bbthumper

Id say its certainly better for someone to not reach the later stages if they don't have to. That's certainly not a requirement. I can tell you that drinking in my early to mid 20s ceased being fun. Everyone's experience is different.

sbTheresa

I started coming to AA when i was 16 -17 through the courts and was in and out of AA until I finally got sober at 24 and I have been sober for 19 years now.

I am absolutely convinced I am alcoholic. I loved alcohol, I craved it, I could not control how much drank - I drank in a very alcoholic way.

When I was first coming around the room I was that young kid that most people in the rooms were skeptical about. I don't blame them. I did not want to be there, I hated meetings and I did not think I belonged there. But there did come a point at age 24 when it finally clicked for me - I was at home drunk, alone, wanting to die - and I realized I really could not stop drinking and I became willing to take the program seriously and to try and believe in a higher power.

I believe that anyone who has a problem with drinking is welcome in AA regardless of age and there is hope for everyone.

If I had got hung up on being to young to be a real alcoholic what would my life be like today? I know what it has been like sober the last 19 years, and I am grateful for those sober years.

CousinA

I had a lot of fun getting and being sober in my early 20's. "Growing up" in the fellowship is experience I wil always be thankful for.

Alcohol and drugs for me meant near death experiences, putting people around me at risk and the those who love and care for me having to watch me self destruct. The alcoholic isn't the only one who suffers from this disease.

We all have our own path.

-allan

2granddaughters

Yes, ... they are far safer on the streets and in the bars.

All the best.

Bob R

Frejya

I won't be surprised if i see a young teenage guy in meeting or somewhere. It's bad that a person of his age started drinking, but the good news is he wants to quit it. And i totally agree with bbthumper for that enthusiasm related point.

laurie6781

I had been sober about a month and was at the BIG Friday night speaker meeting ay Mason-Lassen where a lot of birthdays are celebrated.

Here is a kid, standing up to take a cake. Could not have been more than 15 or 16, and this was in 1981. Turns out he was 16+ and took a cake for 7, yes 7 years! And when I heard his story I had no doubt he was an alcoholic. Yes he got sober at 9 years old after Children's Service had found him in the condition he was in, falling down drunk and CRAWLING to the father's liquor cabinet to get more.

Also remember, that babies can be born addicted to drugs and/or drunk and having to go thru withdrawals from alcohol and later become alcoholics at any age.

Do I have a problem with teenagers in meetings? Hell no!

Love and hugs,

NoelleR

"...The CA 9th court has ruled AA unconstitutional as it is too religious, so you cannot be court ordered to AA in several western states..."

I believe what you're referring to was a parolee having AA as part of his parole and that was struck down....a few years ago.

I don't know what's been going on in CA, legislatively, but I do know that, currently, folks there are being court ordered to AA/NA.

(o:
NoelleR

0percentABV

I was court ordered to do treatment after I committed a crime while intoxicated at age 17. Little did I know I would be in and out of treatment for the next 2 years including a 28 day inpatient stay. Of course I had ZERO interest in quitting (which is probably why it took 2 years) and really my drinking/drug use escalated once I "graduated." But I have to say if it wasn't for my forced treatment I would probably be dead. Having all those tools I was taught helped me realize that my doping was a ticket to the grave so I quit. It also showed me that my drinking was out of control as well and if I didn't reign it in I would be in trouble so I did, for 10 years. But my alcoholism progressed as it always does so I did eventually have to put the bottle down too. But like the drug use I knew when thing were slipping and I was proactive about it and addressed my drinking before I really messed up.

So in my opinion even though they will not quit at that age they get a good lesson on what could happen. I remember to this day a gentleman who was admitted when I was in inpatient and for the first whole week he was a shaky mess. I remember talking with him and told me that he used to be like me then he told me what his life was like now and vowed never to end up like that. But as the years went on I always saw him in my mind, my little warning on what was waiting for me if I let loose. I have to say I had stuff reigned in pretty well for almost 10 years but as usual progress in alcoholism won and here I am today. Thankful that I got the attention I needed then so I could use it today.

sugarbear1

Not sure what the point is of assuming things you have no experience with. Some people DO have serious medical problems from drinking at such young ages; I've spoken with them in person.

Alcoholism and it's effects does not know any age, it does not discriminate.

SoberKnitter

Half of college age people (age 18-22) drink problematically. Most outgrow it. I know that I didn't think I had such a terrible problem at that age, because I drank a lot like my peers. Everyone was experiencing the terrible consequences of "partying".

That being the case, I don't think it's great to take teenagers and put them in AA and tell them that they have an incurable disease that will require a lifetime of commitment to treatment. There is a very high likelihood that they will outgrow the behavior. They should probably be given a chance to do that before their heads are filled with ideas that will have them thinking of themselves as diseased for the rest of their lives.

bryangt

I WISH I would have found AA in my teens, even my 20's. Then I wouldn't be the 50's (yr. old) no licensed man, who had to do jail time as a result of not surrendering to my disease years ago. "We should not dwell on the past, nor shut the door on it."....

MsBubbles88

I took my first drink when I was 5; communion. I loved the feeling and can still remember it to this day and I'm 43 and have been sober for more than 8 years. I'm glad my parents put me in rehab at the age of 15 and that I was made to go to AA meetings. Seeds were absolutely planted. Love AA!

caboblanco

I don't think there shouldn't be any help with teenagers with problem drinking behavior I just don't know if AA is the right place for them. I also don't think making kids admit that they're an alcoholic when they in no way are one is helpful either. I don't think telling someone who is 15 or 16 who got drunk on a few occasions to abstain from alcohol forever is a realistic approach. It's just my opinion and thanks for all the replies

Dee74

is that what you think happened to you Cabo - or is it just something you've been thinking about?

john44

That's powerful. Sent a shiver up my spine.

Justfor1

Teenagers experiment & just because they are trying out drugs does not mean they are alcoholics or addicts. IMO, it can be dangerous to be the label of "alcoholic" on a teenager. It's a serious label that will follow them the rest of their lives. I am glad I had a few years of successful & fun drinking. The bar hopping & clubbing taught me how to socialize with others. I learned how to play darts, pool, beach volleyball ect... Sadly, as I entered my late 20's things started to progress.

soberhope1984

I'd still like to point out one thing about this 'problem'. The disease does not discriminate... it cares nothing of our AGE, race, or social status. Only reason I put age in caps is cause of the original topic. This stuff doesn't care what or who we are.

caboblanco

No Dee this didn't happen to me, well not when I was a teenager anyway. I hear a lot of the disease model people saying that people are alcoholics before they even have their first drink. In that case we should bring AA into elementary schools. They are already filled with alcoholics. I don't buy that there is a genetic component to alcoholism(there is 0 proof) and I don't think addiction or alcoholism is a disease anybody can be born with. In fact it's not a disease at all it's a behavior

NorweiganWood

Being a 20 year old in AA, I absolutely believe teenagers should be in the program. People need to get involved in AA as young as possible to minimize the wreckage that they could potentially do, and to learn how to live with being an alcoholic.

In the groups that I go to, I'm often the youngest one there, and although it is uncomfortable, it would be unfathomable for me to not be allowed in the group if I was merely a year younger.

bbthumper

Not every teenager who drinks is an alcoholic. Just like not every adult who drinks is an alcoholic. I get that. But if a teenager shows up in the rooms, it is my responsibility as a sober member to sit with them and explain what alcoholism is according to AA. I take them to the first paragraph of we agnostics. The two big qualifiers for alcoholism are right there. "If when you honestly want to you find you cannot stop entirely, or if when drinking you have little or no control over the amount you take, you are probably an alcoholic." (paraphrasing)
If anyone meets one or both of these, Im going to be honest and let them know that according to the Big Book there is a good chance they're alcoholic. I don't care how old they are. If they don't meet these criteria or are just not convinced they need help, then so be it. They take up a seat until their meet their mandatory number of meetings and they go on their way. Maybe they learn something. The only thing Id take issue with is if they start giving "advice" to others who are alcoholic and need help.
Seems that at this day in age there is an epidemic of young folks doing all sorts of crazy crap to get drunk or high. They are dying left and right from overdoses, accidents etc. It would be a shame to just send these kids back out saying that its just a phase. For some that may be true, but what about the 10% that we could have helped?