Tazman53

I love every person in the rooms, but that does not mean I like them!!! LOL

I know, it makes a lot of sense, but what I am saying is there are folks in the room that I would never go to coffee with, but if they called me in a pinch I would be there for them just like they would be there for me, it is a fellowship, not a freindship.

St_Kurt

God -
Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change.
The courage to change the things I can.
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Pick the one that works best for the situation.

-e

fraankie

take what you want
and
leave the rest


best
fraankie

IO Storm

Something my therapist recognized about me and advised when

I first attended AA meetings....and was not happy with them

telling my story....(I was in big DENIAL)

"Don't throw the baby out with the bathwater!"

AA saved my life.


Sherry

Tazman53

Sherry I like therapist like yours, they are the ones that can help you with problems but still acknowledge that if an alcoholic wants to stay sober they need AA, that rarely will a therapist be able to help an alcoholic of my type to stay sober all by their selfs.

Grasshopper

Hi,yes there are bullies,at meetings.Just as there are bullies outside of recovery rooms.My experience if i may---when i complained about them to my sponsor,i allowed her to influnce,me that im being over-sentive.That i should allow others to do as they wish,because their intentions are to be helpful not hurtful to me.So i tried this,but it didnt work.Thing is ive witnessed alot of things,all in the name of being helpful.That turned out to be more hurtful than anything else.We are not bad folks,but sick folks.,learniing new ways to live.The BB,asks us to FIT ourselves to be of max service to others.And when this is followed,then there are no issues,of another feeling worse after being at meetings,than before they came in.I had a choice,to either get upset,or to learn how to cope with bullies.,who i like to call the over-zelious folks...lol.No,means no,but my behaviour teaches more than my words do.Pray about this.Talk with your sponsor.This is what i did.Today i accpet folks,and have learned to just shrug my shoulders,thank them and move on.

Emimily

not everyone at an aa meeting has your best intentions in mind. true.

but some do. also true.

IO Storm

Oh yeah....

He is great! He told me I was on my way..headlong into

crashing and burning....fired me actually later on..and said

to come back when I made the decision to go.

Said he could help me only so far..but with alcohol in my

system...therapy was "useless".

My medical doctor fired me....said she had treated me since

I was a child and would not watch me die after she diagnosed

cirhhosis....

Psychiatrist fired me ...said the antidepessant had no effect

while drinking....all pointed me back to AA.

I am sure my current psych would do the same...

They are great folks!

Love,

:

Sherry

ghostgirl

hey thanks for this thread... i can totally relate. i have the sponsor that i do not because i got to know about her or her recovery (although, i really like her as a person), but because every time she saw me (from the time that i had one week of sobriety on) she would ask me if i had a sponsor and phone numbers yet. after a couple of weeks i just said "well, will you be my sponsor?" i'm not really sure if thats what i really wanted (she is more religious than i am, for one)???? and i really just want to listen more than anything. and, no i haven't done the 90 in 90 with the meetings....

so i wonder what the hell is wrong with me!! i'm glad to hear that someone else feels something like that, too.

Tazman53

ghostgirl just to let you know if you do not like your sponsor you have every right to fire her.

AA is a program of suggestions and not mandates, the only rule in AA is that there are no rules.

The path to sobriety and happiness is far easier if one follows the suggested program in the BB between "The Doctors Opinion" and page 164.

Sponsors are not perfect, nor do they all go by the suggestions in the BB.

In AA we take what we want and leave the rest, it is up to us to figure out if what we are taking is giving us what we need/want.

Still drinking/unhappy/angry? Time to look at the suggestions we have chosen to ignore and ask our selfs honestly are we taking everything we need or ignoring to many things we do need.

Feel bullied by some one? There is not a single rule that says you can not tell them to stop. If you do not want to tell them to stop there is no rule forcing you to not be able to attend a different meeting.

Antoniasc

"Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety".
It would be a great pity to reject the offer of a phone number in AA. That very phone number might one day be a lifeline to us. If the number is unwanted, say thank you nicely and throw it away later. That is a little exercise in gracious acceptance. We give our phone numbers with genuine love and willingness to be of help to a new-comer.
To be perfectly honest we AAs don't usually go around asking each other how long we've been sober (it's one day at a time) but it IS a question we might ask someone who appears to be new in the program. Not with any 'bullying' intent, but to make sure that the person is being looked after. "Have you got a sponsor yet?" is also a question we might ask. I would follow this up with "I'll sponsor you if you like in the interim until you find a sponsor of your own choice."
'Older' AAs give of their time and caring to new-comers with love and a certain amount of personal sacrifice, remembering with gratitude how it was for us when we first came in and remembering what was so freely given to us.
If you could just turn your thinking around a little on this one, you will remember it with a smile one day when you find yourself approaching newcomers with "How long have you got and have you got a sponsor yet?"
Love to you in the wonderful fellowship of AA.
Antonia (New Zealand)

HappyDestiny3

Well I hope you got over this since it was posted in 2007...