MiSoberbio

First of all, I want to clarify the title of this thread – what I don't understand is why NA and AA are separate organizations, as well as Nar-Anon and Al-Anon. I do, however, understand why NA and Nar-Anon or AA and Al-Anon, respectively, are separate.

By no means am I asking this because I want to spearhead a union of the organizations -- I simply don't understand why each pair (NA & AA and Nar-Anon & Al-Anon) are separate. Are they so distinct from each other? Is there a separate culture for alcoholics than for addicts who use other substances? The same goes for friends and families – is an alcoholic's spouse or child, etc. dealing with different issues than a friend or family member of a substance addict?

Again, I'm asking because I don't understand, not because I have an ulterior motive. On the boards here I've encountered people who say things like "I'm an alcoholic who would always end up snorting coke" and in my experience with my companion, he would often drug himself with alcohol (to start), but sometimes it would be pot that he'd start with and move on from there.... or sometimes he'd just drink....

These are the sorts of things I don't understand. Isn't alcohol a drug just like any of the other substances that people use? [Obviously, I'm talking about the addiction process, not the actual chemical makeup of any particular drug.] And isn't a heroin addict dealing with the same issues about using as an alcoholic? [Again, I'm not equating the drugs; I'm asking "Isn't the underlying addiction similar/the same?"] I ask because I'm ignorant and I'd like to understand things better.

And so with Nar-Anon and Al-Anon – what makes them different? I personally go to Nar-Anon and have never been to an Al-Anon meeting, although a great deal of the literature that we read in my groups comes directly from Al-Anon. Is there a reason why these groups are separate that I have no clue about? Are the issues of acceptance, detachment, control, manipulation, self esteem, grief, letting go, etc., etc., different in each organization?


I would greatly appreciate to hear what people have to say (those with experience in any of the organizations I mentioned)... maybe I'm just wasting time that I should be spending working on myself, but the question has been sitting in the back of my mind for a while and I just decided to let it out.


Thanks.