The General Purpose of the Meeting
I attended the AA meeting, which was held in the format of an open discussion on March 6 at 12 AM. This meeting was organized online through the Zoom platform. The first thing I did was check with the group’s facilitator to ensure that I could observe. I informed the facilitator that I am a student interested in observing a group for my class. The group I attended was small, with only 18 people in attendance, ranging in age from young adults to elderly. The age of individuals present at the conference was not revealed. The meeting was intended to begin with a minute of silence, followed by members reciting the serenity prayer as planned. The coordinator then discussed how an AA meeting operates and how it relates to the “Twelve Steps.” The newcomers introduced themselves after the prayers and discussion of what AA is. After that, the group read Chapter 5 of the “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions” book.
Following the reading of this chapter, the group spent remaining time discussing any experiences or strengths they wanted to share. The members who had come to the meeting for the first, second, and third time were acknowledged by mentor. Each individual who wanted to contribute was given around five minutes to speak about their experiences with alcoholism. One of the main topics was the atheistic and agnostic attitude towards God and religion. An essential aspect of the discussion was understanding why the relationship with God plays a vital role in the 12-step system. One of the explanations for this was that with severe alcohol dependence, a person seeks help from “power greater than ourselves” (Wilson and Smith, 2016, p. 45). Thus, such inspiring explanations were mentioned several times during the meeting. Such an attitude helps doubters quite a lot to understand how these meetings affect a person’s state of mind.
Stories Shared in the Meeting
From this meeting, I remember the story of John (fictitious name), which was quite ordinary, but that is what attracted attention. He started drinking early enough, namely at the age of 15, celebrating the New Year with friends at one of the parties. However, there was a definite reason for this, and as John claimed, his parents were drinking at home, thus no one was particularly watching him and did not participate properly in upbringing. It should also be said that he knew about the Alcoholics Anonymous society from the age of 14-15 because his mother attended meetings. As John noted, until the age of 30, he thought that the problem of alcoholism would not affect him at all; however, at the age of 28, he was simply left alone.
After his father’s death, everyone turned away from John: his mother and brother stopped communicating, his wife left, and problems began with work, too. His life developed in such a way that constant work absences led to his dismissal. One of John’s problems was also that his apartment belonged to the firm where he worked, but it was taken away from him. Left essentially homeless and without a job, he had no choice but to contact his mother and ask for help, and she introduced him to AA meetings. As John also argued, he thought that through meetings, he would be able to learn how to drink properly so as not to get drunk. However, he did not follow the recommendations, which led him to binge drinking. Nevertheless, eight months ago, he realized that he just was not honest enough with himself; he did not tell anyone anything. Since then, John has decided to change his whole life: external and internal, through a 12-step program.
John began to take steps together with a mentor, or, as they are also called, a sponsor. Thus, he was helped to find a place where he could live while recovering and putting his life in order. It is worth noting that despite his successes, there are still problems in his life. However, he acquired a different state of mind, and it became pleasant for him to live. He has not paid off his debts yet, but now John has a clear vision that every problem is solvable. Previously, John avoided responsibility for his actions in every possible way and consoled himself with alcohol. However, now John realizes that he has problems that need to be solved independently and responsibly.
Reaction to the Experience
In general, there were no requirements or intrusive questions at the meeting. Despite the fact that many of the new participants had no idea what to expect, everyone was eager to support each other. This was important because it helped to inspire optimism that the problem of alcoholism is solvable. This was demonstrated through the attitude and experience that the participants of the meeting conveyed. Attendance in 12-step self-help programs, such as AA and NA meetings, is linked to improved abstinence, psychological health, and drug use outcomes (Wilson and Smith, 2016). For me, sharing my problems with strangers turned out to be quite a difficult and embarrassing process. However, the people who attended the meeting did it easily and naturally due to the support from caring participants.
I used to underestimate the importance of consistency in my work, but after attending that meeting, my perspective changed completely. The significance of service to others was apparently reinforced in me during the meeting since the members thought that assisting others was the greatest way to quit drinking. They would share their own experiences without fear of being condemned to assist their peers (Wilson and Smith, 2016). Aside from that, the gathering began with the serenity prayer, indicating that individuals whom the community could have labeled as non-believers genuinely worshipped God. Members who experience the organization’s good impacts on their peers and how the group has favorably influenced their peers into adopting lifestyle changes will urge other members to do the same.
Attending this meeting also correlated with the knowledge gained about various recovery methods. In fact, each person has different risk factors that lead to dependence on alcohol or narcotic substances (Abadinsky, 2017). However, the treatment system can be completely different, and it must meet the needs and characteristics of each person. That is why such meetings can have an impact on a person and help him better than medical intervention. To date, many clinics offer various options for getting rid of alcohol addiction. In fact, various medications will keep a person sober for some time. However, additional efforts are needed to consolidate the result and keep it in a state of sobriety for as long as possible.
The primary purpose of attending meetings is to support each other. It consists of the opportunity to be heard without condemnation, to learn from the experience of people who abstain from drinking alcohol for a while (Abadinsky, 2017). In such situations, the experience can be invaluable because a person hears it from another person with similar problems and emotions. Seeing living examples of those who were able to control themselves, people have self-confidence and hope that they will be able to do the same.
References
Abadinsky, H. (2017). Drug use and abuse: A comprehensive introduction (9th ed.). Cengage Learning.
Wilson, B., & Smith, B. (2016). The big book of alcoholics anonymous. David Rehak.