Sorry to hear that.
I have been there with that feeling. Usually, when you try something new, it feels very scary and intimidating, especially when you have to go to a building you don't know, like a church or a synagogue or mosque for that matter to attend a place where there are uncertain circumstances and people. It is kind of embarrassing, and sometimes humiliating, like the experience you shared in your recent thread.
Well, needless to say, there are times in everybody's life where they do experience some form of discouragement when they try to reach out for higher help for their problems--especially when they are of an emotional nature, and they involve family and friends with substance abuse problems.
Sometimes, though, this does happen. A building closes, or meetings cease to gather at a particular location.
From my own experience, the pain of taking on other people's sh** was too great for me to let this discourage me or stop me.
I have a few experiences in attending meetings. They have been very helpful in helping me to get my own self respect and sense of identity back.
The best thing to keep in mind is that every group of people in these meetings has their own unique personality. And the key is to find the particular alanon meeting (group of people and location--that is right for you--because not every gathering of people in the alanon meetings is right for everyone. But, listen to your gut--when you are in the right place at the right time (alanon meetings included here) you will know this deep within yourself. What I am trying to say is, don't give up on your search for serenity. These meetings do help, if you will let them.
If you are not sure how to find the alanon meetings in your area, then go to the web site for alanon and locate the meetings in the (district) area that you are located in. It is all broken down by state--easy to find.
http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/
[url]
or trying using this search engine:
Hppt://www.metacrawler.com
and in the search entry, just type alanon. Easy to find!
I hope you can find your answers.
Best Wishes
jlw