Roadhunter

SOS meetings are SMALL. I have been to 2 of the 3 that have been scheduled since I discovered them here. The one I missed only had two people in attendance. Even if I'd been there to be number 3, I wouldn't call that a "group".

The disappointing part is the number of people there who also feel AA is valuable, and the high percentage who have admitted to having been institutionalized for mental illness (schizophrenia, personality disorders, etc.). The founder of the group used to think he was Elijah Mohamed (he's actually a fat bald guy).

I think the meeting structure is OK (other than the 15 min. wasted each night reading the same damned thing every time, just like AA does).
The problem is that the group is so small, and it's the only one, so I can't shop around for other groups, nor can I choose to pay attention to some people, and ignore the others. There just aren't enough of them there.

Lastly, I have learned the hard way that I can't talk openly, especially about family issues that have gotten me where I am today. My dad is a highly respected law enforcement officer who is also a functioning alcoholic. He's a morphine addict as well. Even when he was in charge of drug rehab for one federal agency, he was doing more drugs and booze than many of the people he was counseling.

In such a small town (3/4 million, but it seems small), and in such a small group, the anonymity doesn't last long. People figure out who you are, and a surprising number of them have turned out to make connections that led them to figure out who my dad is, who my wife is, etc. Dad because he put some of them in jail at one time or another, and my wife due to her being so prominent in the small secular community here.