Today I am going to my first AA meeting - face to face. I am terrified. I have read much in the last few weeks (on the net) about what to expect. Any information you guys can give me would be most appreciated.
As I cannot go to city meetings...I am wondering how to get into an online meeting.
Welcome. This site has no meetings but they are out there. General saying here is if you can get to booze you can get to meetings. Keep posting and asking questions.
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Thanks for everything. Peace and Love on your journey.
Hey, congrats! From my own experience, I can maybe offer some suggestions about what worked for me. You're welcome to try them.
1. Get there a little bit early, maybe 15 or 20 minutes. It's much more comfortable than walking in late after everyone else is seated. I was more comfortable if I had something to do, so maybe ask if the folks there need any help setting up for the meeting. It's also a good way to introduce yourself.
2. When you do introduce yourself, be sure to mention that you are new to AA, and the folks there will likely offer you some info and assistance. Otherwise, they may just assume you've been in AA for a long time and they just haven't met you.
3. After the meeting, resist the temptation to immediately bolt out the door. Stick around for a while. If someone said something during the meeting that you appreciated, maybe just tell them 'thanks' and introduce yourself.
4. Get some AA literature before you leave the meeting! Especially an AA "Big Book", and be sure to get a meeting directory that lists all of the meetings in your area.
5. The directory is another good way to begin a conversation with someone. Tell them you are new and you're looking for some good meetings in your area and ask them if they can make some recommendations.
6. Then MAKE A PLAN FOR YOUR NEXT MEETING, preferably one that is scheduled as soon as possible after this first meeting, like tomorrow. Maybe ask some folks what other meetings they will be attending, and then when you go there you'll already be seeing some familiar faces.
Good luck, take it easy, and be sure to come on back here after the meeting and tell us how it went! If you have any questions about anything you heard at the meeting, feel free to ask us.
-- Edited by davep12and12 on Monday 19th of October 2015 04:22:47 PM
-- Edited by davep12and12 on Monday 19th of October 2015 04:23:22 PM
Congrats to you Jasmine for making a decision ... to get help ... to beat alcohol by ourselves?, it's too much for us, we need help ...
Admitting you have a problem and need help is the first step to getting better ... Person to person meetings are THE best way to start off ... but there are 'on-line' meeting available ... I don't know the site but there's a guy here, Tanin (Pickle) that will post them for you I'm sure ... just keep checking back here for the listings ...
Great first step, love ya and God bless, Pappy
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'Those who leave everything in God's hand will eventually see God's hand in everything.'
Hi Jasmine 63,
Walking through the terror of my first meeting proved to be easier than making my bottom worse by continuing
drinking.
Something about a fatal progressive disease ----- I was able to see how it had progressed in me.
One foot in front of the other.
Toad
Here's a link to our site..You can also look up info about our Big Book ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS....This contains our Program,The fellowship will welcome you,Great work realizing it may be time to start a journey on a new way to live.....In support and prayer........................ http://www.aa.org/
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Selfishness-self-centeredness! That, we think, is the root of our troubles.
It is great that you have an inkling that you need help and maybe this is part of the first step, but I tend to be a bit worried whether the message has got through entirely when a condition is placed on what I will do to recover. I need help but I can't .....
Imagine a newly diagnosed cancer patient saying I can't attend treatment appointments. You would have to wonder if the patient really understood how serious their situation was. When my late wife was diagnosed, we never gave it a second thought. We followed doctors orders and met every appointment exactly. That's what normal people do when faced with a terminal illness.
Once I realised that I was in the end stages of a progressive and terminal illness, that I was completely powerless to prevent reaching its final enevitable conclusion, death or insanity, I was suddenly willing to do anything to get well. Funnily enough, in reality, it didn't involve anymore effort than that which I used to put in getting the next drink. Just like my drinking, neither weather, tiredness,geography nor anything else was more important to me than getting to meetings to hear the life saving message AA has. And BTW I really liked the meetings and still do.
We sometimes talk about acceptance of this this problem being a big part of the solution. What does it mean. See, I admitted I had a problem long before I stopped drinking. I knew it, but I wasn't prepared to do anything much about it. I believe the admission is only a part of acceptance. When you add action on a solution, you are getting somewhere near acceptance .
A man standing in the road sees a bus coming. He knows its coming and it will run him over. At what point has he accepted that fact? Maybe when he takes action to get out of the way? What if he just stood there hoping the bus would miss him? Wouldn't that be denial? I think, for me anyway, admission without action is pretty close to denial.
