Self Help Reflection Paper: Alcoholics Anonymous Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in the city of Akron, Ohio by two exceptionally different men. Bill Wilson was a New York stockbroker while Dr. Bob Smith was a physician (Wiechelt, 2015, p.1011). While the pair led two widely different professions, they shared commonality in the fact that they both struggled with an alcohol addiction. Through several meetings, the two quickly realized that there was a great need for a support system for effective recovery. Each of them brought something unique to the table, creating a perfect mixture of ideas to form a well rounded framework for a recovery group. AA pioneered the 12 step program model and remains the most widely attended. AA’s self identified …show more content…
Living Sober is a meeting affiliated with AA. The meeting was a combinations of going through the steps, reading from the Big Book, and open discussion. In the meeting I attended there was about 25 to 30 attendees. The room was filled with happy faces that seemed comfortable and truly at home. The groups members were all highly involved in every aspect of the meeting. Whether it was reciting the 12 steps and traditions, reading from the Big Book, or engaging in honest discussion, almost everyone in the room participated. As a first time “participant,” I felt exceptionally welcomed to the group. Both of the ladies that sat on either side of me initiated an engaging and welcoming conversation with me. They took the time to explain the proceedings and reciting that I, as a first time guest, would not know. Also, throughout the meeting I had several questions that they kindly answered with patience. The group members were all incredibly supportive of each other. Each member seemed to genuinely listen to what their fellow member said when speaking, expressing understanding. The whole meting felt familial. It was clear that the purpose of the group is to provide a support system to individuals struggling with addiction. It also gave the individuals the platform to talk through their struggles and past stories without the feeling of
Created in 1981, this study has several implications for human addicts. It demonstrates the importance of support and a strong community around the addict during their treatment process. If placed at the Pioneer Treatment Center, Mikayla would be able to have the support of myself, my husband and our friends as she continues to focus on her sobriety. She would be able to work on having a positive, useful life, while gaining the support of loved ones as she finishes out court-ordered rehab and job training. I run a content business from home, so I would be able to visit as often or as little as the treatment center
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
Fabian Castaneda Mrs.Kehrmeyer Contemp. Comp April 25, 2015 The Problems With AA 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.
AA Meeting Reflection Many people who have never had an addiction may not understand the difficulty of becoming better, and that is because we have never been in circumstances where our life depended upon a substance (Berry & Ramnath, 2013). However, for people who have had a substance addiction, the difficulty to becoming better is harder because they need to regain control over their thoughts and lives. According to the alcoholic anonymous recovery program, a twelve-step meeting is a very efficient program that helps people regain control over their thoughts and their lives. One vital part of this program is the twelve traditions and twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Although the overall goal of this meeting is for members to stay sober while
I chose this particular group because it was an open meeting and they welcomed anyone. The man running the group, was a member himself, and was very welcoming. The meeting started with the AA promise and 12 steps, which I believe they start every meeting with. There was not one specific topic focused
Although, someone who’s in denial won’t recognize they have a problem, also if there is someone enabling their addiction. And well, AA meeting keys to success would be the meeting are run in a social supporting setting that allows individuals to support each other’s efforts towards sobriety. And those members gains confident that they can maintain abstinence through any challenging social situations. At the end of my experience at an Alcohol Anonymous meeting, the information presented in class and the chapter 9 in the ‘‘Drug, Behavior, and Modern society’’ book didn’t drift off too far. The philosophy of AA stayed true to their famous twelve
Within residence halls, RA’s often put on programing that educates about drinking. It seems that many of the the campaigns are focused on alcohol addiction, not on binge consumption. This issue is relevant to the client because college aged students often die from alcohol related injuries, binge drinking makes this more likely to happen.
My initial perception of the members in the room is that some members may be shy to disclose their stories, but was amazed that everyone came forth in the room to discuss their shortcoming. Furthermore, I did not have any stereotypes perception about alcoholism since I am aware that alcoholism is a disease that affects the brain. My understanding about alcoholism was confirmed by the various client verbalization of their stories and problems associated with
Before the meeting, I thought only people from lower socioeconomic status or unemployed people were alcoholics. People in the meeting dressed well and looked healthy. They didn’t look like the alcoholics I have seen in the movies. The meeting was a mix of male and female, young and old. To start off the meeting, everyone in the room introduced themselves as “My name is ______ and I am an alcoholic.
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
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.
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.
Nationwide, the summer is the time when temporary students come into the laboratory. During my sophomore summer, my Ph.D. mentor put me in charge of 3 summer students. Although excited, I quickly came to find that the students ignored any guidance from me, and soon enough experiments were going awry consistently. The truth was that even though I was in charge of training the students, I needed us to be able to work together to successfully get some of the larger experiments done. I ultimately realized that I needed to be able to make the students see that none of us individually could get all the work done.
Self-Reflection as a Leader Self-reflection is the practice of observing one’s own behavior and evaluating the effectiveness of one’s actions for self-development and improvement (Marques, 2017; Spurgeon, 2009). Kellogg Insight (2016) noted that leaders need to reduce the noise in the environment and use solitude to consider values, personal example, priorities and preparation to prevent unwelcome surprises. The argument was made that leaders must practice self-reflection, which enhances self-leadership, to be able to lead others (Kellogg Insight, 2016). Polizzi and Frick (2012) stated that self-reflection allows one to learn from past experiences, which may challenge prior conceptualizations, and result in increased emotional awareness. Self-Reflection
It allows members of the centre to develop a strong bond with each other that will be necessary for them to recovery from substance abuse. Not only will they aid and