in such a similar way, and had such similar stories to tell--reasons they started drinking, rationalizations for why it wasn't a problem, etc. And there were SO many different types of people there. 22-year-olds, mothers, professional career women, etc.

 

Every meeting is different, but in the ones I went to, you certainly don't have to talk if you don't want to. I surprised myself; I was so sure I wasn't going to want to, but after hearing everyone else's stories, and seeing how open and accepting and warm they were, I WANTED to talk.

 

Other posters are right--the group is certainly not for everyone. But I do agree that it's a great idea to check out a few different groups, and see if anything resonates with you. Consider it an investment in yourself. And sometimes, getting out of our "comfort zone" can be important in and of itself. Best of luck, whatever you decide to do!!!