has anyone attended any AA meetings?and if so did they help you and would you reccomend them?

Question

it`s not for myself but for my man. he has moved out due to drink but i still want to help and support him

Answer 1

I would most definitely NOT recommend AA.

It's a thinly disguised religious group that has the potential for serious harm.

Several studies, including one by George Vaillant, AA Board of Trustees member, give AA a 5% success rate. The success rate for those who attempt to quit on their own is 5%, but AA has a MORTALITY rate that is 4 times higher than no treatment at all.
http://www.orange-papers.org/orange-effectiveness.html

AA is very dogmatic and dismisses any method other than their own, often lying about its own success rate or that of others. I would say that my involvement with AA PREVENTED me from getting the help I needed. I spent 20 years bouncing in and out of the rooms only managing a few months sobriety at a time. It wasn't until 5 years ago that I took responsibility for my own recovery and turned my back on AA that I was able to maintain my sobriety.

Answer 2

My mother-in-law has been going to AA meetingsfor about 25 years and she swears by them. So much of the philosophy I think canbe used in everyday life. She still tries to attend a few each month and even went to someplace in Ohio last year on a tour of the place where it all began

I never knew her when she was drinking but I guess she was pretty bad. I think it all depends on the person. Anyone with a problem probably would feel better talking about it with other people who have or have had the same experience.

If it works for you, then do it.

Answer 3

Yes, I have attended AA and other 12 step meetings. For several years at one time and for a few more after that. People say, "It works if you work it." Well, duh, anything would work if you worked it. The lawn mower works if I choose to put gas in it, start it and push it around.

Statistically, AA only helps about 5% of the people that attend and is no better than just quitting on your own. It teaches many things that are harmful such as powerlessness and the concept that you aren't responsible.

It is a religious program, despite what they try to tell you. Saying that it is spiritual is just semantics. You go, they open with a prayer, they read from their bible, people witness, the offering plate is passed and they end with a prayer.

Therefore, I would not encourage anyone to go there, unless they are looking for religion. There are viable alternatives out there and ultimately, it comes down to an individual's decision to quit doing the harmful behavior.

Answer 4

I have gone to AA meetings in the past, but found my own recovery in NA. I believe that all 12 step based fellowships are beneficial to anyone, as long as they are willing. Don't worry about any GOD talk or anything, it is not a religious program, it is a GOD of your understanding, whatever you coose to believe in. And it needs to be done for yourself, not because others tell you to go.

Don't just go to one meeting, try a couple of different ones before you decide if it is for you or not. I went to one in 1993 and walked out. It took another 11 years for me to find the help that I truly needed. Give it a chance, it can't hurt.

Answer 5

I attended an AA meeting once as part of a research project. It was very informative and interesting...the only con is that the meeting I went to was very focused on God and being "religious" and "spiritual"...so for those who were not religious, they may have felt alienated or left out.

Answer 6

When I was 19, I dated a guy who was addicted to heroin, so I attended some support group meetings. It was very sad to go because I realized how many other people knew somebody who was abusing. I personally didn't get a lot out of it...but for you it might be different and you might find great comfort in it.

Answer 7

Yes, AA can be very helpful for people.
He could go to one, and see how he likes it ... most people complete a treatment program first.
For you, you might want to check into an Alanon program so you can learn too and understand what triggers and buttons get pushed in you having lived with an alcoholic.

Answer 8

my father is an alcoholic and because of this i have went to alanon and it helped but i gave up going, just got lazy the thing is you really have to go everyweek, but i was told to come to atleast 6 meetings in a row and if it didnt help by then well then choose something else to help but good luck if u decide to go!!!!!!!
but they also say never to rely on any one else, just because joe soap is sober doenst mean thats going to work for you as every one is different, its your on destiny at the end of the day

Answer 9

Yes, I've attended AA meetings; yes, they helped me to stay sober for seven years before I stopped going and "fell off the wagon"; and, yes, IF your man wants to stop drinking I would highly recommend that he attend these meetings. The first requirement for people attending AA is to admit they're powerless over alcohol and that they need help. Following is a complete listing of AA's 12 Steps (the important thing to remember here is that they are just what they say...STEPS...you take one step at a time):


The 12 Suggested Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

1 - We admitted we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable.

2 - Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

3 - Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4 - Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5 - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6 - Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7 - Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8 - Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9 - Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10 - Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11 - Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12 - Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Good luck...to you, and to him.

PS: I was reading the other responses and wanted to comment on one in particular, because the others involve "feelings" and no one has the right to attack another's feelings. mdel stated (s)he found AA to be very religious, and that is so far out in left field that it's ridiculous! They believe that ANYONE's "higher power" is God. Apparently that person went potty when the 11th Step was read..."Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we UNDERSTOOD Him."

Answer 10

i stopped drinking of my own accord four months ago AA didnt help with that but did help when my car broke down last weekend and also got a free road atlas.