Can’t Stop Drinking?
Is AA for You?
Only you can decide whether to give AA a try. In AA, we don’t diagnose you or tell you if and when you should stop drinking. That’s your decision to make. Below are some questions that might help you to sort it out for yourself. See if you can recognize any of these situations in your own life. Remember, there’s no disgrace in facing up to the fact that you have a problem.
Answer Yes or No to the Following Questions
- Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so, but only lasted for a couple of days?
- Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking and stop telling you what to do?
- Have you ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the hope that this would keep you from getting drunk?
- Have you had to have an eye-opener upon awakening during the past year? Do you need a drink to get started, or to stop shaking?
- Do you envy people who can drink without getting into trouble?
- Have you had problems connected with drinking during the past year?
- Has your drinking caused trouble at home?
- Do you ever try to get “extra” drinks at a party because you do not get enough?
- Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to, even though you keep getting drunk when you don’t mean to?
- Have you missed days of work or school because of drinking?
- Do you have “blackouts”?
- Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink?
What’s your score?
Did you answer YES to four or more questions? If so, you probably have trouble with your drinking. Why do we say this? Because thousands of people in AA have said so for many years. They found out the truth about themselves – the hard way. But again, only you can decide whether you think AA is for you. Try to keep an open mind on the subject. If the answer is YES, we will be glad to show you how we stopped drinking ourselves.
Just call, email info@aaeasternnc.org or use our “find a meeting” feature to check it out. AA does not promise to solve your life’s problems. But we can show you how we are learning to live without drinking “one day at a time.” We stay away from that “first drink.” If there is no first one, there cannot be a tenth one. And when we got rid of alcohol, we found that life became much more manageable. The great news is you never have to take another drink.
Only you can make that determination. To be an alcoholic means that we cannot consistently predict or control our consumption and that negative consequences from our drinking are occurring in our lives (physical, mental, emotional, financial, and/or social). A doctor specializing in alcoholic treatment (and early friend of AA) said that we alcoholics suffer from an illness of a two-fold nature; an obsession of the mind to experience the ease and comfort that comes from taking a drink and an allergy of the body which, after taking the first drink, triggers a phenomenon of craving. This craving is powerful enough to ensure we cannot consistently control the frequency or amount we consume.
No. We offer a 12-step approach to living without alcohol which can be heard about at our meetings. We do not offer a residential program or medical attention.
You are a member when you can say “I think I might have a problem with alcohol”. You are then welcome at all AA meetings, both open and closed. They usually last one hour.
AA is an unusual organization. It has no leaders or governing bodies. Each meeting makes its own decisions. However, experience has led to the publication of our Twelve Traditions which are intended to help groups avoid previous pitfalls.
AA has no dues or fees. We do not accept outside donations and are supported exclusively by the contributions members place in the “hat” during meetings.
Generally, yes. We are bound to a tradition of non-affiliation with any outside entity, but we do seek to be cooperative. Each individual meeting decides whether they sign cards.
No. AA is not religious and want to avoid any conflict on this topic. We consider ourselves a spiritual and moral program, and our steps are broad and open to anyone who is not steadfastly closed to spiritual principles. Whatever our members choose to believe in is up to them and is of no concern to AA.
The Twelve Steps are the core of the A.A. program of recovery. They are suggestions of actions and shifts in attitude found in our primary text, Alcoholics Anonymous (also called “the Big Book”), that many have found necessary to maintain their sobriety.
That will be up to you, but as one member suggested “My sobriety is a living thing and must be tended diligently, or it will wither and die.”
Please call 252-947-5317(Beaufort/Pitt), 252-349-0898(Craven/Pamlico), 919-735-4221(Wayne/Lenoir), or email us at info@aaeasternnc.org anytime.
Meetings
AA offers a variety of meetings, most meetings are all-inclusive, for anyone with a desire to stop drinking. New meetings are being added every day.
AA groups have both open and closed meetings. Closed meetings are for AA members only, or for those who have a drinking problem and “have a desire to stop drinking.” Open meetings are available to anyone interested in the Alcoholics Anonymous program of recovery from alcoholism.
Non-alcoholics may attend open meetings as observers. Whether open or closed, AA group meetings are conducted by AA members who determine the format of their meetings.
Meeting Guide is a free-of-charge meeting finder app.
Find A.A. meetings and resources near you. Available for iOS and Android smartphones.
More information
Alcoholics Anonymous World Services publications for newcomers.