Reaching Out

Reaching Out

When entering into the rooms of Alcoholics Anonymous or any of the "anonymous" addictions groups, you will be surrounded by people just like you; addicts. When you listen to what they say you will most likely begin to see a reflection of yourself in their stories. Seeing yourself in the stories allows you to accept the fact that you are an addict. Step one of the famous 12-step program is as follows: 1. We admitted that we were powerless of alcohol/drugs and that our lives had become unmanageable. This is the first step because you cannot begin to correct a problem if you cannot acknowledge that there is, in fact, a problem.

When you admit you are an addict you will become open to suggestions; desperation is what brings us to the rooms of A.A., etc. We were all desperate for help; our lives became unmanageable and we had to find a way out; we couldn't do it on our own.

The system of the A.A. works because other addicts who have found the way to recovery keep coming back to pass the message to the addict that still suffers. In A.A. there is a saying, "you can't keep what you have without giving it away." Number 5 of the 12 traditions of A.A. states the purpose of A.A.: Each group has but one primary purpose—to carry its message to the alcoholic/addict who still suffers.

You may be confused by the saying of not keeping what you have without giving it away, I mean if you give something away it's gone right? Not in this program. The newcomer reminds us where we came from and why we are here (at the A.A. meeting). These people need us; people who have been where they have been and found a solution. Addiction is unexplainable, it must be experienced to know the true nature of the addict. Helping others actually helps us too. We can keep the solution only by sharing our experience, strength, and hope. If there weren't recovering addicts in the anonymous rooms how would I have gotten clean and sober? You see it is inevitable; we have to share what we received in order to keep the faith, hope, and courage. Keep coming back!