Well we had a woman I know well share about a book about over eating and eating issues in our AA home group today. An old timer, who is sort of Mr AA, in a good way usually, then reminded the group in his share that we are focused on singleness of purpose. There are other 12 step programs out there for other issues.
I think its important as frankly if I had been brand new, and my first meeting had the majority, or even the *first* person to share talking about "outside issues" I wouldnt have related the way i did.
I wasnt concerned about the food share this a.m., but its good to remember AA is there to help us with our desire to STOP DRINKING.

Thank you sticky! And honestly thats what my sponsor would have said too...but no one speaks up at the meetings I go to...not even her, or the old times, its almost acceptable....

I have almost a year, and I have stuggled with this a lot, off and on....I just dont understand....

And there are even the meetings that want to say the "WE" version of the serinity prayer, which is NA....AA is an I program, not because it is selfish but because I am the only one who can say if I am an alcoholic, I am the only one who can admitt I am powerless...it is not a "WE" program like NA like is....

It just frusterating and I am not sure how to come to terms with it...or to let it go, or whatever it si I need to do to stop being so bothered by it...

The only requirement for membership in AA is a desire to stop drinking. Yes there a lot of so called "cross addicted" people in AA I'm one of them. From my exp. there are many social drug users just like alcohol. I always like what it say in the BB the drink was only a symptom of are disease so if this is true what's the difference in what mind altering substance the issue is?

No judgment here glad ya came an vented what on your mind.

Peace be your Journey Ash you have came along way.

I should add I tried NA but for me I found AA a better way to go.

When I was getting started in recovery and relapsing every so often in the late 80's I heard quite a bit about the singleness of purpose in meetings. I was in Orange County, CA at the time. I went to NA, CA (cocaine) and AA but it was alcohol that brought me to my knees.

Some oldtimers remarked during meetings that there seemed to be a large influx of people coming into AA during those years. The movie, "Clean and Sober" had come out and some older AA's were saying sobriety was becoming a "fad". During some NA meetings I heard some AA bashing, it seemed that CA (cocaine) didn't have many people with time clean and I felt most comfortable in AA so I stuck with those meetings. I did have a longer drug history than alcohol but like I said, booze drove me to wanting recovery.

Perhaps baby boomers like myself were exposed to more drugs than the generation before, I don't know. I did notice back then that quite a few people identified as alcoholic/addict until they had a year or so clean and sober and then it became one or the other.

Back then I interviewed at a long term recovery house called the Cooper Fellowship in Orange County to live there for 9 months to get sober. I was refused because I had a drug problem along with alcohol. That really upset me at the time.

Now it doesn't matter much to me if a person has both issues as long as the person has a desire to stop drinking. The first step does start off with 'We' in AA but NA's first 11 steps start off that way. It's all good, it's recovery that counts IMO.

Hi Ashley, I understand where you are coming from and like in your meeting, meetings I attend are mostly made up of dual addicted people. I think there are just fewer people around these days who never experimented with anything else.

Singleness of purpose is really important in AA and the Traditions, if adhered to, glue the whole thing together or AA would have folded long time ago.

The only way to keep this in effect is a Group Leader/Secretary (not sure what they might be called where you are) who is willing to keep the meeting on course.

The solution to keep everyone happy would be as per AA Guidelines and Traditions.

In AA meetings only issues as they relate to alcoholism should be shared. Respect and tolerance should be there too, of course, but when a person goes into great detail about an outside issue not directly related to alcohol during a share, the Group Secretary should be expected to step in and politely get the meeting back on subject.

If people are dual addicted they ought to be members of the appropriate fellowship for that if they feel the need to share on their other addiction(s).

If this does not happen - a singleness of purpose for each fellowship - the lines become blurred and then it goes further and further away from its primary purpose of being there in the first place.

All it takes is a little common courtesy and respect and all should be satisfied.

Could you have a chat with your Group leader about your concerns or raise it in a group conscience meeting if this is a continual problem? All groups are a spiritual entity and follow an autonomous group conscience but that should not affect other groups or AA as a whole in a negative way.

If your group conscience does not agree to change things, it might be best for you to find another meeting which sticks more closely to guidelines.

Read the pamphlet "The AA Group" it is one of the most helpful AA approved items in print for an accurate picture.

Hope this helps.

Typo reply#5, para 5 "...when a person goes into great detail about an outside issue not directly related to alcohol during a share.." should read ..." when a person goes into great detail about an outside issue not directly related to alcoholism during a share.."

The AA Group

http://www.aa.org/pdf/products/p-16_theaagroup.pdf

I am an addict without a doubt, but alcohol kicked my ass. I don't know the difference really, but I do know that the other drug addicts seem "different" than me. It is the alcoholism and alcoholics that I relate to. Not sure why that is. I like NA mtgs but with alcohol being my ass kicker, AA is where I feel most comfortable.

You know what is funny.... I get annoyed in AA mtgs when people talk about drugs too. I even get annoyed when people introduce themselves as "alcoholic addict". Something I need to work on accepting I guess. Maybe I will introduce myself tonight as "Hi my name is Anna and I am an alcoholic with brown hair." ...just seems irrelevant to mention the addict part :-p.

I am an alcoholic and an addict. the two go hand in hand. alcohol is a drug after all.

IMO it is not about whether we are alcoholics only or cross addicted it is about where we share about what.

Again in my opinion threats to AA's singleness of purpose are the biggest danger that it faces as a fellowship going forward.

Alcohol is a drug.

It is the judgmental people in AA that helped to show me the way out of the rooms of AA. Feeling uncomfortable about sharing what I need to share deeply affected my fledgling recovery. In the beginning I had no concept whatsoever about what the Traditions meant. All I knew was that I had a problem with heroin, alcohol, pills, pot, blah blah blah etc...etc...etc.... The rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous were quire prevalent in my area, so I chose to attend both AA and NA in the beginning. I was trying to treat each individual symptom of my addiction by attending multiple fellowships. Because of this I was continuously relapsing. I did not grasp the fact that I have a disease called addiction, and that it really didn't matter what I used but only what I was going to do about my problem. Thank HP the Hospitals and Institutions subcommittee of Narcotics Anonymous brought a message of hope to me while sitting in yet another detox. As my recovery has progressed I know understand the Traditions of not only Narcotics Anonymous but of Alcoholics Anonymous as well. Identification as an addict in NA is all-inclusive. Alcohol is indeed a drug. AA on the other hand does have their own 5th Tradition which states "An AA group has but one primary purpose: to carry the message to the alcoholic that still suffers." Therefore when I happen to attend an AA meeting I identify myself as an alcoholic and confine my sharing to my alcohol problem, full well knowing I am an addict.

As for alcohol being different?? It is. In one simple way. It is legal and socially acceptable to go to a liquor store to buy the drug. That's it!! Nothing more.

Hi lucysdad, I thought about you when I saw the title of this thread. I enjoy your daily posts from the NA day at a time and meditation. Although I used just about any chemical I could get my hands on when I was at large I have confined my sharing in AA meetings to alcohol.

To tell ya the truth I rarely mention drinking when I share unless I'm trying to let a newcomer feel they aren't alone with what drinking did to them. All my relapses were drinking, not drugs.

I mentioned the Cooper Fellowship in my earlier post. I did a google on the place to see if they still exist. I found that they indeed do but their rules have changed considerably.....

http://www.cooperfellowship.com/FAQ.html

I rarely hear anyone in an AA meeting go on about their drug use other than alcohol. If someone does they are usually told after the meeting about the tradition pertaining to that.

I hope you continue to post here lucysdad. Those daily nuggets are nice to see, it is solution based good stuff. :-)

In my little town and in most AA directories that I have seen - it is indicated if the meeting is closed. If it bothers you to hear other issues addressed - it would be a good idea to look for closed meetings - those are meetings that only alcoholics attend.

I agree ThnkngOutLoud - alcohol is a drug.

Lucy's Dad, I am sorry to hear you encountered judgemental people in AA. If this was case, they cannot be living by the spiritual principles that AA upholds and teaches. As with everything, I find I have to take inventory on myself too, on a daily basis, about my own actions and understanding.

AA itself cannot possibly be all things to all people. If it tries to be (which goes directly against its Traditions), it's primary purpose "carry this (the AA) message to alcoholics" will inevitably be watered down by focussing time and concern on other matters beyond the realm of its necessary purpose for being.

As AAs within AA, adhering to our Traditions, other addictions are simply none of our business. That does not equal We do not care.

Nowhere does it say that AA members cannot carry the AA message outside of AA.

In fact it is encouraged that AAs help whoever they can - Alcoholics Anonymous p.77: "Our real purpose is to fit ourselves to be of maximum service to God and the people about us.
Notice it says people, not just other alcoholics.

AAs who also qualify for NA should not try to bring NA into AA but are welcome to take what they have learned differently in AA and use those principles within the message they carry in NA (if NA Traditions sanction that), to help other addicts or form a special purpose group where people who are alcoholic/addicts can help straight addicts if they so wish without using the AA name.

I am clueless about what any difference may be in the working text but whatever it is that works in AA for NA members is possibly acceptable in NA if it is true that it does not differentiate one addiction from another addiction?. Please put me right if I am wrong because my knowledge of NA is minimal.

But for AA, for better or worse, whether the individual agrees or not, AA concerns itself with alcoholism only. It is not obliged and has no opinion on doing anything differently.

As an AA member I understand I have a Singleness of Purpose within AA which is governed by my ultimate authority, a loving God, but I do sponsor other people who are dual addicted. However, at the same time, my responsibility toward them in those circumstances is to encourage them to seek help for their other addiction(s) from the relevant sources.

In AA, Linda Jean, I believe that open or closed, meetings are supposed to adhere to Singleness of Purpose if they are observing Traditions so that does mean it actually precludes sharing on other addictions. Every time it is otherwise, for example, if I started sharing about my cocaine addiction in an AA meeting, both my doing that, and the group members allowing me to do that, it is actually overriding an AA Tradition to suit my own - and group members' purpose.