Reflective Summary Of Experience: AA/NA Meeting

At the beginning of my training, I was hesitant to work with people struggling with addiction. However, at this point, I am excited to begin working with this population. The raw honesty presented in the group setting along with the anger at the possibility of losing a safe place created a dynamic I wanted to further explore. Research supports that individuals attending group therapy in a 12 step program format succeed if they have the proper support and motivation (Cite). The group dynamic demonstrated that recovery takes time and self-discovery, similar to other situations dealt with in therapy. Subsequently, by using my sense of self and humor with clients struggling with addiction, I can help them in their journey. Furthermore, the client needs to identify accountability at their own pace in the process and not when others dictate. This knowledge and the personalization of addiction will aid me in the future support of my

As a result of that knowledge the addicted person is in control and can take be in charge of their actions to change the cycle and make a deliberate effort to change.

Addictions is something that many people in the community face. Being able to have a support group in the community can help in the recovery process. This writer was able to attend two different support groups for different addictions. The first group this writer attended was an Alcohol Anonymous support group (AA). The second group attended was Over Eaters Anonymous support group (OA). It took this writer three tries before a meeting was found. When this writer looked online for a meeting, the first location visited, a gentleman stated there has not been an AA meeting held there in eight years. Another gentleman at the second location stated it has been five years since it was a meeting location; when it held meetings, it was for Hispanic

For the support group observation assignment, I attended the Gateway Group’s Alcoholic Anonymous (A.A.) meeting. The Gateway Group is part of a larger organization called the Tri-County Intergroup Association of Alcoholics Anonymous. The Tri-County Intergroup serves A.A. members in Franklin, Wake, and Warren Counties and is broken down into 113 separate groups. As the preamble states, the purpose of all A.A. group meetings are for A.A. members to share their experience strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. There are no dues or fees for being an A.A. member, and the only requirement for membership is to have a desire to stop drinking ().

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

Going to the AA (alcohol anonymous) meeting, I was not sure what to expect for this is my first time attending such meeting. I did some research just to have an idea. Walked in saw a group composing of both men and women of different races and age sitting ready to be given the signal to talk about a something most of them don’t have control over. Most have been an alcoholic for over 20 years. The discussion leader introduces a topic with some brief comments and then throws the meeting open. A guy name Pete who is a recovered alcoholics started off by stating his name and began to explain the impact of being an alcoholic has had in his life and his loved ones, the daily struggles he would go through. He talked about times where he would feel like nobody. He went on to describe his first experience about coming to the AA meeting stating that he felt as if he was in the wrong place, with the wrong people, and taking the wrong approach to his drinking problem, but after attending a few meetings with the help of other members, hearing stories of other people he knew he was in the right place. Everyone else saw him as a human being who has an addiction and looking for help.

Addiction is a theme that has been present throughout my life through members of my family and myself. My father was addicted to gambling and alcohol until finally, his drinking ended his life. My brother struggles with alcohol and keeping ahead of his problematic drinking. I have several cousins that float between alcohol and drugs to fulfill the need for an outside substance. For many years, I pondered how I had escaped the addiction curse in my family only to realize that my addiction is food. I overeat and self-sooth through food even though I have health concerns and know a better way. I spent most of my young adulthood angry at my father because he could not or would not change for his family. I am understanding more through education

Lastly, the chairperson recounted her own personal story with addiction. I was surprised how the group handled her story in a positive way. I noticed at times members laughed and even smiled and others making brief supporting comments. Rather than judge the events of her life, the group members seemed to connect in a personal way. I liked how the meeting was honest and open. Afterwards different members of the meeting read brief AA literature, "How it Works," the "Twelve Traditions" and "The Promises." I listened to each of them very closely

My grandfather was an alcoholic. He drank from the moment he rose out of bed until he passed out in the evening. He battled with this disease for many years. Drinking alcohol was like breathing air, it was his daily routine until the day he passed away.. Alcoholism took his life at the age of 65. I loved my grandfather; he was a very caring and loving man. In fact, at one point he was an electrical engineer, he lost his job when alcohol took command of his every waking moment. I chose to attend an Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meeting, because I wanted to gain an understanding of the program, in hopes to increase my understanding of the struggles my grandfather went through. This would be my first AA meeting. This particular AA group is called, The Spring Forest Recovery Group, they meet every Sunday at 7:00 pm. It is located at 4015 Spring Forest Road, Raleigh, North Carolina. Every 1st, 3rd and 5th Sundays they have their speaker meeting. Every 2nd & 4th Sunday they have their big book study. This past Sunday was their big book study. Everyone had his or her blue books, titled Alcoholics Anonymous. I walked in sat down and listened carefully as the 12-steps to recovery were being read out loud. The room was still except for the words that bounced and echoed throughout the room. The room is set cafeteria style, 8-foot tables and white chairs filled the room with rows of 4. Group is a mix of multicultural members, with a common problem or

When Ms. Reed let us know about this paper and what was going to be about at the beginning of the semester, I started to feel a little anxious to be completely honest. At that time, my idea of an AA meeting was a very dark place, with a lot of sad emotions. I feel like us, young people, love to glamorize alcohol. We like going to parties and saying how drunk we got, but as soon as we hear the word alcoholic we creep out. Even though a part of me was frightened about going to an AA meeting, another part of me really wanted to do it. My goal in life is to become a clinical psychology and this consists of a lot of empathy and understanding of how it feels to be in someone else's shoes so I felt like I could truly learn from this. I first wanted to go with my group of friends, just to have someone there with me, but after I thought that if I really wanted to experience this fully, I had to do it by myself.

On the 14th of November, my classmate Lina and I went to Our Savior’s Lutheran Church in Newington, CT for their open speaker AA meeting. Upon arrival, I was a little nervous since this would be my first time at an AA meeting and I did not know what to expect. However, once in the meeting, you could feel how much everybody cared about everyone else, whether they were new or returning. I think this was because everyone was going through the exact same thing and they did not have to worry about being judged. As stated in class and on the syllabus, open speaker meetings are ones where members of the meeting share their life story. Most of the stories told at the meeting were positive and encouraging. Here are a couple stories told in the meeting that touched me in a way.

Thankfully, I've seen most, if not all, of those people fight back from the clutches of addiction and regain a life of sobriety. And they did it by filling their basic human needs. As humans, we all have the same basic wants and desires and understanding how to fill them is crucial to recovery success.

I was able to attend an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Meeting on April 28, 2016. Just as the previous meeting, I used the AA website for the state of Virginia, googled the address, and used my GPS system in order to travel to the meeting. The meeting that I wanted to attend was an open group, handicap accessible, discussion themed which covered the 12 Steps, and discussed the 12 Traditions of AA. It was to be held at 6:15 P.M., and was about 10 minutes away from my home. I had chosen this meeting because this meeting covered aspects of AA that I was not personally familiar with; such as the 12 Traditions and the 12 Steps.

Addiction is a disease that I will battle for the rest of my life. After being sexually assaulted at the age of twelve, I started to self-destruct. Lack of parental support, less than pristine living conditions, and an addictive personality paved an expressway to a life of addiction. I chose to hang with undesirable people, and was introduced to Marijuana, LSD, Ecstasy, PCP, Cocaine, Heroin and eventually what became the love of my life, the prescription painkiller Morphine. Never did I think that trying pot would have a domino effect. It led me to try harder and more addictive substances ultimately turning my life upside down. Often publicly

When I began this class I had a very specific experience and understanding of addictions. One of the major influencers in my view of addictions has been my mother. This is something I never fully processed until I began really learning about addictions and what they do to people. I had impressions of addiction which were completely off base, and I had never taken the time to filter my prejudices through the reality of addictive disorders. Nevertheless, this project and this class has had a wonderful effect on my perception of those struggling with addictions.