Going to my first AA meeting on Thursday
Do your best
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 67,047
One of the best decisions I made when I was trying to stop drinking was walking into a AA meeting (Someone actually took me to one which I considered so deep) & reading some of the books they had living sober, big book, 12 steps 12 traditions & I came to believe living sober was the first book I read and I still highly recommend that today
Expect a warm greeting and to meet some people who truly understand what your going through nothing is expected of you bar a desire to stop drinking you don't have to say zilch I was told to listen so that's exactly what I done & I'm coming up on 3 years sober next month
Expect a warm greeting and to meet some people who truly understand what your going through nothing is expected of you bar a desire to stop drinking you don't have to say zilch I was told to listen so that's exactly what I done & I'm coming up on 3 years sober next month
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 27
Originally Posted by Soberwolf 
One of the best decisions I made when I was trying to stop drinking was walking into a AA meeting (Someone actually took me to one which I considered so deep) & reading some of the books they had living sober, big book, 12 steps 12 traditions & I came to believe living sober was the first book I read and I still highly recommend that today
Expect a warm greeting and to meet some people who truly understand what your going through nothing is expected of you bar a desire to stop drinking you don't have to say zilch I was told to listen so that's exactly what I done & I'm coming up on 3 years sober next month
Expect a warm greeting and to meet some people who truly understand what your going through nothing is expected of you bar a desire to stop drinking you don't have to say zilch I was told to listen so that's exactly what I done & I'm coming up on 3 years sober next month
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
"Any advice is appreciated"
let them know youre new and want to get sober, pick up a copy of the big book, and get phone numbers.
then, read the big book, go to meetings, and use them phone numbers when ya have the craving to drink. the phones much lighter than a bottle and helps more.
let them know youre new and want to get sober, pick up a copy of the big book, and get phone numbers.
then, read the big book, go to meetings, and use them phone numbers when ya have the craving to drink. the phones much lighter than a bottle and helps more.
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 27
Thanks so much for the replies. I've been searching online and found a meeting that's on tomorrow, it's a little further away but it seems silly leaving it till Thursday and if I did then I'm worried I won't go.
Thanks again, appreciate it.
Thanks again, appreciate it.
One Day At A Time
Join Date: Feb 2015
Location: Midwest, USA
Posts: 2,054
Hi,
I've been wanting to try a meeting for 2 years at least. Finally, after a year sober and tired of feeling discontent I finally walked in. I think I've been going for 3 weeks now, and I can say I find it to be amazing.
Tell someone it is your first meeting, however the meeting leader may actually ask if anyone is new at which point raise your hand and just say your name. It's all you have to do to get the ball rolling. Expect to be welcomed, given phone numbers of people to call when you are struggling, and expect to be completely relieved to be in the company of your "own kind"!
If you are like me you may talk yourself out of it by Thursday. My advice is put in your head you are going, and just go!
Be well!
I've been wanting to try a meeting for 2 years at least. Finally, after a year sober and tired of feeling discontent I finally walked in. I think I've been going for 3 weeks now, and I can say I find it to be amazing.
Tell someone it is your first meeting, however the meeting leader may actually ask if anyone is new at which point raise your hand and just say your name. It's all you have to do to get the ball rolling. Expect to be welcomed, given phone numbers of people to call when you are struggling, and expect to be completely relieved to be in the company of your "own kind"!
If you are like me you may talk yourself out of it by Thursday. My advice is put in your head you are going, and just go!
Be well!
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 27
Originally Posted by Dharma33
Hi,
I've been wanting to try a meeting for 2 years at least. Finally, after a year sober and tired of feeling discontent I finally walked in. I think I've been going for 3 weeks now, and I can say I find it to be amazing.
Tell someone it is your first meeting, however the meeting leader may actually ask if anyone is new at which point raise your hand and just say your name. It's all you have to do to get the ball rolling. Expect to be welcomed, given phone numbers of people to call when you are struggling, and expect to be completely relieved to be in the company of your "own kind"!
If you are like me you may talk yourself out of it by Thursday. My advice is put in your head you are going, and just go! Be well!
I've been wanting to try a meeting for 2 years at least. Finally, after a year sober and tired of feeling discontent I finally walked in. I think I've been going for 3 weeks now, and I can say I find it to be amazing.
Tell someone it is your first meeting, however the meeting leader may actually ask if anyone is new at which point raise your hand and just say your name. It's all you have to do to get the ball rolling. Expect to be welcomed, given phone numbers of people to call when you are struggling, and expect to be completely relieved to be in the company of your "own kind"!
If you are like me you may talk yourself out of it by Thursday. My advice is put in your head you are going, and just go!
Be well!Member
Join Date: Mar 2015
Posts: 259
No need to be scared. Everyone is there for the same reason. Meetings do differ so don't give up if the first couple don't do it for you. If you find a good meeting ask others there about what meetings they go to. I had people tell me about a bunch of good ones.
Lilly
Lilly
Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jun 2016
Posts: 27
Originally Posted by LostLilly
No need to be scared. Everyone is there for the same reason. Meetings do differ so don't give up if the first couple don't do it for you. If you find a good meeting ask others there about what meetings they go to. I had people tell me about a bunch of good ones.
Lilly
Lilly
Thanks for your advice.
Guest
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 8,674
Great advice. Also know that if you are more comfortable just sitting and listening- that is ok, too! There isn't a right or a wrong way to do it and it might take you a little while to get comfortable - it did me. Just keep going back- it is a positive place where help is waiting for you to take it.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Member
Join Date: Jun 2014
Posts: 563
I spent years too afraid to go to a meeting. I finally got to a point where I knew if I didn't get support I would drink again, and if I drank again I would end up dead. So I went to a woman's meeting and was greeted so warmly by so many women. When the leader asks if there is anyone who is at the meeting for the first time, raise your hand and introduce yourself - you will be surrounded by people after the meeting offering you their phone number - and they won't ask for yours in return. AA has helped keep me sober for almost seven months - I highly encourage you to take the leap! You will not regret it 😃
Member
Join Date: Apr 2012
Location: northern michigan. not the U.P.
Posts: 15,281
Originally Posted by northernsoul
Thanks, yeah I'm going to go to one that's a bit out of town tomorrow as it's the only one near me that's on tomorrow. If I leave it till Thursday I will only try and convince myself not to go. I'll let you all know how it went when I get home. I'm genuinely upset, in a good way, at all your kind words (I'm an emotional wreck at present!). Thanks everyone!
2 lines of the big book:
Remember that we deal with alcohol-cunning, baffling,powerful! Without help it is too much for us
Member
Join Date: Jul 2015
Location: UK
Posts: 1,074
Ive written a blog about my first experience of an AA meeting which you may like to read x My first AA meeting. - SoberRecovery : Alcoholism Drug Addiction Help and Information
Best decision I have ever made was going to my first meeting, I wouldn't be without the fellowship now, it has significantly helped changed my life
Best decision I have ever made was going to my first meeting, I wouldn't be without the fellowship now, it has significantly helped changed my life
Member
Join Date: Apr 2014
Location: UK
Posts: 6,902
Glad you're reaching out for the support that's there for you. I've found it has massively changed my life. From the inside anyway. Not immediately. But as I worked the program and got more sober friends.
Try yo arrive 10 mins before the meeting starts. The bell is rung on the dot of when it starts for people to sit down and be quiet, and (as I found out a couple of times) it's pretty nerve-wracking walking in to a group of silent people. Not just at AA. Anywhere.
When you arrive you'll usually be welcomed in as a newcomer. In all likelihood someone will ask if it's your first meeting. They're not trying to catch you out, just checking to see if they should show you the ropes. Hopefully they'll give you a meeting list and a newcomers pack with some useful info in it. AA tends to run on coffee, tea, biscuits and love, so that's what they'll give you before kickoff.
At the start of the meeting the bell will ring and people stop talking. Whoever is being secretary this year will read the preamble, there will be any AA announcements (rarely anything exciting), then How It Works from the Big Book is passed round. People take turns to read a line or two. If you don't feel up to that it's fine to say "pass" and pass it on to the person who is next. They may even just pass it across you to spare YOU the stress of reading aloud if they know it's your first meeting. Kinda depends on the meeting.
What happens next depends on what kind of meeting it is. If you looked it up online, did it have a meeting title, like General Share, or Big Book study, or Daily Reflections, whatever? If so, let us know and we can tell you more what to expect.
The main thing is that you don't need to feel that you have to speak at all if you don't want to. It's good to offer your name so that people can welcome you better. Aside from that you can just sit and listen. Or, if you're like i was, and some others have been, just sit, listen and cry. It was pretty overwhelming to me to relate to so much that I heard. I felt like these people must have been spying on my brain, because they all seemed to know how I thought. Of course, now I know, that's because we're all alcoholics and it's how it affects us. How we think and feel and act. So, it was great, but after a long, long while of thinking no one could ever understand me, and feeling different from everyone in the world, even my family, it felt like coming home. And that has a huge significance for me, as when I was a kid, a teen, and all through my adulthood, I've had this vocal tick, where I'd just say "I want to go home". Sometimes I'd be at home when I said it, so I knew that's not what I meant. But when I heard those people talk like they did, I knew I was home. That tick has gone now. It went when I was working the 12-steps around step 3 I think.
And I think you're doing the right thing going sooner rather than later. I out it off a long time. You can always contact the helpline who will out you in touch with a local AA person so they can meet you outside the meeting and go in together. That often helps people get through the doors. Or, even better, try praying for help to get through the doors of that meeting. You might be surprised how much that can help.
Try yo arrive 10 mins before the meeting starts. The bell is rung on the dot of when it starts for people to sit down and be quiet, and (as I found out a couple of times) it's pretty nerve-wracking walking in to a group of silent people. Not just at AA. Anywhere.
When you arrive you'll usually be welcomed in as a newcomer. In all likelihood someone will ask if it's your first meeting. They're not trying to catch you out, just checking to see if they should show you the ropes. Hopefully they'll give you a meeting list and a newcomers pack with some useful info in it. AA tends to run on coffee, tea, biscuits and love, so that's what they'll give you before kickoff.
At the start of the meeting the bell will ring and people stop talking. Whoever is being secretary this year will read the preamble, there will be any AA announcements (rarely anything exciting), then How It Works from the Big Book is passed round. People take turns to read a line or two. If you don't feel up to that it's fine to say "pass" and pass it on to the person who is next. They may even just pass it across you to spare YOU the stress of reading aloud if they know it's your first meeting. Kinda depends on the meeting.
What happens next depends on what kind of meeting it is. If you looked it up online, did it have a meeting title, like General Share, or Big Book study, or Daily Reflections, whatever? If so, let us know and we can tell you more what to expect.
The main thing is that you don't need to feel that you have to speak at all if you don't want to. It's good to offer your name so that people can welcome you better. Aside from that you can just sit and listen. Or, if you're like i was, and some others have been, just sit, listen and cry. It was pretty overwhelming to me to relate to so much that I heard. I felt like these people must have been spying on my brain, because they all seemed to know how I thought. Of course, now I know, that's because we're all alcoholics and it's how it affects us. How we think and feel and act. So, it was great, but after a long, long while of thinking no one could ever understand me, and feeling different from everyone in the world, even my family, it felt like coming home. And that has a huge significance for me, as when I was a kid, a teen, and all through my adulthood, I've had this vocal tick, where I'd just say "I want to go home". Sometimes I'd be at home when I said it, so I knew that's not what I meant. But when I heard those people talk like they did, I knew I was home. That tick has gone now. It went when I was working the 12-steps around step 3 I think.
And I think you're doing the right thing going sooner rather than later. I out it off a long time. You can always contact the helpline who will out you in touch with a local AA person so they can meet you outside the meeting and go in together. That often helps people get through the doors. Or, even better, try praying for help to get through the doors of that meeting. You might be surprised how much that can help.
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