Complete 2 pages APA formatted article: Alcoholics Anonymous Community. Alcoholics AnonymousWith all the greed and corruption found in this world, it is difficult to find people whose sole purpose of

Complete 2 pages APA formatted article: Alcoholics Anonymous Community. Alcoholics Anonymous

With all the greed and corruption found in this world, it is difficult to find people whose sole purpose of wanting to interact with one, is to help that person. However, with the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) community, one can be sure of their intentions. An organization that prevails throughout the US and Canada, AA is known for its motive to help alcoholics who seek help to achieve sobriety. Considering my endeavors to become a nurse, I realized how important it was to be sober. In addition, I realized that it was imperative to trust other people to help me, since I myself am being trained for a profession, which requires me to help other people. Thus, I approached the AA group, with apprehension and hope battling it out in my heart.

The first thing one learns at these meetings, are the 12 steps they follow in the process of bringing about sobriety (Alcoholics Anonymous Australia, 2001). First, one has to accept that they have a drinking problem over which they are powerless. Second, they accept that there is a greater power, which can help with the problem. Then, as a third step, the people are to entrust this higher power, God, with the duty of helping them overcome the problem. Then the attention of the person is shifted to themselves, as they are told to look within themselves to perform a thorough and fearless moral inventory of themselves. The fifth step is to admit the wrongs they have found in themselves to God as well as to another human being.

After this, the curing begins as they mentally prepare themselves for God to cleanse them of these shortcomings. The seventh step follows, where the person asks God to rid him or her of these flaws. The eighth step consists of spreading the positive change to outside just oneself. The person is to list any wrong things he or she may have done to another person, and the ninth step is to make any direct amendments possible to these other people. After this, the person is encouraged to continue screening themselves for any moral flaws they may find in themselves, as the tenth step. The eleventh step urges the person to stay in constant contact with God, through prayer and meditation, so that this journey to recovery and becoming a better person is accompanied all the way by a higher power. These eleven steps are meant to help the alcoholic recover from their addiction, and resultantly become a better person. The twelfth step is the spiritual awakening that results due to this procedure, which then becomes the guiding force for the person who is hoping to recover.

I had heard that people are often hesitant to attend such meetings (George & Tucker, 1996). Attending the AA meetings, I realized an important factor, which we often do not realize. We look to alcohol as a way of alleviating our pain or stress, because we see no better or quicker way. We are wrong when we think there is no better way, and we are naïve to search for the quicker way. A better way is to keep in touch with the one power in the universe, which has the ability to solve any problem if we show that we deserve that alleviation. In addition, there is no such thing, as a permanent quick fix, which is why one should never abandon a sturdy, trusted solution for a half hearted solution that promises a solution that will no doubt fail to be permanent. I not only found this experience an eye opener, but it will also continue to urge any other people who face the same problem as I do, to approach Alcoholics Anonymous and seek their selfless and effective service.

References

Alcoholics Anonymous Australia. (2011). The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. Retrieved on January 10, 2011: www.aa.org.au/members/twelve-steps.php

George, A. A., & Tucker, J. A. (1996). “Help-seeking for alcohol-related problems: social contexts surrounding entry into alcoholism treatment or alcoholics anonymous.” Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs. Volume 57, Issue 4.