A Brief Description of Alcoholics Anonymous

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a worldwide society of men and women who help each other to stay sober. They offer the same help to anyone who has a drinking problem and wants to do something about it. Since they are all alcoholics themselves, they have a special understanding of each other. They know what the illness feels like – and they have learned how to recover from it in A.A.

A.A. was started in 1935 by a New York stockbroker and an Ohio surgeon, who had both been “hopeless” drunks. At first, many A.A. members also had been seriously ill. Their drinking had sent them to hospitals, sanitariums, or jails. But more and more people began to hear about A.A., and soon many alcoholics found that they did not have

A.A. members say that they are alcoholics today, even when they have not had a drink for many years. They do not say that they are “cured”. Once people have lost the ability to control their drinking, they can never again be sure of drinking safely. In other words, they can never become “former alcoholics” or “ex-alcoholics”. But in A.A. they can become sober alcoholics, recovered alcoholics.

Through the example and friendship of the recovered alcoholics in A.A., new members are encouraged to stay away from a drink “one day at a time,” as the A.A.’s say. Instead of “swearing off forever” or worrying about whether they will be sober tomorrow, A.A.’s concentrate on not drinking today.

By keeping alcohol out of their systems, newcomers take care of one part of their illness. Their bodies have a chance to get well. But remember, there is another part. If they are going to stay sober, they need healthy minds and healthy emotions, too. So they begin to straighten out their confused thinking and unhappy feelings by following A.A.’s “Twelve Steps” to recovery. These steps suggest ideas and actions that can guide alcoholics toward happy and useful lives.

To be in touch with other members and to learn about the recovery program, new members go to meetings regularly.

A.A. has no real government. Each group is free to work out its own customs and ways of holding meetings, as long as it does not hurt other groups or A.A. as a whole. The members elect a chairperson, a secretary, and other group officers. These members do not give orders to anybody. Mostly, their job is to see that the meetings run smoothly. In the average group, new officers are elected twice a year.

But the individual group is not cut off from the rest of A.A. Just as A.A. members help each other, so do A.A. groups. Here are three of the means they use to exchange help:

(1) Groups in the same area set up a central office or “intergroup” office.

(2) Groups everywhere share their experiences by writing to the A.A General Service Office, in new York City.

(3) Groups in the U.S. and Canada choose representatives to go to the A.A. General Service Conference, held once a year.

All these A.A. offices and representatives at the Conference make suggestions, based on the experiences of many different A.A. groups. But they do not make rules or issue commands to any groups or members.

Newcomers do not pay any fees for membership. Members do not pay dues. Money is needed for some purposes: renting the meeting hall, buying coffee and other refreshments, buying A.A. books, pamphlets and magazines. So a basket is usually passed around during the meeting, and members put in whatever they can afford or wish to give. Groups also contribute money to support central offices, the General Services Office, and other A.A. activities.

In return for the A.A help that members give to other alcoholics, these members are never paid. Their reward is something much more than money. It is for their own health. A.A.’s have found that helping other alcoholics is the best way to stay sober themselves.

Like all other illnesses, alcoholism strikes all sorts of people. So the men and women in A.A. are of all races and nationalities, all religions and not religion at all. They are rich and poor and just average. They work at all occupations, as lawyers and housewives, teachers and truck drivers, waitresses and members of the clergy.

A.A. does not keep lists of members, but groups do report how many people belong to each one. From these reports, total A.A. membership is estimated at over 2,000,000. A.A. is just for alcoholics, but two other fellowships can help their relatives. One is Al-Anon Family Groups. The other is Alateen, for teenagers who have alcoholic parents.

If you have other questions, please feel free to contact your local Alcoholics Anonymous Intergroup, or ask your EAP counselor. The Employee Assistance Program can be reached at 866/443-3277.