Alcoholism is prevalent in every community. Alcoholism is an illness, in which individuals are addicted to alcohol. Individuals who are addicted to alcohol feel as though they cannot function every day without it. Those addicted who do not seek help in most cases, hurt themselves, their families and others. This paper aims to prove how Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) support groups can help those individuals who seek help and try to cope with this illness effectively.…
Many of the members had similar stories and testimonies. Although most of the members are still fighting the addition, it seemed to give people hope that they too can take one day at a time and walk the road to their sobriety. It is hard to pinpoint what development stage they were in currently. I think it is hard because you never know who will come to the meetings, and new people come each time. If I had to pick a stage, I would say that the groups were in the initial phase.…
For my out of class activity I decided to go to an open Alcoholic Anonymous meeting. I chose to go to this type of meeting because they have lots of time options in the Des Moines area, so it was convenient within my schedule. Initially, going into this I had no idea what to expect. I’ve seen a few AA meetings on movies I have watched, but other than that, I had no previous knowledge of what this meeting would be like.…
For this assignment, the 12-step program that I chose to attend was a narcotics anonymous group. After researching for the nearest NA and AA group, I was very surprised to find out with how many groups are located near me. I chose to visit and sit in the Lincoln Park Candlelight Meeting, because the time, location, and date was very convenient for me to attend. I was informed that this group has been around for over twenty years, and is held every Friday from 7:30 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Before the meeting started, during the break, and when the group concluded, 50’s oldies music was provided. The group was setup in a square formation, with a candle that was lit after the break, because the lights were shut off.…
Today I had my first experience attending an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. It is not exactly what I was anticipating, in regards to the people that I was expecting to see. The first person who started speaking after the group members state their names and problem, go true the silent prayer, the 12 Steps, and the 12 Traditions stated, “alcoholics don’t look like the typical movie alcoholic and/or the stereotype people have about us, we come from different backgrounds, colors, and shapes;” it was like he was reading my mind. I was expecting to see, for the most part, older people who were tired of struggling with their lives because of alcohol, but there were young adults, males and females, older people, and even a member with his young son.…
The 12 step meeting that I attended was an over eaters anonymous. When I arrived, I was greeted openly and the people were very friendly. I had to announced who I was and the purpose of me being there. I was surprise that I was accepted as part of the group. The group had given several pamphlets and invited me to attend their weekly meetings.…
Silence can make any situation awkward very quickly. I can honestly say that during this meeting it was no awkward silence. Everyone in the group kept the flow of and the conversation didn’t stop until time ran out. The members may have experienced cohesion issues when they first started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meting but during the meeting that I witnessed it was no since of mistrust, or unwillingness to share and everyone seemed very safe in the group.…
12-Step Meetings Summary As a nursing student, each student has to attend and observe two twelve step meetings such as alcohol anonymous, narcotic anonymous, or cocaine anonymous as part of the community health project. I attended two alcoholics anonymous meetings. Alcoholics Anonymous, also known as the AA, is an alcoholism treatment program. There are group meetings in which individuals share their personal experiences about alcoholism and motivate each other to stay sober.…
The AA meeting is every Monday from 7pm- 8:30pm. It was actually very convenient to get there from UIC College of Nursing; we just needed to take the Pink Line from Polk to Morgan (only 2 stops). It took us only 12 minutes to get there. After walking into the AA meeting, I thought it was super spacious with bright lights and white walls. The room was filled with chairs for the participants to sit.…
On Tuesday night, September twenty-seventh, my classmate Mariah and I observed an Overeaters Anonymous (OA) meeting at Woodford’s Congregational Church in Portland. The contact person for this meeting is Susie, though the person leading that night’s meeting was Edie, a recovering compulsive overeater herself. This was an open meeting, held biweekly, and had an attendance of thirteen people, Mariah and myself included. The feelings I had leading up to this meeting were very mixed and fluctuated a lot during my hour drive into Portland that night.…
The person running the meeting who we will call “Saul” informed me that a different group from AA hosts this meeting each month. Hosting the meeting requires obtaining two speakers and setting up the room each week. As the meeting began Saul asked if there is anyone new attending this meeting for the first time or are there any AA anniversaries, which there was a man who…
Although I was somewhat anxious about going, I feel that these experiences have really opened my eyes to something I knew very little about. The first meeting I attended was an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting in freehold borough. It was held in a room called the…
Reflections of an AA Meeting Attendance by a Non-Alcoholic Support Meeting Reflection I attended an online Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. There were twenty-six participants there, including myself; two of which were moderators. I had actually logged on early, as is my habit attending seminars, and observed the other participants chatting beforehand. I was surprised by the lack of seriousness surrounding this whole process.…
Addiction support meetings have multiple benefits beyond helping a person move toward a healthier, more stable and productive life without the misuse of substances. Historically speaking, in the case of Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, the idea that one alcoholic speaking with another is enough of a good start for progress toward recovery. As a matter of fact, that is how it is described in AA literature (Big Book, 2001). Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. Its primary purpose is to help alcoholics stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety.…
There were a lot of people in attendance at this meeting which made me feel more comfortable. People were mingling under picnic tables or brought their own blankets or chairs to sit on during the duration of the meeting. I found it comforting to sit back and blend into the crowd and listen to the stories and observe the function and processes of the…