The obvious and best solution to the problem of the normal anxiety and discomfort that are associated with attending one's first AA meeting is to go to the meeting with someone who knows the ropes. If no friend or acquaintance who happens to be an AA member is available, contact can always be arranged by calling the local AA Central Office and asking for a volunteer to telephone one. Although many people avail themselves of such measures to reduce the stress of their first AA meeting, many others find such logical preliminaries themselves too frightening and therefore do not follow them. It is principally to this last group, to those solitary and always frightened and confused "first timers," that this brief introduction is oriented.…
The purpose of the AA support group meetings are so that those who have the illness of alcoholism can interact with others who are or have been addicted to alcohol and learn how to cope with everyday life without consuming alcohol. The group leader starts the meetings by meditation and The Serenity Prayer. They have an order of how they conduct the meetings, such as reading the 12 steps of AA aloud and reading motivational passages. There is no pressure on anyone and they constantly support and motivate one another.…
Everyone in this group from the leader (facilitator) is a recovering alcoholic. I notice that the atmosphere in this group is to see others live a life of sobriety. I did notice that they all built a level of cohesive through their similarities. Everyone in the group had a positive attitude about being in the meeting. In this group, people were not forced…
Consequently, the chairperson talks about any AA information going on within the organization. The chairperson will bring up a topic from the AA big book to get started, once he/she does this it’s an open floor for anyone to raise their hand and speak on that topic. In the meeting I went to, I learned about the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. In summary, the 12 steps basically admit that we are powerless over alcohol and to admit to others of our wrongs.…
This is a concern since she began to identify as an addict and strained her relationship with the people who were present in her life. In conclusive, this paper helped exploring the pros and cons of AA meetings. In addition, it helped to understand and empathize with an addict from an observer’s point of view. As an observer the assignment helped to understand the importance of identity an individual changes by joining the AA meetings. This also helped to understand the benefit of 12-steps approach that provides an addict with a sense of belongingness and acceptance.…
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.…
One thing I took away from the meeting is you can never base if a person is an alcoholic based off their “looks”. Honestly, when I thought of an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting I thought everyone would look trashy, homeless, poor, etc. I know that’s shallow of me, but that’s how AA meeting are portrayed in today’s media, especially in movies. In addition, I thought all alcoholic were jobless bums when in reality there are many functioning alcoholics, even as contradictive as that sounds. Like the two white women, and the Hispanic man all had job, like real nine to five jobs.…
The Alcoholic Anonymous is a program targeted to help individuals on their road to recovery from alcoholism. Founded in 1935, the program has since then changed the stigmas associated with alcoholism and substance abuse, and has allowed individuals to join the meetings with dignity. This paper focuses on a first hand account of a nursing student’s experience at an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting. This paper also focuses on the effects of substance abuse on the mental health of people and the Twelve-Step programs associated with helping people overcome substance abuse. The data and information in this paper was derived from my attendance of the meeting as well as professional literature.…
My second-half of the first session is a family interview. When Billy, his parents, grandparents, uncle and aunt gather together, I greet them and help each of them to feel comfortable to stay together. Then, I invite each family member to define alcoholism. Later, I encourage them to discussion about alcoholism together while I watch and listen. Meanwhile, I reflect their feelings and contents to inform them that I track on their sharing.…
The speakers shared with the group how their life was when they were alcoholics and how attending the groups and wanted to change their life is making them a better person. They were 55 members present at the meeting I attended and most of them were men. One of the speakers spoke about how he faces many obstacles everyday but with a good support system is what keeps him going. He stated that his life was miserable when he used to drink and he realized that he was hurting his family; he felt like he didn’t know who he was anymore, his family didn’t know who he was and that was painful for him. The AA group is what’s helping him stay sober and finding himself.…
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…
I would think for some this could make attending a meeting difficult. Some people need to completely separate themselves from the drug and alcohol culture. Sitting in a room listening to people talk about their past use might trigger feelings for them to want to use again. I think that more emphasis needs to be on the recovery process and not the use. Another thing I thought about was how the twelve-step program might not work for everyone.…
When the leader introduced himself, I was taken aback by the fact he was an alcoholic. I know I should not have been, it would be a little arbitrary for the leader to not have experienced what the members were not experienced, but it was just caught me off guard. Another thing that surprised me was how responsive the members were. I have seen movies and television shows where they portray AA meetings. They always show a person introducing themselves and stating they are an alcoholic and then the group would respond, but in my meeting, after someone would read or share, the group would always thank them by name.…
On September 18th, I observed an Alcoholics Anonymous Group at Trinity United Methodist Church in Atlanta. The name of this group is called John F.’s 12 Steps Study, which is an open discussion meeting for anyone to participant in and it does have attendees examine one of the 12 steps in the program. According to Alcoholics Anonymous’ national website, “Alcoholics Anonymous is an international fellowship of men and women who have had a drinking problem. It is nonprofessional, self- supporting… [no requirements and]…Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about his or her drinking problem” (Alcoholics Anonymous, 2016, para. 1).…
I was fortunate enough to attend the 2016 H. W. Sumners Leadership Conference where I would have the opportunity to meet a unique pool of influential individuals. Most of my leadership experiences had come from group projects with students who I were familiar with, and the conference gave me the chance to become a team with strangers from across the United States and Mexico. I was not aware of how much I was actually going to get out of the conference. Through the elective workshops, I learned much more about my leadership style and who I could become as a leader. Through the speakers, I learned about the power of creating a vision and pursuing with unyielding faith.…