First Meeting tonight
 

Hi guys,
just checking in. Ive decided I have to give AA a go & going along to my first meeting tonight! Feeling a little apprehensive about it as I've heard so much about it, both good and not so.
Am I doing the right thing choosing an open meeting & taking my other half along? I have no idea what to expect so Im taking him for a bit of support & he's more than happy to help any way he can.
We had intended to go to a meeting this lunchtime but, because we decided to grab a coffee on the way over and traffic was a nightmare, we arrived 5 mins late & didn't think I should wander in late.
Glad Ive found one to go to tonight tho, before I lose the bottle to do it. Not easy getting through that door for the first time.
Now an afternoon of baking ahead & then looking up new cheesecake ideas for work

One long-time AA member told me that the only meeting she was ever "late" for was her first one. :)

I don't think she meant by five minutes, though.

Your husband is welcome at Open meetings. The first meeting I went to was women only.

My husband went to my first meeting with me as well. I walked out of my first meeting with a million different feelings. I was not expecting for most of my group to be there by court order. At first felt like they should not be there, "they need their own group" I'm not here because I HAVE to be but because I WANT to be. It took me a few days to process the whole meeting and what I finally realized was that it wasn't the people I was upset, it was the fact that I needed the meeting in the first place. Keep an open mind and heart while there. I have found the meetings very helpful to myself and they keep me on point. My husband no longer goes in to the meetings with me but he does drive me. I've come to love my little misfit group and plan on finding a women's group this week.
Hope this puts your nerves at ease. I was sooo nervous about my fist meeting.

I have never been to an AA meeting. So I have no advice to offer.

But I do have this: I have always wanted to have the courage to go to AA. I think it would strengthen my resolve to stay sober long-term. But, I have been too chicken to go. So, kudos to you for having the courage to attend tonight. I hope you let us know how it goes. Maybe your experience will further inspire people like me to be as brave as you are.

Good luck.

Good news you are going to a meeting.

Hope you get something from it,perfectly OK to take your husband with you the first time

We don't have court ordered people in the meetings in the UK,so nothing to worry about there.

I am sure you will come out of the meeting feeling better than when you went in.

Wishing you well.

AA saved and contines my life 1000+ meetings and I will be going tonight. Alcoholism is an equal opportunity offender so you will find a cross section of society but we all fight the same battle.

I posted this a few days ago and you might find it useful
http://www.soberrecovery.com/forums/...ml#post5374427

Thanks guys :-)
Feeling slightly better about going, I think.
Firstymer, I have chickened out more times than I can remember. I've never been drink free for more than 3 weeks in the last 6 or 7 years so I know I need to do everything I can to help me. I'll be back to let you know how it went.
Thank you Heath :-)
Mysunshine, I used to go to another Womens' Group, not AA, but they did little to discuss the problems we had or how they coped as a lot of them had been sober for many years. We tended to talk about holidays, shopping & what was on TV last night. It was no help to me at all other than get me out of the house once a week.
There is a Women only group near me which I really should give a go. Lets see how tonight goes first xx

Good deal!

Listen for the similarities that you have with what people share and not the differences.

I wasn't comfortable anticipating my first AA meeting, few AA members if any have been, especially due to the hearsay.

Commonality among attendees is one of the cornerstones that can lead to recovery. Attendance at meetings, even meetings I didn't like, affirmed my desire to recover. BUT, AA meetings are not the suggested program of recovery, the 12 Steps is. There are AA meetings I attended that study the 12 Steps called Step Studies or Book Studies.

I was going to ask tonight what the difference in all the meetings are. They all have different titles. I have seen a good few meetings that are called 'The Big Book' , No 3, Back to Basics & a few more.
I guess the first leap is to finally attend ANY meeting :-)

Thats me on my way out the door now. Doesn't start until 8pm, only takes 20 mins to get there but I hate walking into a room already full of people.
I'm still trying to think of an excuse not to go tho!
Will report back :-)
xx

How did it go??

I hope things went well! That's awesome you have several meetings to choose from. They will all be a little different. I would suggest trying each one that you can. They will not only vary by name but can vary by the crowd that attends. I meeting hopped a lot in early sobriety and there were a couple that I ended up being very comfortable in. Now those two are my mainstays. But as was mentioned above, the steps are the key.

Best wishes. (oh yeah, it's also awesome that you have your significant others support!)

Really once you get past the guys in hooded robes at the door and the secret hand shakes it's pretty straight forward!

I too was hesitant for a long time. Then It dawned on me - I would venture in to about any place that served booze when I wanted a drink. No regard whatsoever of feeling out of place cause I knew it was full of drunks.

Then I sucked it up and went to AA. I ventured in to a place full of drunks serving coffee sans booze. Some of the most terrific people I know at this point.

We'll keep the light on for ya :)

Well it was great!
Everyone was so friendly & welcoming and happy!
One of the women is going along with me to the woman's group tomorrow evening.
I'm pleased I went & look forward to trying out other meetings in the coming weeks. xx

^ awesome pudsyh :)
D

All that wasted worry. :c033: 9 times out of 10 people are pleased with their experience and find there was no reason for fear. There's just a lot of folks there who have this same problem and are trying to help each other. Thanks for letting us know!

pudsyh - so glad you went!! There is a one day convention in Fife on Saturday - 10am until about 4 / 4.30pm at the Adam Smith in Kirkcaldy that you would be most welcome to attend :)

Message me if you want any more info re this.

Good to hear it was such a positive meeting pudsyh! :) You have a great attitude and that helps.

Glad it went well pudsyh.Welcome to the fellowship.