I attended an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in my neighborhood; officially called the Olive Branch Meeting. The meeting was offered as having a speaker and discussion, it lasted ninety minutes. The Big Book was referenced but it appeared that the speaker was the only one in possession of the Book. To my surprise a fellow Liberty University Student was there in the same capacity as I was, however she was enrolled in a different course. We sat together.
Upon arriving at the meeting, Tom H., the apparent leader of the meeting, came up and introduced himself to me and asked if I was a student. I don’t know if I stuck out or it was the notebook I held that gave me away. There were eighteen people in attendance, which I thought was a pretty large group. There were nine women and nine men. The meeting began with a moment of silence and the Serenity Prayer. The Serenity Prayer was first adopted by Alcoholics Anonymous in 1941 when it appeared in the New York Herald-Tribune Newspaper, and reads: “God grant me the serenity to accept things I cannot change, courage to change things I can, and wisdom to know the difference” (A.A. World Services, 2014).
The purpose seemed to be support. All the members seemed to genuinely support one another. Those in attendance were all creeds and colors, Caucasian, African American, and Native American, yet all were on one accord, sobriety. I thought the speaker would be a professional guest speaker. The speaker (at the podium) of this group was one of the members, Dawn. She told her story for about thirty minutes, then picked a topic and each person spoke briefly on the topic from their seat. If one did not feel compelled to share, they could just identify themselves as an alcoholic and move on t...
... middle of paper ...
... Lord’s Prayer. That was also a surprise. I was also surprised that at the beginning of the meeting, sobriety tokens were offered. No one took one, but that could mean, no one was at a particular milestone.
I thoroughly enjoyed the meeting I attended. The stories told by the members took courage and strength. Alcoholics Anonymous appears to be an effective form of treatment for alcohol addiction. This group, and I would image most groups, showed love, caring, and concern for each person. They all expressed their love for God and a determination to stay sober. Yoko reminded me that addiction is not subjective. It can affect any one at any age. One gentleman, James, is coming up on his three-month anniversary of sobriety after being an alcoholic for 45 years! God Bless him and all the members of the Olive Branch Alcoholic Anonymous Group. I learned a great deal.
Coming into the substance abuse meeting the student nurse was scared and nervous. She was scared of the reaction of the consumers and feared all the stereotypes she heard about typical alcoholics. Innervison gave the student nurse a new outlook on these types of consumers. She no longer looked at them as people who were just drunks and wanted to use AA as an excuse to make it seem like they are getting help. She never really looked at alcoholism as a true addiction; it seemed like more of an excuse to escape life’s problems. Sitting in and listening to these consumers gave the student nurse a dose of reality. The student nurse now understands alcoholism better and AA helped her realize recovery is truly a process that takes one day and one step at a time.
I attended an AA meeting at a local church, located in the church basement. When I arrived, I noticed there were only 6 people in attendance. As I sat down, I looked around and could tell that the after affects of alcohol made some of the members look older and some looked tired. I observed the interaction between the members and I noticed that most of the members shook hands or even hugged when they greeted each other. They carried on conversations, mainly asking questions about how they were doing. I noticed that the seats were positioned in a circle with one seat in the middle. I learned that the person leading the group meeting was referred to as the meeting chairperson (Sherry) and her seat was located in the middle of the circle.
This was evident in the meeting as well. Of the ten members, only one was attending their first ever A.A. meeting (two others were attending their first Brown Bag Meeting). Ann declined to speak the first time they went around the circle, but she seemed very nervous. She later decided to speak, and related her experience to us. She had been sober for 10 days now, and when she woke
Alcoholism is as prevalent in my family, as blood is in our veins. When previously asked to observe 12-step groups, I ritualistically flocked to Alcoholics Anonymous, without consideration of the possibility that other groups had any potential to make an impact on me. I always pride myself in my ability to identify as an individual that is not ensnared in alcoholism, but unfortunately am an individual that was highly tormented by alcoholism. Through observation of the group and how it processed, as well as identifying how I felt as a new attendee, I was able to understand why self-help, support groups are so vital for individuals in recovery. I finally realized, I too am in recovery.
She read a part of the passage, and when she chose to stop reading, had the choice to either “pass” or elaborate on the section she had just finished reading and what may have resonated with her in regards to her personal struggle with overeating. The person sitting next to her then continued reading the passage from where she stopped. The above described process continued for each member until someone completed the chapter. Before reading began, the leader informed the members that “in the interest of time” each member, if he or she chose to comment on the passage after reading, needed to limit him or herself to three minutes. A member set a timer to ensure adherence to this policy. At the conclusion of each chapter, the leader encouraged a general discussion of the piece, as each appeared to have a theme to the writing. Following the dialogue, a new member picked another passage at random, and the reading continued in an identical manner. During the span of the hour long meeting, members read and commented on four passages from the book, leaving ten minutes at the end of the meeting for any member to start a conversation about any topic not addressed in the readings. At the very end of the meeting, all the members stood in a circle, and joining hands, recited the “serenity prayer”
It was just us: thirty young men, and our two city counselors. I vividly remember the theme of the discussion: "What is your biggest goal and biggest fear in life?" What I heard that night from people I still barely knew astonished me. The hopes and fears that I heard from my fellow city members truly inspired me to work hard in life and do whatever I can to face my fears. When it was finally my turn to share with the group, I told everyone that my biggest goal was to do well in high school and college, find my dream job, have a family, and be happy. That goal may sound very ordinary, but that is truly my dream for the future. Next, I told everyone that my biggest fear was to lose motivation in life. I explained how I work so hard in high school because I have the motivation of my goal that I mentioned previously. If I lost this motivation, I do not know where I would
I attended the Alcohol Anonymous (AA) twelve step meeting on Friday December fourth at 8:00 p.m. at the community center at Roxbury Park in Beverly Hills. The people were middle aged men and women of different ethnic backgrounds. The meeting started in an arranged fashion. I sat in the back and was addressed by an elderly man who wanted to know who I was to and I replied that I was a student writing a paper for school. He was fine with my answer and departed. The meeting started with people presenting themselves. First, there was an open conversation that started was with the storytelling of one member’s endeavors with alcoholism. After this heartwarming account, other people in the group provided how the
...t could very well be god. I’ve tried to base this paper on my view of AA as a cult, so before I conclude I will list off a few definitions of a cult. 1.) a system of religious and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object. 2.) a misplaced or excessive admiration for a particular person or thing. At first when I even had heard of the thought or idea that AA operated similar to or had cult like similarities I completely disregarded that kind of thinking. After our unit on Bill Wilson, however, as well as our discussion and reading material from the AA chapters and articles I have a total change of heart. AA is a cult group that uses alcohol as a lure for new members to come together that all have similar problems. Most people who come don’t return, but the people who remain are given a sort of standardized one-size fits all kind of treatment.
The Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was an open discussion meeting. There were people from different backgrounds but everyone was respectful and friendly to one another. We started the meeting with a word of prayer. As a group, we held hands and recited the Lord’s Prayer. After the prayer the group recited a chant and swung their hands back-and-forth. After the prayer, we sat in a circle and the facilitator passed around an offering basket. Once offering was completed, I was asked by the facilitator to introduce myself. During my introduction, I politely stated my name, the name of my school, and major. The other attendees introduced themselves by stating “Hello, my name is John Doe and I am an alcoholic.” They then proceeded to share their personal experiences with alcoholism and express their gratitude for the 12-step meeting. While speaking, each attendee shared the moments in their lives that made them decided to seek treatment and how many years they have been sober. Each member of the group was very supportive of their group mates. They showered each other with love and gave advice for staying on track.
Alcohol Anonymous (AA) is a fellowship worldwide consisting of over one hundred thousand men and women who are alcoholics, banded together in solving a common problem and in helping fellow alcohol users in their recovery from alcoholism. A.A.'s twelve steps are considered a list of principles which are spiritual in their nature, and if practiced as a way of life by members, can help significantly in expelling a member’s obsession to drink, and enable a holistic awareness. Step one is when the member admits they are powerless over the use of alcohol, resulting in an unmanageable life. No one wants to admit defeat, but admitting powerlessness over alcohol is the first step in becoming liberated. Step two is having a belief that the almighty power can restore their sanity. Step three is making the decision to turn their will and life over in the protection of the almighty God, which is the key to willingness of change as noted by the Twelve Steps of recovery. Step four is...
...meeting was one of awe and some relief. This meeting made me realize that I should really appreciate the things that I have in life because there are others out there who are way off worse. What I learned from the meeting is that the problem is not how much you drink; it’s what happens when you drink. Getting clean and sober is for those who want it, not those who need it. The key step for addicts is to maintain a motivated way of thinking once you start feeling good about yourself from making amends. I believe 12-step sober support groups can be extremely beneficial to the person attempting abstinence. The premise is that one addict can best help another and that by helping another you actually help yourself. AA is a fundamental example of how groups support sobriety in individuals as long as they are willing to follow a program and commit to changing their habits.
Attending an A.A meeting for anyone may be hard. According to, “Psychiatry and Wellness”, “Practically nobody looks forward to going to their first AA meeting.” Alcoholics or recovering addicts may feel the same way I felt when attending their first A.A meeting. Some alcoholics may feel worse than I did. Some alcoholics may feel ashamed to attend an A.A meetings. Some alcoholics may be scared or have fear to go to an A.A meeting because they do not know what to expect. The thought of attending an A.A meeting may be worse than actually attending an A.A
Throughout my life, I am able to recall numerous experiences which “stand out” in my mind as being meaningful. However, one experience emerges above all others; the anticipation and excitement of being selected as a member of the Arizona Students Against Destructive Decisions Student Leadership Council in June 2006. At that time, the more commonly known name of the organization was Students Against Driving Drunk which has grown to become the nation’s dominant peer-to-peer youth education and prevention organization with thousands of chapters in middle schools, high schools and colleges across the country.
I introduced myself. I learned that the facilitator for the night is actually a member, a 30-year sober member. I was asked to enjoy refreshments and was greeted cordially by present members. The meeting was held in a church reception hall and the room was set up with 3 tables parallel from each other. I participated in this group as an observer, although, I did introduce myself at the beginning. The issue of this group was alcoholism and how to stay sober. The purpose of the group is to be a support system for those who are struggling with sobriety and those who have been successful in sobriety. The group focuses its healing around the 12-steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. This support group is open and provides no limit to the attendee
What I found was a group of people far more eclectic than I ever could have imagined. I saw people from a multitude of racial backgrounds, genders, ages, and stages of life. The group had married couples, young singles, and seemingly everybody in between. What struck me most about this mix, however, was the fact that despite their differences, everyone really seemed committed to being part of a community, and truly seemed to enjoy their time together. When entering the room, and at the early stages of the educational part of the session, laughter was by far the most prevalent noise in the