Al-Anon and there recovery, Al-Anon and there own meetings

RECOVERY IN AL-ANON

The majority of newcomers expect recovery in Al-Anon to happen overnight. Just as when you diet, it took time to gain weight and it takes just as much time to lose it. If you have been living with an alcoholic and took the first step towards recovery by going to an Al-Anon meeting you are on your way to recovery. You have met others who have been through the same miserable conditions and you can see for yourself, they have not just survived, they are getting well.

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Your Al-Anon book is your Bible. You don’t have anything more important in your life than to work the program. Yes, I said nothing. You cannot help yourself if you don’t. And you sure aren’t able to be their for others if you don’t.

If you have gone to an Al-Anon meeting and you didn’t feel comfortable, go at least three times before you make a decision to quit going. Your first meeting is the toughest. You are most likely a nervous wreck. But it not only gets better, you start looking forward to the next meeting. And you can get a sponsor so you can call when you are in crisis or have questions about your recovery and Al-Anon. If you decide that particular group isn’t for you, there are meetings all over town and in every city in just about every country in the world. Just keep going!

Recovery in Al-Anon is the same as anything else you try. It depends on how much effort you are willing to put into it to recover. It really feels good to know you are getting well one-step at a time. With every meeting you grow, you start feeling hopeful again. You can see just how sick you had become….emotionally ill. You have been living with an alcoholic and the alcoholic was robbing you of your self. It’s a rape of the heart and mind. And like any rape, you need help to recover.

We who live with an alcoholic has probably tried everything we could think of to get them to quit drinking. We have failed over and over. Sometimes we have said and did things to the alcoholic out of anger, which only made things worse. In Al-Anon you learn, it is not your job to work on the alcoholic. Your job is to work on yourself. Whether the alcoholic stops drinking or not, you are learning the tools to use for your own recovery. The tools for recovery in Al-Anon is not just an opportunity to survive, it is an opportunity to live happily again.

You can go from fear, daily aggravation, anger, a life so unmanageable you’re in total despair, to an inner peace, a new way of life and hope.

If you work the program, you will find the help you've been searching for. Discover your higher power and make it a part of your every day life. Without it, your life will remain unmanageable. It's not worth the time and effort trying to handle everything yourself...you can't do it. Eventually, you will come right back to working at believing in a higher power. Why not start now. For most Christians, God is their higher power. For some, they have to believe in their own idea of what a higher power is until they realize....their higher power is God.

Read your al-anon book, work the steps, and share your thoughts with others at the meetings.