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Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who are committed to staying sober and helping others achieve sobriety as well. The motto “one drink is too many and a hundred aren’t enough” rings true for every recovering alcoholic. Unfortunately, in many cases treatment will not work unless the alcohlic is truly committed to making a change. Alcoholics Anonymous is the first and the largest of the 12 step programs.
Designed for the treatment of alcoholism, it has helped millions of people around the world to find and maintain sobriety from alcohol. It is now present in dozens of countries around the world, and has many millions of members. AA groups are self funded by voluntary contributions, and do not require membership fees or dues to be paid at any time. It is hard to accurately gauge exactly how big Alcoholics Anonymous is, probably because of the word ‘anonymous’ in the organizations name, but if you are living in an even moderately industrialized nation that uses alcohol in a large scale, chances are there are some AA meetings near you.
The now worldwide and extremely popular Alcoholics Anonymous program had a humble beginning, starting with just two guys. These men, hailed today as the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous and therefore the 12 step program, were Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. The two men came from extremely different backgrounds, and just about the only thing they had in common was that they were both alcoholics. When they met in New York City in 1935, they complimented each others quirks and weakness, and soon came up with a method of finding sobriety that would literally change the world forever, the birth of Alcoholics Anonymous.
The actual 12 step method in Alcoholics Anonymous that eventually developed from these founders is heavily based on the methods used by a Christian fellowship called the Oxford Group. The Oxford Group was an early 20th Century Christian organization committed to helping people with behavioral illnesses or assorted social deviancies find ‘recovery’ through Christ. The method they used encouraged the same kinds of self-reflection, surrender to God, acknowledgment of character defects, restitution for wrongs committed, and working with others that would make up the 12 step program used in Alcoholics Anonymous, and now many other support groups.
The heavily religious and Christian foundation often scares some people away from Alcoholics Anonymous, but today the meetings are almost always absent of religious discussion that specifies a particular denomination. Any spiritual references made in meetings are usually applicable to any religion or system of beliefs. There are some Alcoholics Anonymous meetings specifically designed for a specific religion, such as Judaism, and of course in these meetings you can expect the specific religion to be discussed.
The group of people that has the most difficulty with the Alcoholics Anonymous program has always been atheists. Alcoholics Anonymous works on the principle that you give yourself over to some kind of ‘higher power’, and this is sometimes a roadblock for atheists. There are however even Alcoholics Anonymous meetings designed for atheist. With meetings designed for all different types of people, all over the world, there is really no excuse not to give Alcoholics Anonymous a try if you are having problems with your drinking. And lets face it, if you have read this far, you probably have problems with your drinking.
Alcoholics Anonymous has helped many people around the world to get sober and win their battle against alcoholism. Recovery takes time and with the proper support and motivation, alcoholics can be successful and remain sober for the rest of their lives. They just need to learn to take one day at a time, one hour at a time, one minute at a time, which is the best recipe for long-term success. Visit www.alcoholics-anonymous.org (link provided below) or call the local chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous for more information.
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org Alcoholics Anonymous Official Web site...
www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk Maintained by the General Service Office of Alcoholics Anonymous (Great Britain) Ltd...
en.wikipedia.org Article about the Alcoholics Anonymous includes its Twelve Step program, method of complete abstinance, and history...