Has anyone ever been to AA meetings? What are they like?!
Answers: Do you really have to be an alcoholic or can you go if you think you could become one?
I'm a former alcoholic and went to meetings several times a week for many years. The meetings are really for people who have alcohol problems. Frankly, nobody else would want to go. But some meetings are open to all ("closed" meetings are only for people with drinking problems).
Meetings have various formats. Sometimes there's a speaker. Sometimes it's a discussion. Sometimes you read and discuss program propaganda--er, literature. Most meetings start and end with prayers and involve readings from the AA Big Book. As far as attendees, they usually demographically resemble the surrounding community.
The common element among all AA meetings, at least the ones I've been to (thousands, mostly in the US but also in France and Italy) is a kind of group-think, an ideology based on powerlessness and turning things over to God. Certain ideas are critical to the ideology and simply cannot be questioned. Many of these ideas involve judgments about what feelings it is okay to have. For example, anger is almost universally agreed to be unhealthy (the "dubious luxury of normal men"), but pain is the "touchstone of spiritual growth." "Serenity" is the ultimate goal, and it is not unusual for long-term members to sit quietly in the back of the room, with blissed-out expressions on their faces, as if oozing with this prized emotional state.
Ultimately AA is, very simply, a strange place. When I first went I really thought that I was going for help with my drinking problem; it was a long time before I realized I'd been drawn into a cult. I guess I should have wised up the first time I heard "I no longer have a drinking problem....now I have a thinking problem, and I need these rooms to keep me from going into my own head. It's a bad neighborhood in there...I'm so glad you folks have taught me I should never go in there alone."
It is really for those with a drinking problem, I once was a caretaker at the church hall, it was used weekly for AA meetings, they were by far my favourite group, pleasant, helpful in clearing up after meetings, no trouble at all, I am sure they would make you feel welcomed.
Religion was not mentioned at these meetings, they simply hired the Hall, and had no connection with the church.
AA accepts all people, but it is designed for alcoholics and not problem drinkers. If you are a problem drinker and show no signs of addiction it is far more beneficial for you to seek counseling from another source. AA promotes total abstinence when most people just need to learn control. If you near discipline... to limit the amount you drink or think you need to drink it would be much better for you.
Used in moderation alcohol is wonderful. It has many health benefits. It is a "social lubricant" and in all honest has been keeping society as we know it moving along since the beginning. I personally have an issue with AA approach. First off is the total abstinence thing... Most people aren't alcoholics. They just can't control themselves. Then there is the whole religious aspect. What if I don't want to turn myself over to God? I can't get past step one.
If you have problems, good for you for seeking help with them... Just make sure you are going to the right source for your specific problem.