If you are struggling with addiction and looking for help, understanding more about your available options is critical. Regardless of the treatment option you select, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), can be an additional support tool in your recovery toolbox.

Alcoholics Anonymous is not a treatment program, but a support group.

It allows you to meet and share your story with people who have been in your shoes. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. Once you meet that requirement, finding a local group and attending meetings will help you stay on the path to recovery.(Alcoholics Anonymous meeting finder)

Once you find a group, you will be paired with someone who is further along in their recovery to use for 24 hour support. Having a person who has been there to lean on in moments of weakness can make all the difference. Alcoholics Anonymous understands that, while different people have different symptoms, there are common triggers and underlying emotions for alcoholism. The organization recognizes that it is a disease and treats it as such.

Because they come from a place of empathy, sharing the thoughts and feelings that led to your alcoholism is much easier. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are friendly, welcoming environments where you can share both your trials and triumphs as you learn to manage life with alcoholism. We all know that addiction is accompanied by feelings of shame and despondency; Alcoholics Anonymous excels at giving you the emotional tools necessary to overcome any feelings of inadequacy regarding your sickness.

The program involves 12 steps to recovery and celebrates each milestone on the path to continued sobriety. This stepped approach acknowledges the effort and small wins on the long road to recovery. Having milestones to celebrate gives you an opportunity to look back at the path you’ve traveled and appreciate how far you’ve come during moments of self-doubt and discouragement.

The very first step? Admitting that you have a problem! The steps are achievable, and faith-based, but the group is non-denominational and not affiliated with any particular faith. The goal of each step is to help organize the natural emotional progression needed to successfully manage your disease. The steps allow you to take responsibility the thoughts and actions that contribute to your alcoholism, and helps you to understand that you previously lacked the ability to effectively manage those thoughts and actions without alcohol. As you climb the steps, you gain a better understanding of how those feelings, coupled with alcohol, have contributed to damaging your relationships. This is important to beginning the process of making amends and repairing the relationships affected by your alcoholism.

At its core, Alcoholics Anonymous is about building and rebuilding the necessary positive and supportive relationships to cope without alcohol. A solid support system and a spiritual foundation helps minimize the desire to use alcohol as a coping mechanism and equips you with the tools necessary to have a full, functional, positive life. And, THAT is the true beauty of Alcoholics Anonymous – it helps you not just get your life back, but gain a better life than you imagined possible.