I have a couple addictions (which do not involve alcohol/substance abuse) that are completely ruining my life and have kept me on the edge of death (in high risk situations, on the edge of survival regarding resources, virtually non-functioning, etc.) for years now. The degree to which I am desperate for help to recover from addiction which I am severely powerless over cannot be adequately expressed. I knew someone from AA who I opened up to about this, and she was very understanding and wanted to help. She suggested I sit in on a couple AA meetings and brought me with. I do not live in a big city, or near a big city. There are only a couple different types of twelve-step groups around here (you really need a giant city to get all the different specific ones, and I'm not even sure I would find one 'for me' there). I have often thought, if not downright fantasized, about becoming a drug addict. I often feel on the verge of that. Often it feels if my life fell apart much more, that's exactly what I would do. But at this rate, I might be dead before I even got the chance. I am positive that the ONLY reason I am not an alcoholic and/or drug addict is that I grew up in a cult, in which such things were taboo, and I was isolated and NEVER had a friend who offered me a drink or a drug. That's the only reason. I just became addicted to what little in my environment there was to become addicted to. I HAVE FOUND THAT I IDENTIFY PRETTY MUCH 100% WITH EVERYTHING PEOPLE IN AA ARE SAYING, THE LITERATURE, ETC. The only factor of difference is the material focus/means of the addiction. Furthermore, I have read quite a bit about addiction at this point, and I also have a therapist now who has a lot of experience working with addiction. All I have read and my therapist has also echoed that it makes little difference what the addiction is. It operates very similarly. From talking with people in AA, listening to their stories, and reading the literature, I have found that the experience is almost exactly the same. (When I got the Big Book, the first chapter I read ("There is a Solution") I underlined almost every paragraph it seemed, lol, putting stars everywhere, and like every other paragraph I was like omg, ME!!! I was shocked how much I identified and felt so liberated to find SO much identification. That's how I felt (and feel) in the meetings too. But I just started, and I don't know if it will be a problem for others that my addictions are not alcohol or substance abuse (at this point). (Every time I am able to abstain from my addictions, btw, I find myself realizing how easily I could and would replace them with something else, often something more serious. My mind really goes there.) I would only stick to open meetings of course, but I have read mixed things about that. The literature seems to say they're open to everyone, BUT (it states) that it is at the discretion of the individual group. In a forum I read about it, one person said that at their open meetings, non-alcoholics are not allowed to speak. While others said at their meetings others are totally welcome and they have people come who are struggling with other addictions. What do you all think from your experience with AA?