There are no age or education requirements. Membership is open to anyone who wants to do something about his or her drinking problem. Only those with a drinking problem may attend closed meetings or become AA members. People with problems other than alcoholism are eligible for AA membership only if they have a drinking problem, too. Membership is open to anyone who wants what is aa? to do something about their drinking problem. Stanton Peele argued that some AA groups apply the disease model to all problem drinkers, whether or not they are “full-blown” alcoholics. Along with Nancy Shute, Peele has advocated that besides AA, other options should be readily available to those problem drinkers who can manage their drinking with the right treatment.

Members strive to work the steps to the best of their abilities. Addiction robs people of their self-worth and sense of purpose. Part of AA is restoring meaning to your life. Peer support also functions as a safety net, especially in the first few months when cravings are the strongest. Being able to reach out to someone who has been through the process can save you when you’re thinking about drinking. It combines peer accountability, coping skills, and daily connections with 12 actionable steps that are designed to change your relationship with alcohol. You are an AA member if and when you say you are. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking .

What are the Twelve Steps?

Regardless of the road we follow, we all head for the same destination, recovery of the alcoholic person. Together, we can do what none of us could accomplish alone. We can serve as a source of personal experience and be an ongoing support system for recovering alcoholics. Nonalcoholics may attend open A.A. Meetings as observers, but only those with a drinking problem may attend closed A.A. AA members share their experience with anyone seeking help with a drinking problem; they give person-to-person service or “sponsorship” to the alcoholic coming to AA from any source. The AA program, set forth in the Twelve Steps, offers the alcoholic a way to develop a satisfying life without alcohol. This program is discussed at AA group meetings. Believe there is no such thing as a cure for alcoholism. We can never return to normal drinking, and our ability to stay away from alcohol depends on maintaining our physical, mental, and spiritual health.

In the United States and Canada, AA meetings are held in hundreds of correctional facilities. The AA General Service Office has published a workbook with detailed recommendations for methods of approaching correctional-facility officials with the intent of developing an in-prison AA program. In addition, AA publishes a variety of pamphlets specifically for the incarcerated alcoholic. Additionally, the AA General Service Office provides a pamphlet with guidelines for members working with incarcerated alcoholics. With AA’s permission, subsequent fellowships such as Narcotics Anonymous and Gamblers Anonymous have adopted and adapted the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions to their addiction recovery programs. The primary purpose of the Central Florida Intergroup’s web site is to provide an online meeting guide for meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous throughout the Central Florida area. The web site will present information that is available publicly concerning meetings, events and links concerning Alcoholics Anonymous. Came because we finally gave up trying to control our drinking.

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AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. AA’s program extends beyond abstaining from alcohol. Its goal is to effect enough change in the alcoholic’s thinking Sober House “to bring about recovery from alcoholism” through “an entire psychic change,” or spiritual awakening. A spiritual awakening is meant to be achieved by taking the Twelve Steps, and sobriety is furthered by volunteering for AA and regular AA meeting attendance or contact with AA members.

They meet in over 1,500 local meetings spread around the country. Alcoholism tends to run in families, and genetic factors partially explain this pattern. Currently, researchers are on the way to finding the genes that influence vulnerability to alcoholism. A person’s environment, such as the influence of friends, stress levels, and the ease of obtaining alcohol, also may influence drinking and the development of alcoholism. Still other factors, such as social support, may help to protect even high-risk people from alcohol problems. Some of these men and women went through terrifying experiences with alcohol before they were ready to admit that alcohol was not for them. They became derelicts, stole, lied, cheated, and even killed while they were drinking. They took advantage of their employers and abused their families. They were completely unreliable in their relations and spiritual assets.

By keeping alcohol out of their systems, newcomers take care of one part of their illness – their bodies have a chance to get well. But remember, there is another part. If they are going to stay sober, they need healthy minds and healthy emotions, too. So they begin to straighten out their confused thinking and unhappy feelings by following A.A.’s “Twelve Steps” to recovery.

Discuss this with your local contact. For further information, read the official A.A. “Questions and Answers on Sponsorship” . The pamphlet describes uses shared A.A.