aa friends Community Group
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At a meeting I attend quite regularly though not my home group after the preamble had been read out the chair anounced " If people who are newish to sobriety or a bit shy or desperate to share something the firat 20 minutes could be dedicated to that" I thought good idea anyway firat guy to share said he had relapsed at the weekend starting with a can of lager quickly followed by a bottle of vodka.He went on to say during this relaplse he also smoked some canabis and some heroin He had been clean and sober for a day and was grateful to be back A second fellow came in and Idetified that when he had recently relapsed he had gone down a similar path which included drugs After this share the chair came in and said to the effect "we dont talk about drugs only alcohol" in a sort of mild rebutal way When I had given this some thought I came to the conclusion the chair was wrong to tell them not to mention drugs Surely the first guy was only relating what happened to him after he picked up that first drink That was the reality of the conseaqueces of picking up a drink like someone could have picked up adrink and then injured or killed someone in a drink driving situation Surely people can share what happened to them by picking up even if this includes using drugs
Sometimes it didn't make sense to me let alone anyone sitting in the meeting. I'm sure I spruced a few Navy and broken home stories. They became good excuses. The groups I was fortunate to find let me share what craziness popped into my head. After I shared, I'd sit back down (sometimes trying to hide) in my chair and think about what I had said (with a few wtf did I say that for moments). Over time though I'd see the change in myself, and so did those around me. Something called growth. Nice for people to allow me to learn to stand on my own.
Letting a newcomer share 10 minutes of what's going on in their head is a first step for many who have a desire to stop drinking. I didn't know about AA, the Traditions or how the format went in meetings, and my sponsor encouraged me to always share when asked and I promised myself I'd do that. If someone had shut me up, I may just walked out the door and taken a different path. A little leeway doesn't hurt. As was mentioned, I don't see any difference to drugs being a consequence of our drinking as drink driving, stealing, prison, broken relationships etc. Grateful for the liberal :}
And I'm with Coog, I think newcomers, certainly I did, need a fair bit of latitude to just share their shit all over the place, within reason. Otherwise it's like sticking a toddler in a 6th Grade Class and saying, OK, you have to stick to the standards of behaviour and thinking of this group, or otherwise get chastised for it!!
And then progressively, closer, sober trusted members, or your sponsor if they are there, may give guidance about what balanace is being shared about with alcohol or drugs.
There - that's my two cents worth!! lol
2)Other drugs are part of our recovery and our relapses and are vitally important issues related to staying sober.
3) A drug is a drug and an addict is an addict
Also Greg. I worked in a treatment center for 10 yrs with other recovering case managers, therapist and an MD.
That "drug is a drug is a drug..." nonsense was made up in a treatment center, not AA. Anybody around here read the Traditions? The whole reason Alcoholics Anonymous exists is to carry the message to the alcoholic that still suffers. Drugs are an outside issue. There are plenty of pamphlets that cover this. Medications&other drugs, The AA group, etc. I'm not an AA nazi. I just don't want to see AA stand for Anything Anonymous.
We have added "please turn you cell phones off!"
Drug use and alcohol use are so intertwined that it is foolish to try to seperate them and IMO dangerous to society.
Shit just go to NA
Thinking of alcohol as different from other drugs has caused
a great many addicts to relapse. Before we came to NA many
of us viewed alcohol separately, but we cannot afford to be
confused about this. Alcohol is a drug. We are people with the
disease of addiction who must abstain from all drugs in order
to recover.
End of controversy
BBH, you don't have to be addicted to alcohol to have a blackout, you just have to drink too much. Alcohol is not "special" , it's another drug and we are addicts.
I've been away from the computer and did know you asked a question of me
But I would like to thank you for answing the question for me.
You made my point.
For a ture alcoholic to go only to another 12 step program is ridiculous.
An alcoholic may play with other drug and not be a drugy.
He or she will not relate.
An addict may use alcohol and may not be an alcoholic.
For a true addict to go only to AA is just as ridiculous.
He or she will not relate
The first step is the key
What brought you to your knees.
And that unity is the strength of that program.
Oh I got you beat Age of 5 LOL