Kaily

Please can you tell how these differ from other meetings. I am planning on going to one this evening.
Thanks.

Coldfusion

Hi Kaily!

You are very lucky to live where there are newcomer meetings! But any AA meeting is wonderful. Where I live, if there are newcomers at a meeting, we discuss Step One, which addresses the problems alcohol causes and our inability to fix those problems.

Soberwolf

It's a meeting designed specifically for newcomers Kaily it will be a welcoming environment my first meeting went better than I ever could have hoped I phoned beforehand and the guy who took me to my first meeting became my sponsor who i'm still in regular contact with today & basically the reason I'm called soiberwolf as it was him who gave me the two wolves story

Kaily

I have been to a few other meetings but sometimes feel pretty mystified and I go on my own. How to get a sponsor seems like some sort of secret society!

Coldfusion

Every meeting is different. If you don't feel comfortable at one, try another! NA meetings are good too, and a big city such as London probably has other groups also.

Delizadee

You can ask the person who chaired the meeting to give you some suggestions if you're feeling mystified. Or you can ask anyone you feel drawn to or whomever's talk resonated with you during the meeting. You can also change sponsors if one isn't working put for you.
No science or policy behind it, just stick with someone whom you feel is a good mentor in sobriety.
Mine was foisted upon me by the chairperson at the first meeting I went to in town. I love my sponsor.

Good luck, hope you enjoy it.

Berrybean

Once you get to know people enough to know if someone has the kind of sobriety that you'd like for yourself, go ahead and ask them. I remember it being a very scary to thing to do, but over in minutes. I just said something along the lines of "I would like to get a sponsor and start working the steps. Would you consider being my sponsor? " As it happened, she agreed to it. If she had said no and given a reason, I'd have asked if she knew who was willing to take on sponsees at the moment.

Hope you enjoy your newcomers meeting. Have fun.

Fly N Buy

Good question and good for you on going. How was it???

Our group facilitates a weekly newcomers meeting focusing on steps 1 -3 mostly. While sharing in any meeting where I live is up to the individual, all newcomers are greatly encouraged to talk at length in the newcomers meeting. It is a smaller group with other members understanding these are beginners and don't overwhelm them.

What I heard at first was don't drink and keep coming back. I did both of those things and still do. If I don't drink today and do the things necessary to stay sober - today I stand a chance. I'll address tomorrow in the future, if it comes.......

bandit112

My first AA meeting was not a newcomers meeting but once I was there and introduced myself they tossed whatever they planned on discussing out the window and had a step 1 meeting/discussion.