Alcoholics Anonymous and Why It Works

Alcoholics Anonymous and Why It Works

Almost a century ago the Alcoholic Anonymous fellowship was founded and has now spread worldwide. It is a place where people join together to fight for their sobriety. I was able to experience a couple of meetings myself. I attended a 12 & 12 Serenity group in Woodlands Club and a traditional AA meeting in Spring Group. I noticed some of the reasons why this program has been successful and was able to identify a few themes. AA has a structured program style, a self evaluating component and recovery maintenance lifestyle.

AA has grown because of its open door policy that allows anyone to join for free that has a desire for sobriety. There are multiple AA meetings available in every city in the United States and in other countries as well, which creates a large support network.  Having a large support network means each person will meet many people from many walks of life that they can identify with and continue to fight for their sobriety. When I attended these meetings I felt welcomed and accepted. The meetings are free for anyone and will accept donations but they are not required. The great thing about AA is that they give people the choice to choose what their higher power is even though they reference God in their literature. This allows anyone to join the program without being offended based on their religious preference or the lack of.  In the early stages of sobriety AA meetings served as a good way to consume a lot of what was once their drinking time. Individuals can go up to three or four meetings daily to help with their sobriety. The fellowship that is created with new friends will make them feel understood and supported. They now have new friends that they can discuss the struggle with because many of them may feel that others will not understand what they are going through.  The literature explaining the Twelve Steps is a helpful tool for new members to start the process in their sobriety. I think the Serenity Prayer helps relinquish uncontrollable things and helps individuals work on what they can control.

The Self Evaluating Component forces each individual to be honest with themselves to create a self moral inventory, which identifies characteristics that could be self harming. Then the person has to decide how to change those characteristics to allow sobriety. This inventory creates accountability because a person cannot change what they have not identified. Their sense of awareness will be instrumental in their change for sobriety. In the fellowship of AA a member will have a sponsor they can reach out to in time of need to prevent relapse. This was evident during the AA meeting I attended where a member described her sponsor. The member said that what made her sponsor great was because she coached her to work the Twelve Steps, always active in carrying the message for sobriety and most importantly always tells her the truth.  A good sponsor will be honest and confront the member when they are not working the steps correctly or creating justification for the lack of progress.