Good news for those who wish to quit drinking but are unable to do so on their own. You can join Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). This is a global fellowship that works without a fee and helps alcoholics become sober.
People of any gender, race, ethnicity, profession, beliefs, and ideologies can attend AA meetings.
The only thing required to join AA is:
Desire to quit drinking.
But I can’t stop drinking!
It does not matter, if you cannot stop drinking. This is normal for alcoholics. That’s why you are an alcoholic. A person who can drink of his or her own will and who drinks in moderation is not an alcoholic.
As you begin to attend meetings and accept your alcoholism, you will want to stay sober. The 12 steps work like “magic” on many people.
Many people report that, initially, they could not stop drinking, but had the desire. So, they joined AA. They still drank. However, as they underwent each step in the 12-step program, something happened to them.
They didn’t drink!
What members say
“It just stopped. I don’t know-how. Perhaps it’s the steps or the prayer or the whole ambiance of the meeting, I just don’t know,” says one member at the AA meeting in Kansas.
Another member states, “I get cravings, but I can cope with them. Before, it was a nightmare. When I got cravings I had to drink, no choice. Today, I can say ‘no’ to craving and it goes away!”
For a beginner, all this may sound too good to be true.
But as you continue to attend meetings and do the steps with all your heart, you are astonished by the transformation within you.
Be patient and you become powerful
The transformation takes time. In fact, doing all the 12 steps takes time. You aren’t supposed to just read the steps. You must implement them and that’s the challenge. As you take up each challenge and do it, you gain strength in your resolve to become sober. You become powerful.
When you are powerful alcohol loses its power over you.
Alcoholism engulfs only the weak.
And this is not about physical weakness here. It is about mental weakness. Even the high-functional alcoholics have their own weaknesses that render them powerless over alcohol.
So, it’s not about the power of money, status, or physical strength. It’s about the power of the mind.
Think no more
If you think more, you are bound to take another drink thinking over it! Whether to join a meeting or not can stress you out.
Why not find a meeting in your area and attend it? See whether it works for you. But you must attend a few meetings to conclude whether this is the right recovery program for you.
As you stop drinking, you can use tools like Sobriety Calculator after some time to calculate the exact number of days you stayed sober.
Things can take a beautiful turn in your life. Just try to live without alcohol for one day, and then for two, or maybe three or a whole week or more!
You never know what power you discover in yourselves when you try doing something.
