In my meeting the first thing they told me (we are blessed with lots of meeting spaces in my city) that I should try at least 6 meetings. That some may not be a good fit for me. I never did go to any other meetings but I did keep coming back to that one. At first I felt that same way. Oh my gosh, what these people have been through is soooo much worse than my situation. But as days went by and different topics were discussed I could find lots of common ground.
Our A's may not be the same, but our encouragement for each other and our hope for a better life was the same. Many of us have the same feelings about our A's whether they are our Children, Sister, Brother or Spouse. When I stopped looking at what caused us all to gather together but looked at how were we coping is where I saw more and more similarities. I still sometimes question whether my spouse truly is an A, because he is so high functioning. But the conclusion that I ended up coming to is that it doesn't really matter if he is or isn't. What matters is how I feel, how I cope and how I understand my part in the dance. Whether he is or isn't makes little difference to the fact that I find the way we relate to each other at this time unacceptable.
I did feel accepted, cared for and safe in the confines of that Al-Anon room and that is what I came back for the second time. Each time I go I feel something a little different, but I've never left feeling worse than when I got there. I hope you can say the same.