Wow this was not my personal experience either!
At 17 days i was confused, frightened, mentally and emotionally beat...i was working on my step 4 which made me sad, angry and made my mind race even more than usual. I found it difficult to get to sleep with all that was going on...
I wouldn't have trusted myself to get a loaf of bread without first running the idea and the plan of action by my sponsor first, i was that scared of myself.
The things i did have, at that time, were HOPE and TRUST...by seeing people that had recovered and led happy, and productive, lives...they told me it was no big deal to get for myself what they had but i would have to do the work. They also told me i knew nothing and, by the time i got in, i totally agreed with them on that point so was like a sponge...which helped a great deal:-) But then again this was nothing to do with me at alll, i was beat and was asking for someone to save my life not to stop drinking, if that makes sense?!
Have i come across many who come into AA and do this in their first weeks...nope...i have seen quite a few come into meetings, learn some lingo and then start giving advice to everyone else though...this is just my experience...and it makes me sad to see then doing this, i do tell them about my experience and hope they get it soon...