For my first Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meeting, I was apprehensive in having the opportunity to experience a new part of society. However, as a social work student, I realized that this method of observation was going to be significant in helping me learn to empathize with the members and their struggles. Prior knowledge I had for these meetings was that they are mutually aided groups that provide for each other in their paths towards recovering from their alcohol addictions. I knew that these people experience many ordeals throughout the completion of each step and some take longer than others to recover. I was very interested in getting to know how they arrived to the point of recovery or, in some cases, identifying what barriers are preventing
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Initially, I thought the meeting was held autonomously until I heard a man direct the next person to speak; immediately I assumed he was the group facilitator. Oddly, many of them were sarcastic, yet at the same time motivating. Each member who spoke began with his or her name then indicated their status on their recovery, for example, how long they have been sober, and what they have to deal with on a daily basis. One woman explained being sober for the last18 months and having to endure being surrounded by others that are still addicted to alcohol and how the main aspect of these AA meetings is to be able to interact with their environment and still come out sober. She explained that living in San Bernardino has made it even more difficult for her to disengage from her addiction because it’s a city filled with sin and poverty. As the woman mentioned that, I noticed that many of the members agreed with her statement. Then the next member spoke, appearing angry, he explained how he dealt with the Social Security Department to acquire benefits but the city of San Bernardino does not care that the wealth is being distributed equally. I noticed that a strong emphasis was put into describing how living in San Bernardino was very inconvenient to them. Evidently, their statements were indications for how their living and social environments have been a strong influence to their recovery process. Another repeated pattern I noticed in their shared experiences and confessions was that some of them had a reciprocal relationship with their elder parents. They explained how they depend on each other for emotional and financial
Initially, I thought the meeting was held autonomously until I heard a man direct the next person to speak; immediately I assumed he was the group facilitator. Oddly, many of them were sarcastic, yet at the same time motivating. Each member who spoke began with his or her name then indicated their status on their recovery, for example, how long they have been sober, and what they have to deal with on a daily basis. One woman explained being sober for the last18 months and having to endure being surrounded by others that are still addicted to alcohol and how the main aspect of these AA meetings is to be able to interact with their environment and still come out sober. She explained that living in San Bernardino has made it even more difficult for her to disengage from her addiction because it’s a city filled with sin and poverty. As the woman mentioned that, I noticed that many of the members agreed with her statement. Then the next member spoke, appearing angry, he explained how he dealt with the Social Security Department to acquire benefits but the city of San Bernardino does not care that the wealth is being distributed equally. I noticed that a strong emphasis was put into describing how living in San Bernardino was very inconvenient to them. Evidently, their statements were indications for how their living and social environments have been a strong influence to their recovery process. Another repeated pattern I noticed in their shared experiences and confessions was that some of them had a reciprocal relationship with their elder parents. They explained how they depend on each other for emotional and financial