The Importance Of Alcoholic Anonymous Meetings

Moreover, there are six components that make up these supportive networks, including attending regular meeting, working the 12 steps, embracing the 12 step program, experiencing a spiritual awakening, using the Alcoholic Anonymous group resources, and getting fully involved in the program activities. Networking these elements outside of their meetings is necessary that serves as a protection for the alcoholic well-being explains Richard N. Cloud, Craig H. Ziegler, and Richard D. Blondell on his journal article called, "What Is Alcoholics Anonymous Affiliation?. They also will determine that “working the 12-steps and attending meetings will be among the most significant factors predicting the percentage of days abstinent” (Cloud, Ziegler, and

Blondell). All the researchers have established that in order for an alcoholic person to succeed in their recovering addiction. They depend on the following three principal items, 1) person needs to recognize himself as a member of Alcoholic Anonymous, 2) how successful, he or she has been in completing the steps, and 3) the amount meetings attended (Cloud, Ziegler, and Blondell).

The Alcoholic Anonymous provides many tools to help a person with alcoholic addiction to recover from alcoholism, but it is up to the person to embrace and practice accordingly Alcoholic Anonymous philosophy.

For these reasons and for a better understanding of the world of an alcoholic addicted person there are some characteristics to consider, the physical and psychological factors is imperative recovery process of an Alcoholic Anonymous member. An Alcoholic Anonymous member is aware that alcoholism is a disease in which they cannot control without any help, they are powerless and it takes more than will power to submit to its supremacy. Even though there are some people who believe that alcoholism is a personal choice rather than a disease, recently new studies had proven the opposite of what alcoholism is. In fact, it fits perfectly in the physical disease model found in the physical anatomy of the human body, according to the research. This is due to the advancement in

modern science, such as neuroscience in which it has open doors in this field to better understand in how the disease model make perfect sense when dealing with an alcoholic addicted person. In accordance with Kevin T. McCauley, M. D. on his article called, “Is Addiction Really A Disease?” in which he declares, “the organ is the midbrain, the defect is a stress-induced hedonic (pleasure) dysregulation, and the symptoms are loss-of-control of drug use, craving, and persistent use of the drug despite negative consequences”. In short, McCauley has a good and simple explanation in how the brain chemistry reacts when induces its addictive substance, “There are very good brain chemistry reasons for the things addicts do. We can explain everything about addiction without having to resort to causal variables like ‘bad choices’ or ‘addict personality.’” The neuroscience discoveries has shown how the drug of choice in this case alcohol affects the midbrain that deals with morality, personality, sociality, or conscious choice, it is in the cerebral cortex where the brain’s information is processed. For most, it is here that people can overcome their impulses and for the most part, when a defect occurs before it hits the cortex such addiction the midbrain becomes stronger than the cerebral cortex and here is where addiction takes over.
Another factor that predisposes addiction is stress. Stress is present in people’s daily lives, but not all experience it in the same way. In fact, stress changes the brain in a chronical way and severely to the point of being unmanageable. If stress is not resolved in the cortex, the midbrain will interpret this as a threat to survival. If the stress persists, it will release hormones to act at the gene level seeking on impulse and dopamine in the neurotransmission according. People under such condition will take risks in their behavior in order to satisfy their search of relief in the same way the brain’s ability to distinguish pleasure and reward arbitrated to complete the dopamine dosage and to become unbalanced (McCauley). Therefore, the person is unable to seek pleasure from things that at one time use to be pleasurable. McCauley summarizes this as, “Addiction is a stress-induced defect in the midbrain’s ability to properly perceive pleasure”. When drugs are abused by a person this causes the rapid release of dopamine in the midbrain by the stress increase. The only way the brain can relief the stress is the use of the drug in order to rush dopamine into the midbrain in order to calm its urges as a survival coping mechanism of the brain. At this point, the drug is no longer just a drug it is life itself (McCauley). Lastly, as a comparison, for a non-addict person who is craving for chocolate, it shows the same effect for the addicted person. The different is that the addicted person is craving for alcohol. For the drug addicted is a constant involuntary obsession that will continue until the drug is ingested and the survival treat has been a relief. That is why Alcoholic Anonymous becomes an imperious life supportive means of survivor, as people will learn new skills in coping with their addicted behavior as a physical and psychological factor to sobriety.
Above all, one of the most important tool of Alcoholic Anonymous to fight the addiction is the spiritual treatment for the alcohol victims.

Even though they are not affiliated to a specific religious organization, they call upon faith. The Alcoholic Anonymous program encourage a spiritual awakening and the search of their higher power inside the person’s soul. The founders of Alcoholic Anonymous early discovered the true meaning and the importance of experience a spiritual awakening in order to recover from the immense power of alcoholism in their lives. Hinchliffe explains, “The format for the process is rigid, but successful and includes both psychological and spiritual elements established as a result of an analysis of the successful steps its founding members undertook”. Thus, believe in this higher power and the spiritual awakening from Alcoholic Anonymous philosophy has transformed its members, and has helped them to succeed in their alcoholic lives. As Hinchliffe specifies, “The higher power element is the key which transforms the process from a psychological to a spiritual one”. In order to achieve the right level of recovery, the spiritual factor is very important for the addicted person. The individual will put all the stress and anxiety in the hands of the high power, which will take all the worries

away.