Krismeeka

A friend suggested I find a website with a blog to help me deal with my mother's alcoholism. I tried one meeting of Al- Anon a few months ago and felt a little uncomfortable, like the women around me were like robots when they repeated word for word pages from their folders. Any help would be appreciated!

ardy

do the blog here.. and hang on tight to this great group of silly's.. they are the best.. prayers and hopes for a better tomorrow..

Krismeeka

Thank you!

PurpleKnight

Welcome to the Forum Krismeeka!!

NewRomanMan

Welcome! I would try giving it more than one meeting. Lol. That's not very much. Not all meetings are created equal. Find one you like or go back to the one you went to before. Yes, even if it stinks. There's an old saying about recovery meetings that says if you bring the body, the mind will follow, and it's true. No matter how lame you might think the meeting is, you will get something out of it if you make an effort to leave your mind open. I promise.

Maudcat

Welcome. I would try another Al-Anon meeting. All meetings have their own vibe.

least

Welcome to the family. I am sending up prayers that your mom sees the light and stops drinking.

tromboneliness

Try another meeting, if there's one in your area. But ya, there are people at meetings who do tend to use word-for-word terminology, e.g., "You didn't cause it, you can't control it, you can't cure it," and so on. But the stuff works. And it's cafeteria style -- the (stock) phrase is "take what you like and leave the rest." There will be people who pretty much tell the same story every week, but there will be a lot of people who have gone through... whatever it is you're going through with an alcoholic parent, because these are common experiences, both in the sense that they happen a lot and that they're common to a lot of us. The bottom line is that you can't change people -- you can't make someone stop drinking. Al-Anon is about you -- how you react, how you behave, and how you can get control over your life, no matter what the alcoholic (or addict, control freak, unruly kid, or other person we don't control) is doing.

It takes awhile -- I've been going to Al-Anon meetings for 21 years, and although I understand things a lot better, this isn't something that gets cured and you don't have it anymore! Good luck.

T

ItsViolet

Hi Krismeeka and welcome to the board

One meeting is not at all representative of the whole of Al-Anon. You may need to go to quite a few to find one that fits. They have different vibes, demographics, and focuses.

If you really find that Al-Anon doesn't speak to you, there are other programs out there. Personally I never connected with any Al-Anon meetings, although I tried. I go to Adult Children of Alcoholics which is a better fit for me.

Glad you're here, this place is a great resource with great people