luvcaitlin

Just a quick question or advice needed. I live in very small rural county and have been searching for a local Al-anon chapter here and cannot find one. Would attending an AA meeting as a non-alcoholic but as a spouse of an alcoholic be beneficial? I took the test on the sticky notes and though I already know Al-anon will help, out of 20 questions, I answered 16 yes.... Thanks

Tuffgirl

I think it couldn't hurt, but at some point you'll want something more than AA has to offer.

Have you tried searching for online Al-Anon meetings? Speaker tapes? Ordering the materials online for yourself to read?

Yurt

Luvcaitlin,
I don't really have an answer for your specific question, but I can tell you that I found a Facebook based group that has weekly meetings. That might work for you in the short term.
Yurt

honeypig

Here's a link to online Alanon: Al-Anon Chat Meetings -- Online Al-Anon Family Groups Chat Meetings

Look at the upper left of the page and you'll find email, chat and "telephony" (which sounds like Skype minus the video) meetings.

Here is another link for email/chat/telephone meetings [http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/pdf/ENGLISHforWEB.pdf

I tend to believe there's nothing like an in-person meeting when a person is new to the program, but if you have nothing in your area, this may be something useful for you.

luvcaitlin

Thanks for the info! I found stepchat.com. They hold online meetings for AA and Al-anon, There is a meeting at 3:00pm (pst) today and I will be online for it!

dandylion

Way to go, luv.

dandylion

honeypig

luvcaitlin, can I ask for your help? It would be great if you could take a moment later on and tell us how your meeting went--I have not done a phone meeting myself, but another member here did one over the Memorial Day weekend and said it went very well. So, while I of course hope things went well for you and that you've started to establish your support system, I'd also like to have more info for when I'm passing this suggestion on to others in the future. Any feedback you can give would be appreciated.

I hope you're feeling better and clearer now, even if only a teeny bit.

luvcaitlin

Honeypig, the online "live" meeting went good. It took a while for the meeting to actually begin. Basically, the moderator asked for 3 topics to be discussed and picked out of the all the suggestions. I am new to actually getting support for this as a spouse of an alcoholic so wasn't sure what to expect. I had to get off early because my husband is home and would accuse me of chatting with my non-existent boyfriend if he saw me at the computer. I will definitely get with the group again, but I think the way things are going today, I am needing a quick one on one session with someone from the courts and possibly a counselor. Not a good day, but then Sundays are for drinking and not for rest in our household...

wicked

I am sorry for that.
I am so glad you found the online meeting.
After trying one, I am going to another, my phone is not up to par, cheap and the connection was bad.
Enjoyed the meeting even though it did take awhile to read all the steps and traditions and meditations. I am going to try a different one, one with a focus topic.

Beth.