Introduction
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an international free self-help foundation aiming to help alcohol-addicted people stop the old habit of drinking alcohol. This organization is self-supporting, nonprofessional, apolitical, multiracial, and available in almost all world countries. To join this group, an individual is not required to offer any educational qualification. Additionally, there are no age requirements to become a member of the organization. Therefore, the membership to join the group is open to every individual who feels to do something concerning their alcohol drinking habits.
The main reason why I chose this topic is that alcohol is largely used in the entire world. Almost in all countries, people consume alcohol in large quantities leading them to the addiction stage. Alcohol is also cheaply available in society, making many people believe it reduces stress and tiredness after busy days. Alcohol is so addictive that the quest to take it increases over time. Additionally, I chose this topic because I am one of the victims of alcohol addiction. I started consuming alcohol as a teenager, and I could not stop the act for several years. There is a need to join the alcoholic anonymous group to reform from the alcoholic addiction.
Abstinence Experience
Abstaining from taking alcohol was one of the most difficult things I experienced. Even after joining several Alcoholics Anonymous zoom meetings, I failed severally. The first meeting gave me hope of stopping alcohol, but I experienced almost all withdrawals when I tried a day without taking the normal amount. I felt so weak and dizzy in my body, forcing me to take alcohol immediately. I did not know that it was almost difficult to stop what one has been addicted to. I wanted to stop alcohol because it had messed up my life. It caused me to drag behind my age mates in education and social life. Alcohol made me lose almost all my friends because I was violent and assaultive when drunk. Deep inside me, I felt that alcohol was the main problem in my life that I had to stop by all means.
In the first zoom meeting, some people confessed they had just decided to stop taking alcohol, and since then, they managed to overcome the addiction with fewer withdrawals. Such confessions made me decide to stop taking alcohol immediately, which made me feel like dying. This experience made me think that those people were lying and thought it was hard for someone to stop taking alcohol. After some time, I decided to visit a different Alcoholics Anonymous zoom meeting to get the necessary help. The experience I had in the second meeting gave me hope because most people confessed that reducing the quantity of alcohol they consumed helped them overcome their drunkenness.
After the second meeting, I tried to reduce the quantity of alcohol I took every day. I continued to reduce the amount until I could stay for a week without taking a sip of the drink. When I attended the third meeting, I was among the people who largely contributed to how it is easy to stop taking alcohol. After several meetings, I managed to stop taking the drink completely. The drive to live a normal happy life was the main motivation that made me stop consuming alcohol. The whole process of alcohol abstinence made me feel like I needed to invest more time in zoom meetings to stop what seemed to be the most difficult thing in my life. After I managed to abstain, I felt a renewed new being saved from the cause of poverty.
My 12-step Experience
The 12-step program in Alcoholics Anonymous benefited me in different ways that I still count advantageous to date. The program allowed me to work with other people from the meeting who were struggling at the same level I was and those at worse levels. Working with other people as directed by the program leads to a quick recovery (Kelly, Humphreys & Ferri, 2020). Through my testimonies concerning my recovery process, the program helped the people that were newbies in the recovery process of alcoholism.
Serving other people in the Alcoholics Anonymous zoom meeting reminded me of the early days I was recovering and why I worked so hard to move quickly in that stage. It also reminded me to keep accountable and avoid becoming complacent in the final stage of the recovery process. The process made me gain a sense of purpose and enhance my relationship and fellowship with other people. Before, I had lost many of my friends because they saw a loser in me. Serving other people made me create new friends with stronger bonds than I had with my previous friends. Helping other people through the program enables to inspire Alcoholics Anonymous newbies and other people to stay sober life (Kelly, Humphreys & Ferri, 2020). I also had an opportunity of giving insight to other people on the recovery process. The process finally enabled me to become a trustworthy person for someone who is recovering from alcohol addiction.
It is not easy to go through the process of the Alcoholics Anonymous program to help someone recover. It involves going to meetings and setting an example for others. It is essential to speak up during the session when people comment concerning different topics that help people recover (Kelly, Humphreys & Ferri, 2020). I learned that someone is supposed to accept any call for service in the meeting. A participant should also keep on encouraging friends in the same situation to attend the zoom meeting. The rule in the Alcoholics Anonymous practice is that we benefit by helping other people (Kelly, Humphreys & Ferri, 2020). The more we take time to help others recover from the worse condition of addiction, we get the opportunity to recover from the same situation further.
From my experience, alcohol addiction is horrific because it drags people’s lives to the extent of becoming poor. Trying to abstain from the drinking habit is difficult unless in psychotherapy or by attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Trying to stop alcohol has several withdrawals that make an individual feel uncomfortable, ending up getting back to the old ways of drunkenness. Through the experience I gained by joining the program, people encounter something remarkable and wonderful in their lives. For a person who has tried to stop drinking on their own but failed, reaching the point of becoming emotionally and physically sick, getting help from Alcoholics Anonymous is the best decision one can make. Several alcoholic addicts have found support from the Alcoholics Anonymous zoom meetings and managed to abstain from taking alcohol completely.
Reference
Kelly, J. F., Humphreys, K., & Ferri, M. (2020). Alcoholics anonymous and other 12‐step programs for alcohol use disorder. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews (3), 1-15.