As I found a seat to sit in I had other conversations with people in the meeting, one being about how nursing students often attend the meetings and the man I was talking to telling me how often addicts who receive help are very grateful for the help and appreciate the work people are doing for them. I was extremely and pleasantly surprised by how nice and welcoming everybody at the meeting I talked to was. They all tried to make me feel comfortable and welcome and multiple times I was offered the coffee and cake they had set out for the meeting. Speaking of cake, the meeting had celebratory cake due to a man's 35 years of sobriety. I had been informed of this celebration by the discussion leader and again by the women I talked to right after. I thought that this was a great coincidence and that I had been very lucky to choose that meeting and that day to attend. Since it was a 35 year celebration the meeting was slightly different that a regular meeting would have been, with the man giving a speech and everybody in the meeting celebrating …show more content…
To my surprise they introduced themselves by their first name and proclaimed that they were an alcoholic. After they shared the other people in the group would thank them for their courage. Honestly, I thought that that was only ever like this in a movie and not in a real AA meeting. After a while I realised that it was almost like an encouragement and reward for sharing to have the whole group listen and thank you for your strength to share and for what you brought to the group. Many had had similar experiences than the main speaker, especially in the beginning when they had thought that they would only be in AA for a short while and then continue on with their lives as previously. Many of the also mentioned the Big Book and how they needed time to understand the things that are written in it. Most disliked the book when first reading
days of alcoholics anonymous. The first step states “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that
I decided to attend a meeting based first (and almost solely) on convenience of the location. So I decided to attend a meeting right here in Batavia. The “Batavia 12 & 12” at the Holy Trinity Church down on 6th & Wood St. They hold meeting on Mondays around 11:00am. The main focus is to follow the 12 steps in order and work on them in a more traditional fashion. They do have the big book, but follow it more in a step by step focus. However karma decided to rear its head and make it a Closed Meeting, meaning that it is not as open to the public to sit on and they only allow members who are coming with a problem related to alcohol. So at first I was turned away but, I was lucky enough to know a person
We began the meeting by introducing those who are new to AA or those who were visiting from a different group. If a person did not want to introduce themselves, they were not made to do so. The meetings were very calm and were conducted in an orderly fashion. In a support group, the leader should create a safe environment where members can share (Jacobs et al., 2012 p. 43). I felt very comfortable being there and even though I was there as an observer, the group leader always encouraged me to ask questions or comments. Regardless of the topics that were discussed, no one was judgmental. I believe the positive energy I felt while in the group was because everyone truly cared about each other’s sobriety.
The other two people at the meeting declined to speak. They said they just wanted to listen. During the rest of the meeting, Andy spoke more about Step 12 and how to get to that step. Next was another prayer while everyone joined hands. The meeting ended at 1:10pm.
The smoke in the room was so bad that some of the observers were wiping their eyes.
The AA meeting I attended was an open speaker (OS), which meant that the majority of the time was spent listening to a particular member give a testimony of their journey with alcohol. As I sat, I had no idea what I was going to expect which made me nervous. There was a woman introducing herself in front of everyone who I learned was the meeting chairperson for that day. As the meeting began, the chair asked if anyone was attending AA for the first time. A few raised their hands; I was not one of them. I was too intimidated to introduce myself and speak. The chairperson then read the AA Preamble and led a group prayer which the majority of the people recited. At this point, I felt like an outcast since I did not know the words to the prayer.
For this assignment, I observed an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting held at The Meeting Place on Wednesday, September 28, 2016. There were 15 members in attendance, 12 men and 3 women not counting myself. The group leaders were both women and sat at the front of the room. For confidentiality of the group member names will not be included. The meeting began with the group leaders reminding the attendees of the rules of AA and the process of the meeting. Several of the attendees read the declaration of AA and the documents associated with the meeting structure. After the introduction, several of the members gave their testimony regarding their own experience with drinking. Following the short declarations, a passage of the big book was
My first experience at an alcoholics anonymous meeting was very interesting and in a way uplifting. At All Saints Lutheran Church the home group called “The Young People’s Group” there were people who had come from all walks of life. The group meeting that I thought would have been rather small slowly became larger and larger over the course of the night. I was unaware that the AA meetings had been setup with a set of codes or rules for those who struggle every day to fight this addiction. They allowed people who were new or if it was their first meeting to introduce themselves and tell their story to the fight of addiction related to alcohol. I was really impressed with the fact that the AA groups have an awards system for reaching
Attending a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting was a humbling and informative experience. To be completely honest, I had no idea what to expect going into the meeting. Right before I walked in, I felt somewhat uncomfortable and embarrassed. I felt as if I was intruding on someone’s personal life with my presence, even though I knew I was welcomed since the meeting was listed as “open”. Alcohol abuse is a very sensitive topic to me, as someone quite close to me is an alcoholic: my Uncle. I know that he is a recovering alcoholic, but I never quite know what is going on with him because I don’t ask questions and he never shares what he is feeling with me. When I was younger, I remember that he was always the life of my family parties, but I know now it was because he was drunk. When I see him now, he isn’t as energetic as he used to be and often avoids situations where alcohol is involved. Although my Uncle did not personally tell me, my father has shared with me that he attends AA meetings at a church in my hometown. I never understood what AA meetings really entail and didn’t grasp how they helped alcoholics recover. Attending this local AA meeting helped shed light on what my Uncle feels, and I am more understanding to his addiction. I am thankful for this assignment because I know that my Uncle is not alone; the AA community is so supportive and the members all have the best intentions of getting
The objective of this study is to write a reaction on a 12-step meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous with the focus of the meeting being attitude modification. The meeting attended was the Stairway Group meeting in Decatur, Alabama. The members who attended this group meeting were of all ages, of both the female and male gender and were white, black, and Hispanic individuals. The majority of the attendees were males.
When I walked into the meeting, I was a little apprehensive. It was only a small group of about ten people, which was held at a local hospital. Knowing that I had to explain I was there to observe as a student studying social work, I was worried that the participants would hold back from their real behaviors in the group and that they would be cold to me. However, that assumption could not have been farther from the truth. All my apprehension flew out the window, as the members of the small group all welcomed me with open arms. Apparently, these were regulars. Most in the group attended every meeting, and continued to use the support of the group to deal with the continuous chaos and trauma of living with an addict. I was welcomed to sit and observe the behavior of the individual members of the group express their grief, fear, and
Today, one out of every thirteen adults abuse alcohol or are alcoholics. That means nearly thirteen million Americans have a drinking problem. (www.niaaa.nih.gov) This topic offers a broad range of ideas to be researched within the psychological field. For this particular project, the topic of alcoholism and the psychological effects on people best fit the criteria. Alcoholism is defined as a disorder characterized by the excessive consumption of and dependence on alcoholic beverages, leading to physical and psychological harm and impaired social and vocational functioning. (www.dictionary.com) Through this project, the most important information regarding personal experiences
For an observation of an AA meeting my classmate and I made arrangements to go to an open meeting at Our Lady Star Of The Sea Church, which was held in a basement during a Tuesday afternoon session at 4:00 p.m. I first looked up the sessions online on a website where it held all the meetings on Staten Island and this one fit my schedule well. Its not unusual for me to be attending or visiting churches but for this assignment it did feel a little out of my comfort zone, because I didn’t know what to expect or what others would think of me. I chose a seat in the back corner that wouldn’t be too obvious yet it seemed like a typical seat for a newbie to sit at. The room was fairly large and I was surprised at how big the crowd got at least 30 plus people attended.
AA meetings are something I am all to familiar with. My dad has a drinking problem and all my life it’s been something thats affected not only himself but our family. Nine months ago I would have never thought I would ever be sitting in a one of these meetings because I knew I would never allow alcohol to take my life in the direction it took my fathers. When my dad hit rock bottom I was able to get him the help he has needed the majority of his life, he finally checked himself into rehab. This was huge, this was the first step in the right direction and I would do my best to be there for him every step of the way. He had to attend meetings throughout the week and I did my best to attend all the ones I could. Before the first meeting I attended I was a little nervous even knowing I was not going to have to say or do anything. I thought they’d
Addiction has become a common affliction. As cliche as it sounds, nothing is further from the truth, alcohol alone is responsible for approximately 1.8 million deaths a year worldwide, which computes to around 3.2% of deaths worldwide. Its estimated that over 76 million people are affected by alcohol use disorders. People abuse it because society looks at alcohol as a normal part of life, in fact it is commonly promoted. Alcohol can impart someone with confidence and happiness or it can spiral them into complete depression and depravity, and all thats needed is a 10 minute drive to the local supermarket to buy whatever appeals to us. The number of alcoholics has risen drastically over the decades. In the 1970's America started to