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General
What
is AA?
What
is alcoholism?
What are the
symptoms?
How
can AA help me with my drinking problem?
How
does A.A. help the alcoholic?
Who
belongs to A.A.?
What A.A.
Does NOT Do
AA
Groups
What
is an A.A. group?
What
kinds of meetings do A.A. groups hold?
What
is an A.A. Home Group?
How
do you become an A.A. group member?
Membership
How
do I join A.A.?
What
advice do you give new members?
What
is the purpose of anonymity in A.A.?
Meetings
What
are A.A. meetings?
If I
go to an A.A. meeting, does that commit me to anything?
Who runs
A.A.?
How
much does A.A. membership cost?
What
is the difference between open and closed A.A. meetings?
What
can the families of alcoholics do?
Can
I bring my family to an A.A. meeting?
General
What
is AA?
ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS ® is a fellowship of men and women who share
their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may
solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.
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What is alcoholism?
As A.A. sees it, alcoholism is an illness. Alcoholics cannot control
their drinking, because they are ill in their bodies and in their
minds (or emotions), A.A. believes. If they do not stop drinking,
their alcoholism almost always gets worse and worse. Both the American
Medical Association and the British Medical Association, chief
organizations of doctors in those countries, also have said that
alcoholism is an illness. 5
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What are the symptoms?
Not all alcoholics have the same symptoms, but many — at different
stages in the illness — show these signs: They find that only
alcohol can make them feel self-confident and at ease with other
people; often want “just one more” at the end of a party; look
forward to drinking occasions and think about them a lot; get drunk
when they had not planned to; try to control their drinking by
changing types of liquor, going on the wagon, or taking pledges; sneak
drinks; lie about their drinking; hide bottles; drink at work (or in
school); drink alone; have blackouts (that is, cannot remember the
next day what they said or did the night before); drink in the
morning, to relieve severe hangovers, guilty feelings and fears; fail
to eat and become malnourished; get cirrhosis of the liver; shake
violently, hallucinate, or have convulsions when withdrawn from
liquor. 5
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How can AA help me with my
drinking problem?
We in A.A. know what it is like to be addicted to alcohol, and to be
unable to keep promises made to others and ourselves that we will stop
drinking. We are not professional therapists. Our only qualification
for helping others to recover from alcoholism is that we have stopped
drinking ourselves, but problem drinkers coming to us know that
recovery is possible because they see people who have done it. 2
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How does A.A. help the
alcoholic?
Through the example and friendship of the recovered alcoholics in A.A.,
new members are encouraged to stay away from a drink “one day at a
time,” as the A.A.'s do. Instead of “swearing off forever” or
worrying about whether they will be sober tomorrow, A.A.'s concentrate
on not drinking right now — today. By keeping alcohol out of their
systems, newcomers take care of one part of their illness —their
bodies have a chance to get well. But remember, there is another part.
If they are going to stay sober, they need healthy minds and healthy
emotions, too. So they begin to straighten out their confused thinking
and unhappy feelings by following A.A.’s “Twelve Steps” to
recovery.
These Steps suggest ideas and actions that can guide alcoholics toward
happy and useful lives. To be in touch with other members and to learn
about the recovery program, new members go to A.A. meetings regularly.
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Who belongs to A.A.?
Like other illnesses, alcoholism strikes all sorts of people. So the
men and women in A.A. are of all races and nationalities, all
religions and no religion at all. They are rich and poor and just
average. They work at all occupations, as lawyers and housewives,
teachers and truck drivers, waitresses and members of the clergy. A.A.
does not keep a list of members, but groups do report how many people
belong to each one. From these reports, total A.A. membership is
estimated at over 2,000,000. 5
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What A.A. Does NOT Do
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Make
medical or psychiatric diagnoses or prognoses, or offer advice.
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Provide
drying-out or nursing services, hospitalization, drugs, housing,
jobs, money or other welfare services.
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Accept
any money for its services or contributions from outside sources.
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Provide
letters of reference to parole boards, lawyers, court officials,
social agencies, employers, etc.
-
Engage
in or support education, research, or professional treatment. 3
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AA
Groups
What is an A.A. group?
As the long form of Tradition Three clearly states, “Our membership
ought to include all who suffer from alcoholism. Hence we may refuse
none who wish to recover. Nor ought A.A. membership ever depend upon
money or conformity. Any two or three alcoholics gathered together for
sobriety may call themselves an A.A. group, provided that, as a group,
they have no other affiliation.” 4
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What kinds of meetings do
A.A. groups hold?
“Every A.A. group is autonomous,” our Fourth Tradition says,
“except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.” So,
predictably, the meetings held by our thousands of groups each have
their own imprint. The most common kinds of A.A. meetings are:
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Discussion.
Whether
closed or open, an A.A. member serving as “leader” or
“chair” opens the meeting in the usual way and selects a topic
for discussion. Background for many topic meetings derives from
our Big Book, Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, As Bill Sees It
and the A.A. Grapevine. A few specific topic suggestions would
include: acceptance versus admission, freedom through sobriety,
principles versus personalities, fear (or the nameless fears),
surrender, gratitude, anger, willingness, honesty, attitude,
resentments, making amends, humility and tolerance.
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Speaker.
One or more
members selected beforehand “share,” as described in the Big
Book, telling what they were like, what happened and what they are
like now. Depending upon the group conscience for general
guidelines, some groups prefer that members who speak have a
minimum period of continuous sobriety. Speaker meetings often are
“open” meetings.
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Beginners.
Usually led
by a group member who has been sober awhile, these are often
question- and-answer sessions to help newcomers. (A Guide for
Leading Beginners Meetings is available from G.S.O.)
-
Step,
Tradition or
Big Book. Because the Twelve Steps are the basis of personal
recovery in A.A., many groups devote one or more meetings a week
to the study of each Step in rotation; some discuss two or three
Steps at a time. These same formats may be applied to group
meetings on the Big Book or the Twelve Traditions. Many groups
make it a practice to read aloud pertinent material from the Big
Book or the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions at the onset of the
meeting. In addition to the meetings described above, groups also
hold the following kinds of meetings: Business. Some groups
schedule special sessions throughout the year, apart from regular
meetings, for reports from group officers to discuss group
affairs. Group officers usually are elected at such meetings. (See
section on Business Meetings, p. 36.) Group Inventory. These are
meetings at which members work toward understanding how well
aspects defining an A.A. group, they may call themselves an A.A.
group. A.A. groups are encouraged to register at G.S.O., as well
as with their area, district, intergroup or central office. 4
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What
is an A.A. Home Group?
“Traditionally, most A.A. members through the years have found it
important to belong to one group which they call ‘Home Group.’
This is the group where they accept responsibilities and try to
sustain friendships. And although all A.A. members are usually welcome
at all groups and feel at home at any of these meetings, the concept
of the ‘Home Group’ has still remained the strongest bond between
the A.A. member and the Fellowship.” (from The A.A. Service Manual).
With membership comes the right to vote upon issues that might affect
the group and might also affect A.A. as a whole—a process that forms
the very cornerstone of A.A.’s service structure. As with all
group-conscience matters, each A.A. member has one vote; and this,
ideally, is voiced through the home group. Over the years, the very
essence of A.A. strength has remained with the home group, which, for
many members, becomes their extended family. Once isolated by their
drinking, they find in the home group a solid, continuing support
system, friends and, very often, a sponsor. They also learn firsthand,
through the group’s workings, how to place “principles before
personalities” in the interest of carrying the A.A. message. Talking
about her own group, a member says: “Part of my commitment is to
show up at my home-group meetings, greet newcomers at the door, and be
available to them—not only for them but for me. My fellow group
members are the people who know me, listen to me, and steer me
straight when I am off in left field. They give me their experience,
strength and A.A. love, enabling me to ‘pass it on’ to the
alcoholic who still suffers.” 4
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How
do you become an A.A. group member?
“The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop
drinking.” (Tradition Three) Thus, group membership requires no
formal application. Just as we are members of A.A. if we say we
are, so are we members of a group if we say we are—and we keep
coming back.4
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Membership
How do I join A.A.?
You are an A.A. member if and when you say so. The only requirement
for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking, and many of us were
not very wholehearted about that when we first approached A.A. 2
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What advice do you give new
members?
In our experience, the people who recover in A.A. are those who: (a)
stay away from the first drink; (b) attend A.A. meetings regularly;
(c) seek out the people in A.A. who have successfully stayed sober for
some time; (d) try to put into practice the A.A. program of recovery. 2
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What is the purpose of
anonymity in A.A.?
At the personal level, anonymity assures privacy for all members, a
safeguard often of special significance to newcomers who may hesitate
to seek help in A.A. if they have any reason to believe their
alcoholism may be exposed publicly. 4
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Meetings
What are A.A. meetings?
Alcoholics Anonymous is established in over 180 countries. The people
in each group get together, usually once or twice a week, to hold A.A.
meetings, of two main types:
(1)
At “open meetings”, speakers tell how they drank, how
they discovered A.A., and how its program has helped them. Members
may bring relatives or friends, and usually anyone interested in A.A.
is also welcome to attend “open meetings.”
(2)
“Closed meetings” are for alcoholics only. These are
group discussions, and any members who want to may speak up, to ask
questions and to share their thoughts with fellow members. At
“closed meetings,” A.A.s can get help with personal problems in
staying sober and in everyday living. Some other A.A.s can explain
how they have already handled the same problems — often by using
one or more of the Twelve Steps. 5
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If I go to an A.A. meeting, does
that commit me to anything?
No. A.A. does not keep membership files, or attendance records. You do
not have to reveal anything about yourself. No one will bother you if
you don’t want to come back. 2
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Who runs A.A.?
A.A. has no real government. Each group is free to work out its own
customs and ways of holding meetings, as long as it does not hurt
other groups or A.A. as a whole. The members elect a chairperson, a
secretary, and other group officers. These officers do not give orders
to anybody; mostly, their job is to see that the meetings run
smoothly. 5
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How much does A.A.
membership cost?
There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership. An A.A. group will
usually have a collection during the meeting to cover expenses, such
as rent, coffee, etc., and to this all members are free to contribute
as much or as little as they wish. 2
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What is the difference
between open and closed A.A. meetings?
The purpose of all A.A. group meetings, as our Preamble states, is for
A.A. members to “share their experience, strength and hope with each
other that they may solve their common problem and help others to
recover from alcoholism.” Toward this end, A.A. groups have both
open and closed meetings. Closed meetings are for A.A. members only,
or for those who have a drinking problem and “have a desire to stop
drinking. “Open meetings are available to anyone interested in
Alcoholics Anonymous’ program of recovery from alcoholism. 4
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Families
What can the families of
alcoholics do?
A.A. is just for the alcoholics, but two other fellowships can help
their relatives. One is Al-Anon Family Groups. The other is Alateen,
for teenagers who have alcoholic parents. 5
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Can I bring my family to an
A.A. meeting?
Family members or close friends are welcome at “Open” A.A.
meetings. Discuss this with your sponsor. 2
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Footnotes/Sources:
| 1 |
Copyright
© by The A.A. Grapevine, Inc.; reprinted with permission |
| 2 |
“A
Newcomer Asks” |
| 3 |
“A.A.
Fact Sheet” |
| 4 |
“The
AA Group – where it all begins” |
| 5 |
“A
Brief Guide to Alcoholics Anonymous” |
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