Are You Going To Attend An AA Meeting For The First Time – Here’s What You Can Expect

If you are worried about how your first experience at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting is going to be like, you are not alone. The very fact that you have decided to attend such a meeting is a positive development because it means that you are committed to dealing with alcohol addiction You can find more information about Alcoholics Anonymous meetings at Abbey Care Foundation.

But, at the same time, it is natural to have questions in your mind about how and where these meetings are held, whether you will be forced to share your problem with those you have never met in your life, whether you will have the courage to step forward and admit your problems, etc. So, if you knew what to expect at an AA meeting before you attended one, would that not be advantageous? Here’s a brief insight into what really goes in an AA meeting:

• Proper schedule: To start with, AA meetings have a well-defined schedule that it conforms to. It is not a place where you can just walk in and start discussing your drinking problem. The “chair” of each AA meeting is a facilitator who welcomes every member, maintains the decorum, and enforces group conscience. The main idea behind such meetings is to help create a secure environment where an individual battling alcohol addiction can find the strength and support to share his experience.
• Types of meetings: Not all AA meetings are the same; open meetings allow any individual to join in while closed ones are for those who have identified themselves as alcoholics and looking for help. AA meetings also follow different formats; for example, the speaker will share his story in a speaker meeting where he takes about 30-40 minutes to do so and then the meeting is opened up for discussions. So, you can expect every meeting to have a format and schedule.
• Overwhelming welcome: When you are new to an AA meeting, you may be surprised to find people coming up to embrace you and share their contact numbers with you. This gesture of support can appear to be slightly unexpected and embarrassing at first, but you should embrace it as these people have all been battling with addiction just like you. They have experienced the same isolation and vulnerability that you are perhaps now going through.
• Sharing dark humor: Sometimes people talk of things and incidents that only people who have been struggling with alcohol addiction would find funny. These may not really be funny to you in your first meeting, especially if you consider the consequences, but it helps you to look at the past without regrets, knowing that you are now on the path to recovery.
• Intimacy: As a first timer in an AA meeting, you should be prepared to encounter frequent bouts of laughter followed by hysterical crying. This is natural because people come here to talk about their most intimate struggles on the road to recovery, not to gloat about how well they are recovering. While this may feel awkward at first, you will soon realize that these people have shared the same insecurities and weaknesses as you and are not ashamed of exposing their vulnerabilities. It helps to create an atmosphere of intimacy that could well turn out to be a source of strength for you.

Knowing these can help you prepare yourself before you step into your first AA meeting; remember, the first step is always the hardest and it will only get easier after that.