AL-ANON   Q & A

Reprinted From the website:    https://al-anon.org/ 

 

 

Q. What is alcoholism? 

           A.  Alcoholism is widely recognized as a disease of compulsive drinking, which can be arrested, but not cured. It is a progressive illness, which will get worse as long as the person continues to drink. Total abstinence from drinking is the only way to arrest the disease. Alcoholism affects the entire family; indeed, everyone who has contact with the alcoholic is affected. Unfortunately, the only person who can stop the alcoholic from drinking is the alcoholic themselves.

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Q. Is this a religious fellowship?

           A. The Al-Anon family groups are a spiritual fellowship, not a religious one. We avoid discussion of specific religious doctrine, and members of all faiths (or of none) are welcome. Our Twelve Steps ask us to find a "Power greater than ourselves" who can help us solve our problems and find serenity. Each member is free to define that power in his or her own way.

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Q. How do alcoholics affect families and friends?

           A. Alcoholism is a family disease. The disease affects all those who have a relationship with a problem drinker. Those of us closest to the alcoholic suffer the most, and those who care the most can easily get caught up in the behavior of another person. We react to the alcoholic's behavior. We focus on them; what they do; where they are; how much they drink. We try to control their drinking for them. We take on the blame, guilt, and shame that really belongs to the drinker. We can become addicted to the alcoholic, as the alcoholic is to alcohol. We, too, can become ill.

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Q. How will Al-Anon help me?

           A. Many who come to Al-Anon are in despair, feeling hopeless, unable to believe that things can ever change. We want our lives to be different, but nothing we have done has brought change. We all come to Al-Anon because we want and need help. In Al-Anon, member's help each other by practicing the Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous themselves; by welcoming and giving comfort to families of alcoholics. Members share their own experience, strength, and hope with each other. You will meet others who share your feelings and frustrations, if not your exact situation. We come together to learn a better way of life, to find happiness whether the alcoholic is still drinking or not.

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Q. Can I bring the alcoholic with me to the meetings?

           A. Al-Anon is not a program for finding or maintaining sobriety. It is a program to help the families of alcoholics recover from the effects of someone else's addiction. However, by practicing the Twelve Steps of alcoholism, you are also giving understanding and encouragement to the alcoholic.

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Q. Are the meetings anonymous?

           A. The assurance of anonymity is essential to Al-Anon's efforts to help more families and friends of alcoholics. We respectfully ask that no Al-Anon, A.A., or N.A. speaker or member be identified by full name or picture in published, broadcast, or internet reports.

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** The Chetek Area Alano Club welcomes families of both alcohol and substance use disorders to our Al-Anon meetings.

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