Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous is an organization that supports recovering alcoholics. Although Alcoholics Anonymous is a centralized organization with a main office and official website, there are over one hundred thousand sub-groups worldwide in over 150 countries, and each one is fundamentally autonomous. Groups meet in various venues and get together in a wide variety of numbers, from only a few to several hundred individuals.

Alcoholics Anonymous started organizing meetings in 1934, when it was founded by Dr Bob Smith and Bill Wilson. Until that point, alcoholics either had to hire an expensive psychiatrist or be admitted into a private mental hospital. Those without much money sought help in rescue missions, churches, public hospitals, or even in prisons.

Alcoholics Anonymous was the first North American approach to strictly helping alcoholics. It was also one of the first American organizations to integrate religious principles with medical knowledge into public forums where people discussed their everyday experiences and supported each other mutually. The founders of Alcoholics Anonymous credited their ideas as coming from the Oxford Group (a Christian group promoting a belief in divine guidance), which worked to create a conversion experience that could be used to convert alcoholics from alcohol to sobriety.

Alcoholics Anonymous became famous for its 12-step program, which has become a model for many other treatment and recovery programs. The 12 steps include variations of the following:

1) Admitting that you are powerless over alcohol.

2) Coming to believe that a power greater than yourself alone can help.

3) Deciding to turn your life over to the care of your God.

4) Searching your own moral inventory.

5) Admitting the nature of your wrongs.

6) Allowing the defects of character to be removed.

7) Asking to remove your shortcomings.

8) Listing all those you've harmed and becoming willing to make amends.

9) Making direct amends to people.

10) Continued personal inventories.

11) Prayer/meditation and pursuit of knowledge.

12) Experiencing a spiritual awakening and carrying this message to others.

Today Alcoholics Anonymous groups typically have no affiliation with religions sects or political organizations. However, most Alcoholics Anonymous groups will have a firm spiritual foundation in how they attempt to convert addicts to sobriety.

Alcoholics Anonymous has the central goal of helping people stay sober and learning to help others achieve the same goal. The only requirement for membership to Alcoholics Anonymous is a desire to quit drinking. There are no dues or fees to pay. The goal of abstinence from alcohol is sought after by avoiding one drink at a time, while sharing experiences and support, as it is needed.

Anonymity is an important part of the organization. Alcoholics Anonymous typically proposes that members govern themselves by principles rather than individual personalities. Emphasis lies on staying true to each step in the program. AA does not keep individual records or case files. It strives to bring people together and treat them as a group.

You can find a local AA by looking in any telephone book, or checking online. Most municipalities have a central AA office or a facility that will direct you to the closest AA office.

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