The meeting I attended was a NA on Sunday September 13, 2015 at 1:30p.m. The thoughts I had about attending this meeting were more nervous. I didn’t know what to expect or if it would be scary. Doing something out of my comfort zone is not something I am use to doing. I was uncomfortable and was honestly not looking forward to going. As for finding an open meeting it was a little difficult. I found lots of different meetings but majority of them were closed meetings.
After I found a couple open meetings it was hard to choose which one to go to since a lot of my classes are at night and that’s when most of the meeting were. I tried to find a meeting during the day, but I couldn’t really find anything. To attend this meeting I had to choose giving up a night of work. It was not difficult to get to after finding it on google maps and it was only about 20 minutes away from where I live when I was visiting home. Before, arriving I accepted to see a building that looked like a hospital or doctor’s
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office. When arriving at the meeting I had no idea where to go. I walked into the building and was greeted by the front desk staff. The staff was friendly and welcoming. I told them what I was there for and they directed me to the room location. I was nervous to tell them what I was there for because most people tend to judge and look at you differently. However, I felt that I wasn’t being judged even though I am only here for an assignment. When entering the room there weren’t too many people there.
The people that were in the room were nice and friendly. They asked me my name and what I was there for. As more people arrived it seemed many of them knew each other. When the meeting was starting we went around and introduced ourselves and why we were there. When I introduced myself I was told I could not be there and was asked to leave. When I asked if this was an open meeting the lady snapped at me and said yes it is but we don’t allow students here. I then stated that their website stated that students were welcome. She was like it is wrong and you need to leave. As I was getting up to leave many of the people at the meeting said they didn’t have a problem with me being there. The leader said sorry she cannot be here I have to protect the rights of you all in the room who are here for help. I said its okay thank you for your time. She was like you can go to the front desk and tell them our website is
wrong. I have never really encountered someone being so rude at a place of business. I was to be honest a little intimidated and wanted to leave as soon as I could after being talked to like that. As I was leaving the front desk again was friendly and said thank you for coming. I looked at the board to see if there was any other meeting going on that I could try, but the next one wasn’t until 7:30. I talked to the front and let them know what happened but they said yes we have to protect the rights of our clients and you cannot write on what they say in the meeting. I stated whatever is said I would keep confidential, but they didn’t really seem to want to listen to me. As I walked out they said have a nice day and I hoped you find what you are looking for. I was honestly shocked in how I was treated and made me wonder if I said I was there for a different reason I would have been allowed to stay. This was a very strange experience and I honestly don’t want to experience it again.
meeting that I attended. There were only three women present, so the female presence in the room was not as great as I would have liked. There was one table in the room and about 12 chairs around it. Of the ten people there (not including myself) eight sat around the table, with the other two sitting on couches that were around the perimeter of the room. There was a wide variation in age of the members, with the youngest probably in his mid-20's, and the oldest probably in her 60's.
...ethnicity or culture; it happens to anyone such as, doctors, lawyers, teacher, judges, students and many more. My observation of the meeting was that every member seemed to really listen to each other’s sharing, where each member shared an experience, and others could relate to that particular experience or had similar experiences, such as struggling with promiscuous behavior or relapses in attending meetings, but they still stuck with the program because they wanted change in their lives. No one was rushed in their sharing, and everyone was opened and friendly. It was a cohesive group. I felt a sense of that openness, when I was introduced to everyone, and included at close of the meeting, where everyone one formed a circle, held hands and recited the serenity prayer. Overall, it was a new and knowledgeable experience Another Chance gave me.
...n issue for any newcomer to recovery as well. However, I would feel very welcomed by the members of the meeting and, although I would feel a sense of skepticism and hesitancy, the feelings would be contradicted by the overall sense of peace and calm.
After reviewing my life, I have decided my life defining moment was when my family and I moved to Texas from Oklahoma. I consider this move my life changing moment because it changed so many things in my life. This move set the stage for an entirely new life for me. Moving six hours away from the only home I knew certainly called for many changes.
Prior to attending Alcoholics Anonymous meeting, my expectation was a room fill with a bunch of unhappy used-to-be drunks to fulfill his or her court orders. I had no concept or no idea about an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. More likely, I did not want people to assume that I am an alcoholic because I was in the AA meeting. The only experience I ever had with an AA meeting is the one I have seen in the movies.
One thing I admired about each of the individuals at the meeting was that all of them held their selves accountable to fight their addiction. Each one of these people could have been consumed with something else on that Wednesday night, but instead, they all choose to come together to become a better version of themselves. They stated that if they didn’t attend the meeting that night they would all feel more likely to fall back into their addictions. Many of them reported attending a meeting multiple times a week. Thus, I was impressed when learning how frequent NA meetings are held. One of the members had informed me that some groups will run every night of the week. Therefore, making it hard for someone to come up with an excuse to miss a
All evening I kept trying to put myself in the shoes of a potential client whom I have advised to attend one of these meetings. I was nervous enough to attend, and I am not an alcoholic. I was so nervous that I didn’t want to go alone. I asked my dad to go with me. I can only imagine what a terrifying experience that must be for an individual who has never been to a meeting and has no one to go with them. I also got nervous and sweaty just to announce to the group who I was. I’d be a wreck if I was attending the meeting as an alcoholic. I give those people a great deal of credit for coming to those meetings, especially the newcomers. It must take immense amounts of strength and courage to attend, let alone open up and share your experiences.
For my group experiential activity, I chose to attend an open self-help group, Narcotics Anonymous, which is a support group that focuses on the healing and recovery process of people with addiction. The Narcotics Anonymous group was a very informal, open group in which members could come and go at their own free will and were not coerced to disclose any information that he or she did not feel comfortable sharing with the larger group. In addition, new members were welcome to attend. The group was comprised of approximately 19 group members and one group leader. I found it interesting that there were also children of recovering addicts present at the meeting because I was not aware that children could attend these meetings. Nonetheless, I found it very compelling to witness so many families present with their families because it showed that there was still a sense of social support present despite turmoil that the addiction may have caused. The purpose of the group was to engage in the recovery process with other group members but also to adhere to the group’s mission of providing an environment of recovery to those individuals who are still suffering with his or her addiction. The purpose of the group was clearly stated by the group leader during his introductory speech about welcoming new members who would like to share in the recovery process with other group members. Just from observing, there appeared to be a group leader, referred to as the “chairperson,” who provided a brief overview of the group and voluntarily asked members to participate with the reading of the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of the Narcotics Anonymous program. In addition, the group leader facilitated the flow of the group members’ conversations and ...
I attended Alcoholics Anonymous: New Attitude group in Dyersburg, TN. Prior to the group, I contacted the facilitator that was listed on Dyersburg-Dyer County Chamber of Commerce website. I explained to the facilitator that I was part of my course requirements and asked permission to observe. The facilitator was informative and explained the times were Thursday at 8:00p.m. or Sunday
As a successful engagement in meetings depend on the access to information about the meeting, I would start from here. Firstly, as I sought for information regarding a public hearing in the website, I could not find their detail agenda. The City of Holladay was the only Planning Commission website that gave detail hearing agenda with particular time and contents of the discussion topics. Murray City Planning Commission mentioned
The AA meeting I attended took place at a church. The church that holds the meeting has a beginner AA meeting that meets Monday nights at 7 pm. However, I decided to go to the regularly meeting which takes place an hour later at 8 pm. I felt as though I would get more out of the regular meetings and get a sense of what regular AA members talk about. Before arriving at the meeting, I was a little anxious because I felt like as though I would be out of place, and I would be intruding on the members who come to the meetings for support. Also before attending, for some unknown reason, I imagined the meeting would to be similar to AA meeting featured in movies. Contrary to what I thought, the meeting was completely different. When I arrived at
The Seton Family of Hospitals board meeting originally scheduled for Tuesday, February 23 from 8:00 to 11:00 am has been rescheduled to Thursday, February 25 from 2:00 to 5:00 pm in the Seton Administration Office building in the St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Boardroom.
I was kind of lost and felt out of place I guess because I can only relate to them through different situations, and I kind of was scared the whole time that he may call on me to read something. I was taking a deep breath with each person that was called. I think I could feel for someone that would be new to a group like this and understand why they would not want to go back after the first meeting. The people there were friendly, but they were only friendly to the people they knew from the group. The stories that the people told after each read section really kind of stuff with me because they really sounded like they really believed that they were not sick at first, but after treatment and problem after problem occurred they grew to the conclusion that they were dealing with a sickness which lead to them seeking help and support. Each person in there had a tough life ahead of them and are judged every day because of their past or what they are doing in their future, but I can say by listening to their stories that they have a sickness and need help just like a person with a physical disorder is sick and need doctor’s treatment. They have an addiction and need doctors help. I never really understood that until I heard from each of them about how one drink was all that it took for them
I attended an Alcohol Anonymous meeting in Huntington at The Church of Christ. At the beginning of the meeting, I was feeling very nervous and uncomfortable. A lot of my classmates' were present and we all looked like government workers monitoring the meeting. We were all dressed in our school professional wear and seated in the back row of the group circle. I also believe that this may have created a slightly uncomfortable feeling for the people who attended the meeting. When the leader of the group asked if anyone wanted to share about their “fun week in sobriety”, very few members were willing to disclose personal issues. This increased my feeling of being a nuisance and a spy.
First Quarter has finished and I’m pretty proud of myself. I achieved straight A’s, though I was extremely worried I wouldn’t (“nerd problems”). My life has pretty much stayed the same besides the added activity of procrastinating finishing homework and yearbook. I plan on signing up for Power of the Pen like I did last year (which I’m very excited about). Lunch is the standard “talk with your friends time” that it was last year, just with different friends. The classes are the same as last year and are as fun as they always were. I didn’t realize, until it was mentioned, that this would be my last first quarter at RMS. I’m not sad or sentimental about it, but genuinely excited because it means progress.