Most of us like a drink from time to time and it doesn’t cause any harm, but for others alcohol is like a poison which affects every part of their lives. There are various options available for those who have a drink problem and one of those is Alcoholics Anonymous.
If you think you have a drink problem or work with people who abuse alcohol AA is holding a free public meeting on:
Saturday 24 November 10.30am – 12.30pm in Augustine United Church on George IV Bridge, Edinburgh
At the meeting you will find out about AA and how it works. Everyone is welcome and it is free.
If you don’t have a drink problem or you’re not an alcoholic it is difficult to understand why some people can’t seem to stop drinking. AA shows us that alcoholics have a mental obsession with alcohol and a physical allergy once a drink has been taken into the body. This describes the problem and the solution is a twelve step programme of recovery.
Sue is only 24 years old but has had a difficult time because of the way alcohol affected her. “I started drinking with friends and really liked the effect it had on me. I had more confidence, could talk to boys and felt free to do whatever I wanted. It wasn’t long before I was getting drunk and out of control. I would do things and say things I would never have done without having had a drink – some of it was stupid but some of it was very dangerous. I got into situations where I could easily have been killed or raped. I also started having blackouts when I couldn’t remember what happened the night before. Friends told me what I had done but I didn’t want to hear because I was so embarrassed.
I realised that I had a drink problem but didn’t know what to do about it. Someone suggested Alcoholics Anonymous but I wasn’t interested as I didn’t think I was an alcoholic. However it got so bad that I was willing to do anything to take away the mental pain I was in. I went to AA and found it very strange. There weren’t many young people but I kept going because I had nowhere else to go. People in AA were very friendly and supportive and through their help I’ve not had a drink for four years and my life is so much better.”
Peter who is 63 has another tale to tell:
“I started social drinking when I was at school. I used to hang around with older guys and go to the pub at weekends, especially where there was music. Sometimes I got drunk but not all the time. I went to college, got married, had children and embarked on a career. The first time I noticed something was wrong was when I bought a bottle of cider and took it to the bottom of the garden and drank it in secret. No one was telling me to stop drinking and to this day I don’t know why I did it. I started drinking heavily in my early 20s when my marriage broke up. I moved to Edinburgh where my whole social life was geared around drinking. I had some really good friends and a lot of good times. There came a time when my drinking became out of control and I had to stop socialising because I didn’t know what I would say or do. I drank at home or on my own in pubs. Eventually I started drinking in the mornings when the hangovers were so bad it was the only way to feel better. My health deteriorated but I still had a good job and was well respected in my profession.
I sought help from the Andrew Duncan clinic, psychologists and psychotherapists but nothing worked. I read a lot of books on self development and some biographies of people who had overcome their problem with drink but all of these people had been saved by religion and I am an atheist so that wasn’t any good for me. I even went to AA to get my partner off my back but I didn’t understand what was going on so didn’t hang around. Five years later I was in such state that I went back to AA but I didn’t think I was an alcoholic, I just had a drink problem. This time something changed and I realised that I was an alcoholic. I did what was suggested by AA– I went to meetings, I got myself a sponsor – someone who helped me work the 12 steps which is AA’s programme of recovery. I got involved and helped other people in AA. My health improved dramatically but I still had a long way to go to change the way I thought and acted. Today I have been sober for 20 years, one day at a time, have a great relationship with my partner, my ex wife and children, have the job of my dreams and am “normal” which is all I ever wanted to be. I am still an atheist which shows that AA works for anyone who is willing to be honest and practice AA’s simple 12 step programme of recovery. In AA I learnt about alcoholism and I now understand why I drank, which gives me the freedom to be the person I always wanted to be.”
The free public meeting is a great way of finding out how AA works.
For further information on AA go to http://aa-edinburgh.org.uk/
