“Introduction of Al-Anon Meeting” podcasts: 5) How did I feel at my first Al‑Anon meeting?
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“Introduction of Al-Anon Meeting” podcasts: 5) How did I feel at my first Al‑Anon meeting?
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I’ve been to two phone meetings and the discussions revolve around a higher power.it’s very difficult for me since I am an agnostic bordering on atheism. I’m waiting for a lightening bolt to make me a believer. My adult son is near death from alcohol and is currently in the hospital. I need help to help him.
How do you cope when you see a wave coming and know there is nothing you can do to stop it?
I am a third party, second grandmother. My Granddaughter’s mom is an Alcoholic and her grandmother and mother fight about her drinking. My granddaughter is stuck in the middle. She has started wetting her bed. I fear there is so much going in that home . What is my role, I have my granddaughter four days a week and she. Goes to preschool half a day. How can I protect her when she is at home?
I couldn’t relate to anyone at the first meeting I attended many years ago, so I thought that I didn’t belong in Al-Anon. It took me 14 years to find my way back and I discovered that you have to find a group that “fits” you. This time, I found one where people have stories just like mine and I connected to the group immediately. I’m glad that I came back but sorry it took me so long. If you don’t feel comfortable or “at home” in the first meeting, try several more (and at different locations) before you decide… Read more »
I attended my first al-anon meeting today. While the participants shared their stories, a few did resonate with me, I was left wondering what tools am I supposed to be using to cope with my situation? I understand that sharing and venting help release our emotions, but where is the guidance to get past and move forward?
I went to my first meeting tonight felt out of my comfort zone why am I here and what is going on think it’s because I’m so used to being the strong superwoman and partner of an alcoholic in recovery why do I need support but then thought a good way to meet people in the same situation as me that can be there if I need to talk there was nothing to lose attending this meeting and a lot to gain early days but I know it’s for the best for me.
I just went to my first meeting last week. My mom did AA for a year and things were a little better when she wasn’t drinking, but she’s been drinking again and it is miserable at home. I didn’t even talk at the meeting but I was overwhelmed by how welcoming and safe it felt. I felt less alone hearing people talk about it openly. I’m going to my second tonight.
I attended my first meeting last Friday in secret. I had this meeting in my search for the longest time. I had just been stopping myself from going and allowing other things to prevent me from seeking this much needed experience. I really needed this intimate time and was in tears from the literature alone. I have been feeling alone for so long but I know that I will need to continue in this way of life for me to be help myself for a change. I will be back for sure.
I went to my first Al-Anon meeting last week. I’ve been in a relationship with an addict for three years and everyday is a constant battle. My mom recommended the idea that I go to a meeting to gain perspective on my own life and how the relationship has been affecting me. I couldn’t have asked for a better day to go, because hearing the topic of which the group was on helped me gain so much insight. As I sat there, listening to the stories of others, one by one and could find parallel similarities to my own life.… Read more »
About a year ago I reluctantly attended al anon. I went from meeting to meeting…I finally found a group of woman that honestly made me speechless. Everything they had to say I relates to so much. From my past, from my present and I imagined my future as what they had gone through…and to hear their outcomes and strength gave me so much hope. For me al anon was less about structure and working a program. It was more about having a safe place to think and speak. Before this I had thought that I was just dark and tourtured… Read more »
I just started attending Al-Anon after my mother recently died of an overdose. I came to realize how powerless I was over her and her decisions through the last 12 years. I went to my first in-person meeting and was welcomed with open arms. I feel so at home and feel like I now have people that understand me and what I’ve been going through. The toughest part though is realizing my part in all of this. I’ve been going to online meetings too and the groups there have been life savers. It’s now my home group. I have a… Read more »
When I talk in a meeting, I feel judged and not safe. I don’t feel like I belong at all. I see little children in my family hurting from alcoholism they live in. I know the sayings, have worked the steps, etc. but how do we protect the little children. Sometimes Al-Anon seems to forget what the program is really about which is a friend or relative of an alcoholic. If I don’t conform to the group, I feel and think ostracized.
I have only attended 3 meetings, one of which was a speaker meeting with both AA and Al-Anon members present. I have cried at each meeting but this night when I went to the speaker meeting I literally cried before going in and throughout most of the session. I don’t really understand how overwhelmed I had became. I am not a person who cries at the drop of a hat so I felt mortified but I just couldn’t stop. I knew that the people around me saw me suffering and I knew that they likely understood my pain. I spoke… Read more »
Its nothing unusual to feed uncomfortable at the first few meetings, I attended my first meeting in the early 1970’s. My parents, the alcoholics in my life, were MY LIFE, and accepting them as having a diease, gave me an ill feeling or depressing emotion? The more I went, the less uncomfortable I felt? I gradually had better self-esteem regarding myself and ” venting”, at meetings, released feelings I had “shoved down”, within in my soul for so long, I could finally????
I have been to about 6 meetings now, and the first 3 terrified me and left me feeling much worse than I felt before. I have been in shock that I have been affected so much by alcoholism. I have been in denial about it my whole life. The last few meetings I have been to still make me uncomfortable, but I don’t have panic attacks in the middle of the night. However, I have an after-effect the next day or two after a meeting. Full of anxiety and sadness, I feel on the verge of tears so much. I… Read more »
I just attended a meeting and I hated it. I’m so surprised that people recommend this so much. I felt like there were no practical steps for me to follow to protect myself and my family from the alcoholic’s destructive ways. Maybe it’s because I already decided that the alcoholic in my life needs to go. It’s a quick easy decision. He lied. He drinks too much. He causes me financial strain. He put our child in danger (DUI). He causes me emotional distress. He ruined the life we were building together. The list of offenses goes on and on.… Read more »
So, I had my first meeting 2 nights ago. Something I had been wanting to do for 16 years finally happened. Normally I would feel very anxious in new situations, this time I didn’t. I was looking for something out of the group and I was relaxed by the knowledge that we were all in there for the same reason. After that meeting I really wasn’t sure if it was for me. Religious objections aside, I didn’t feel I connected with the people there. Last night I tried another meeting. I went to a different venue, met a completely different… Read more »
My first meeting was 17 years ago. I was terrified and so desperate for somebody, anybody, to tell me how to fix my husband’s drinking and drug problem. But after a few minutes, I felt this peace that was beyond words. People were kind. They listened to each other and took turns speaking. Nobody was yelling or interrupting anyone else. People listened. When they shared, they spoke about hope. This touched me deeply and I remember thinking, “Well, that’s all fine for you, but you don’t know how sick my husband is! It probably won’t work for me.” That was… Read more »
I had my first meeting two weeks ago and am attending every week now. How I found out about Al-Anon in my country (Myanmar) is through Googling “AA in Myanmar” with the hope that I might get some help for my alcoholic father. It is not common in my country to get access to such services. Helping alcoholics’ family members is unheard of in my country. So I had my hope very low. What I found out is that not only AA is starting its services, but also Al-Anon is too. When my sponsor told me that I need help… Read more »
These comments brought me right back to the way I felt when attending my first meeting. Luckily the changes I made due to attending Al-Anon made it possible for change in my husband and we now live separately and remain great friends, sharing family visits and holidays. Now both long-term members of our respective groups and happier than we have ever been.