Aa Meeting Reflection Paper

AA meetings are for people who are struggling with alcoholism which means they have an addiction to the consumption of alcoholic liquor or the mental illness and compulsive behavior resulting from alcohol dependency. I believe that these meetings are not helpful and in some cases cause harm the people who are trying to change and no longer alcoholics or drug addicts. These meetings do not have high success rates in fact they have very low rates. They have a 12 percent success rate for people who are sober for ten years and these meetings also have a very high depression and suicide rates because of their 12 step program. The AA meetings limit their success target only alcoholics as its main priority and unless you have a problem with alcohol you cannot be a member of the AA. I believe that if you have any type of addiction you deserve the help you need especially if you are looking for a change and want to better yourself. These AA

Alcoholism is a chronic brain disease that affects all walks of life and does not have any bounders (Gossop, Stewart, & Marsden, 2008). I choose to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meeting since this disease is prevalent among adolescents and adults. The meeting was held in the first-floor forum at Pilgrim Congressional Church in Queens New York. The goals of the AA meeting were stated explicitly by the leader conducting the meeting. The mission of the organization is to maintain sobriety by helping alcoholics achieve recovery. The organization provides clients with relevant materials such as pamphlets and flyers and states that all information shared in the meeting will remain confidential and will not be shared with anyone. The statement of anonymity was read to the members at the beginning of the session to ensure confidentiality.

Throughout my whole life, my father has been an alcoholic. There have been times when he has tried to quit, but it never lasted for more than a few months. His addiction has brought on stressful times for my family. Some days we did not know where he was or if he was coming home. Although my father’s addiction might not have made the best childhood, he did show me the kind of person I did not want to be.

I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting at a church in Henderson. Going to the recovery meeting was a very interesting experience. I have heard good things about Alcoholics Anonymous because my mom used to be an alcoholic. She has been sober for more than 15 years now and has said that Alcoholics Anonymous was very helpful step in her recovery. The meeting was different than I expected. I expected a small group of people sitting in a circle and telling their stories and it was very different from that. It was an extremely positive place. There were people ranging in ages and people ranging on length of sobriety. Some people there have been sober for over 25 years and some people had less than a week

In my experience of observing Alcoholics Anonymous group, it was a great experience. In my experience, I notice a lot of things in the Alcoholic Anonymous group. The first thing I notice while observing the group session is they have Alcoholics Anonymous bible that read a section every session. They read the same passage that discuss that how important it is to keep all information that is said in the group confidential. They were vey clear with that information. In my first session, the group started with a silent prayer, and read Alcoholic announcement. Next, the reader introduced the group leader. The group leader stated that goals that needs to be accomplish in this group which is stay sober day by day. The group leader also discuss in the group session about alcoholism. The group leader stated that alcoholism is a disease, and alcoholism progress and a chronic disorder. It affects the individual physical and mentally. Alcoholism is incurable and fatal. The group leader was very humorous and stated that many people who are nonalcoholic called alcoholics weak, crazy, and a sinner.

My small group experience was back in Secondary School where I was part of my school’s National Police Cadet Corps (NPCC) Cadet Leaders’ committee. The group lasted for approximately two years. Within the two years, we have meetings every fortnightly. This committee is a task group in which all members worked together to carry out activities for the school’s NPCC unit. The Cadet Leaders’ committee comprises of 10 members. The membership composition includes, chairperson, deputy chairperson, Head of training, Head of administration and the rest were members. I was the deputy chairperson and my role includes co-facilitating meetings, planning along with organising camps and training.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss and reflect on my experience attending an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting. Alcoholic anonymous (AA) was created to help individuals effected by Alcohol collaborate and support each other during their time of need. All AA meetings are structured differently. However, there are only two types of meetings: opened and closed meetings. During my experience, I attended an open meeting where anyone can come regardless of a diagnosed alcohol problem or the level of experience one had with participating in such meetings.

Going in to the meeting I was terrified and felt very awkward. I did not want the members to think I was intruding or that I was there to judge. Once I got in the room, my whole outlook changed. I immediately felt comfortable and welcomed in the environment. There was one small moment of discomfort when one older member started making nasty comments to a very young member because he was “talking way too much”. The older man stated, “The thing that will save you, is if you shut up”. I found this to be very rude, as did many of the other members. I, however, did not say anything because it was not my place. Other than that short moment, I really enjoyed this meeting. In the end, it was beneficial to me because of my family history with alcoholism. It really opened my eyes to the struggles my family members have faced. There was always a chance for me to become an alcoholic due to the history, but I have been very lucky. Hearing the stories from these members made me realize that depending on alcohol will never an option in my

The NA meeting had a guest speaker named Adam, the most surprising thing about meeting were candor and humor evoked by the speaker. Adam acknowledged that he has been addicted to drugs for seventeen years, and this behavior started when he was in the 7th grade. Adam was genuinely outspoken and humorously shared being in and out of treatment facilities over 28 times costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. The group really identified with the speakers story, and this was exhibited by laughter and comments from the crowd.

As you can see from my personal experience, it could change your whole outlook on the issue. At any meeting, you will find people with similarities, talking about what drinking did to their lives, and what actions they took to help themselves, and how they are living their lives today. AA is a great place for men and women who have lost their ability to control their drinking and have found themselves in trouble, just like my friend. AA’s ultimate goal is to create a satisfying life without alcohol, and they need all the moral support they can.

On Saturday at 12pm, I decided to go to the Alcoholic Anonymous meeting at 822Cne 125 Street, Suite 111 North Miami, FL. It was the closest location near me that was open to Non-alcoholics. Upon enter this building, I had to stereotypical view on how this meeting would look like and be. And these stereotypes were foster by Television shows. The clean version would be everyone sitting in a circle, introducing their selves as everyone in the room respond back in unison, ‘‘Hi whatever that person name is’’. And the grimy version would be a room filled with addicts, with someone oozing with the scent of alcohol shaking uncontrollable. But what I notice was not a corny or boulder-line outrageous meeting, but a very homey atmosphere. The surrounding

Substance abuse and addiction is one of the nation’s fastest growing problems with traditional 12-step recovery being virtually the only treatment option utilized. AA: Not the Only Way: Your One Stop Resource Guide to 12-Step Alternatives, Capalo Press; 2nd Edition (November 28, 2008), is a book that was written by a woman, Melanie Solomon, who battled addiction for 12 years. Solomon begins this book with a testimony of her journey that started in a well-known rehab facility that introduced her to Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and the 12-steps. Solomon explains in her story that she was addicted to pills, yet she ended up in the rooms of AA. After many unsuccessful attempts towards recovery in AA and near fatal relapses she began researching other

12. Having a spiritual awakenings from the result of the steps, will carry the message to alcoholics as they practice these principles in all of their affairs. (A brief Guide to Alcoholics Anonymous, P-42, copyright 1972, Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc. with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.)

I found the two co-leaders of the group and introduced myself as a Social Work student with Simmons College. They welcomed me to the group and said they were glad to have me. The group began a little later than the time designated for it to start. The beginning of the meeting was structured very clearly. The leaders began the group by introducing themselves and explaining a little bit about what brought them to CoDA. This self-disclosure provided an opportunity for group members to feel less alone and find something to relate to. The group then went around in a circle and introduced themselves one-by-one. Along with their introduction, members were asked to include one word about their current emotional state. This served as a check-in for the members and offered the leaders a platform from which to base their facilitation of the group. After introductions, the group leaders asked for volunteers to read the preamble, twelve steps, twelve traditions, and the welcome message. These pieces of literature provided a much-needed sense of purpose for the group. I was able to clearly see the principles of purpose laid out by Doel and Kelly (2014): “No jargon… No hidden agendas… Outcomes are related to wants and needs… Specific enough to be

In the story “Under the Influence,” Scott Russell Sanders. He tell you in detail about his father’s excessive abuse of alcohol, and the transformation that transpired. However, as he grown older he realized his father didn’t only have impact his mother, his sister and his brother, but also how it is affected his own relationship with his own children as well. He describe his father’s alcoholism problem while growing up barbaric and dark. Since he realize the neglection he felt during those times of his childhood. He started to notice pattern with his passion of his work life. He became so busy to point where he never was at home and wasn’t able to spend time with his wife and children.