Alcoholic Anonymous is an association of different people recuperating from alcoholism who come together to contribute their experiences about alcoholism and its effects. The organization aims to encourage more people to stop taking alcohol and help alcoholic addicts to overcome their situation. Alcoholic Anonymous is an international organization formed in 1935 in Akron with its branches all over the world. Two partners, William Griffith Wilson and Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith, teamed up together and formed Alcoholic Anonymous. The association aims at helping other alcoholic addicts achieve sobriety. This paper will extensively discuss the formation of Alcoholic Anonymous.
Alcoholic Anonymous does not endorse or oppose any cause (Dick, 2011). The association assists individuals who have trouble with taking alcohol and worry about their drinking habits. The association also support alcoholic addicts together with individuals who get into unpleasant or dangerous situations and assist them improve. Dr. Robert Holbrook Smith together with his co-founder William Griffith Wilson began assisting other addicts to recover from alcoholism. The association is of support to many people by assisting them recover from alcoholism (Brown & Brown, 2013).The founders stated that there is no membership fee required to join the organization (Dick, 2011). In addition, the founders clarify that a requirement for membership is desire to stop drinking since the association is self-supporting through its contributions.
With the common aim of the founders, Alcoholic Anonymous is an association that incorporates alcoholic addicts. These characters come together to exchange ideas regarding their predicament. They also share their experiences and encourage each other to recuperate from alcoholism. In addition, members assist each other as they solve their problems (Abadinsky, 2013). The traditions of the group recommend that members and the group together with its activities should remain anonymous (Borden, 2014). The association also prevents its members from joining any affiliate organization or engage in its activities. Alcoholic Anonymous main objective is to help alcoholic individuals to achieve and maintain sobriety. The association receives acknowledgment for assisting addicts to change their way of living.
The association has two different kinds of meetings, speaker meetings and meetings for general discussions. During general meetings, members tell their stories and sources of stressors (Borden, 2014). Together with other members, William Griffith Wilson wrote a book that suggested a twelve-step program in which members admitted that the power of alcoholism was beyond their control. In addition, the book also indicated that alcoholic addicts necessitated moral intervention to recover from alcoholism (Abadinsky, 2013). Another aim of the book is to promote the fellowship of Alcoholic Anonymous together with the objectives. The organization elects their officials through a simple majority vote. Alcoholic Anonymous is a self-supporting association, relying on voluntary donations from members to cover expenses. The association hires external professionals for services that require special expertise (Brown & Brown, 2013). Through this custom, members attain additional assistance from the professionals.
In conclusion, the association advocates to assists its members to recover from alcoholism. The group hires professionals from different sectors to assist its registered members with overcoming alcoholism. Through its campaigns, the association has positively influenced living style of addicts. Group membership campaigns majorly against alcoholism as well as helping its members to recover from being alcoholic addicts. The group target to have more members since its membership is free. Most of the association members believe alcoholism needed moral intervention to enable addict recuperate from the syndrome. The association however does not consider alcoholism a disease except an illness.
References
Abadinsky, H. (2013). Drug Use and Abuse: A Comprehensive Introduction. Belmont: Cengage Learning.
Borden, A. (2014). The History of Gay People in Alcoholics Anonymous: From the Beginning. New York: Routledge.
Brown, S. & Brown, D. A Biography of Mrs Marty Mann: The First Lady of Alcoholics Anonymous. Minnesota: Hazelden Publishing.
Dick, B. (2011). The Akron Genesis of Alcoholics Anonymous. Maui: First Edition Design Publishers.