Conquering Addictions with the Help of Alcoholics Anonymous

If you have come to the place where you just might be thinking that you are not in control of your life anymore, check out the amount you are partying, drinking alcohol and using drugs on a daily basis. If it is more than you realized or whenever you do party like this, you're not sure where you are going to end up or how much you are going to consume - then the answer is to put down the stuff and start living your life without those aides. And you don't have to it alone.

AA or Alcoholics Anonymous is one of the best organizations to help you to do just that. Yes it is possible to get help and direction from counselors, but sooner or later you will have to adjust and learn to respond in groups of people, and AA lets you do that - for free! Or at least $1.00 a meeting as a donation. Going to a shrink or an advisor could cost you upwards of $120.00 a visit, and though this might be needed for crisis situations, such as a death or divorce, the average person cannot afford this for ongoing treatment.

Alcoholics Anonymous is program is for alcoholics or those who use other mind altering substances and it is a "one day at a time" program. Everything in the program is based on what can be done in just one day......Put down the bottle and the drugs - just for today; go to a meeting at least once a day. One of their slogans is H.A.L.T. - which mean don't let yourself get too Hungry, Angry, Lonely or Tired - just for the day. If you can learn to focus on the now, today, then you can learn to live your life for the moment which allows you to live life in the fullest. It also allows you to push the idea of "using" to medicate your feelings, back farther and farther as each day goes along.

AA is not just the power of suggestion. The program was developed in 1935 by two men, Dr. Bob and Bill Wilson. Both of these men had the same problem of addiction, yet when they came together in Akron, Ohio they were able to put those old desires behind them as they helped other "screaming" alcoholics, the worst of the bunch. Then in 1939 they wrote a book, affectionately called the Big Book by members, and here they described their process for staying sober and they include other success stories of the first 100 members in the back. The program is spiritual without being religious or judgmental in any way. The Big Book leads the person willing to be free from the addiction through a series of 12 steps which help the addicted to drop triggers, work through relationships, and look at themselves and their lives from a more realistic light than when alcohol and mind altering substances controlled their lives. As it removes the idea of drinking and drugging, it replaces those old thoughts with a new way of living walking with the Creator. You have to figure that the creator of a product, like a computer knows that computer better than anyone else, and knows how to fix it, because he created it. The same is true with humans too and this Big Book spells out the process better than any other.

It is recommended that while working the program, that you go to at least a meeting a day to hear how others are working it out and then to share yourself, to get some phone numbers of others who are staying sober to call if you get "triggered" and want to talk, read the Big Book and other books that are available in AA, then just get into walking in a new way, taking a new path. With a clear head and a clear mind you will be able to make much better decisions about situations in your life. The main concept is to allow yourself to give up trying to be the driver of your plane, move over a seat and let God help you. It's a much smoother ride and you don't have to try and navigate through the dark anymore. There will be plenty of Light on your path and you will begin to see a bright new future! Look in any city phone book to find your first meeting. Good Luck!