AA meeting and addicts

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Specializes in Na.

Maybe I am still overly sensitive but I attended a new AA meeting and left feeling offended. Actually, I don't know if offended is the right word, however I did not feel good about the meeting or myself. Here's what happened. It was a small meeting, everyone had to go around and say their name... Hi, I'm Susie and I'm an alcoholic etc. except of course I had to say "Hi, I'm Sally and I'm an addict. Well, after the meeting several people came up to me and wanted to know and I am quoting here " So, what kind of DOPE do you do ?". DOPE, really???. When I stated I had been addicted to Norco, all I got was a look of confusion or something.

I don't ask alcoholics. "So what kind of boose do you drink? Wine, Jack Daniels?" I don't understand this sort of AA snobbery about alcoholics versus addicts.

Anyway, just thought I would throw it out there. For some reason this really bothered me. I am only six months into this and maybe I am being overly sensitive but I am finding this kind of undercurrent at some of these 12 step programs.

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

its the principles, not the politics.........unfortunately some are like that, they are people :roflmao:.......please try to stay open minded, i learned a lot, and gained a lot of mature recovery in AA, and i am an addict.......

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I too attend AA, tried NA and it was just too much for me. My DOC was Oxycodone... And I found it hard to sit with all these young kids in NA who were not serious at all. So I tried AA and found that it is a much older crowd, not that I'm that old...but they were serious! I have been asked what did I use, but nobody called it "dope". Just keep your head up and it will get easier.

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Its hard to go from a place where in NA you can be an alcoholic or an addict and identify your self as such, to in AA you're an alcoholic. I never drank but according to the AA members I had to identify myself as an alcoholic in order to attend. I fought with that and haven't attended another AA meting since. I couldn't understand how I could be told I had to lie in a program that was teaching me about being honest. Don't shut AA down though. Some people are there for all the wrong reasons - socialization etc., and some people are there because they want to recover and help others do the same. Just know that no matter what organization you attend, you're there for you...not them. Get whatever you can out of a meeting and put it to them like this----"I don't discuss my war stories" . Remember the NA dilemma-

In Narcotics Anonymous, we are presented with a dilemma. When NA members identify

themselves as "addicts and alcoholics," "cross-addicted," or talk about living

"clean and sober," the clarity of the

NA message is blurred.

To speak in this manner suggests that there

are two diseases; that one drug is separate from the rest. Narcotics

Anonymous makes no distinction between drugs. Our identification as

addicts is all-inclusive, allowing us to concentrate on our

similarities, not our differences.

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It depends greatly on the meeting and group of people. In my AA home group there are several cross addicted people and identify themselves as such. I had a difficult time with the "alcoholic" term too because I didn't see myself as having a problem with alcohol. However, I have come to realize it it ANY CHEMICAL SUBSTANCE I put into my body that alters my ability to deal with life on life's terms. Once I was real honest with myself I realized my relationship with alcohol through out my life was one of potential abuse. Alcohol did not get me into trouble, but now that my DOC has been taken away I was leaning more on alcohol! Dot get caught up in the word "alcoholic"; everyone is there because we have a disease of addiction. Your DOC may be different, but the feelings are te same.

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Specializes in critical care, ER,ICU, CVSURG, CCU.

well said "blessed" ;) very well said, thank you

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Specializes in Many areas, currently adult psych.

Couldn't agree more "blessed." So very true.

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Specializes in Na.

I think maybe I was not clear on my experience in some of the AA meetings. I have no problem with the terminology and I understand about cross addictions etc. What I was trying to convey is that I feel that some AA groups treat addicts like they are worse. Obviously, I need to forget those meetings and find ones that recognize that chemical dependency is just that chemical dependency, be it alcoholism, drug addiction or both. Asking me what kind of "Dope" I do at meetings felt derogatory.

Again, I am new to this and learning and I believe in the program, I was just wondering if anyone else had experienced this.

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That is so frustrating to hear. I've been lucky and have not encountered people who were rude or crass about my drug use. I make it a point to attend only open meetings of AA, and I have never been told I had to identify as an alcoholic. In fact, I think that might be against the AA rules. The only requirement to be a member of AA to have a desire to stop drinking. (I have never had an issue with drinking and I've never identified as an alcoholic.) I always say right up front that I'm an addict. When I must talk and explain I find it easier to simply say I was addicted to prescription pain meds and it's technically true. No one has ever given me a hard time about it, especially since many others are addicted to both drugs and alcohol. One woman I know who was a heroin addict claims that she is not an alcoholic, but she prefers to stay clean and sober.

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Specializes in ER, TRAUMA, MED-SURG.

Some people can definetly be harsh when we say we're addicts. One meeting I attended that was "AA" I was actually put out - told me to get out- and they said "my kind" wasnt welcome there. "My kind" being a drug addict. I was freaked out!

Anne, RNC

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I've been to some AA meetings where they were very finicky about addict vs. alcoholic. I always identified as an alcoholic because I did have a drinking problem, although I am definitely NOT an alcoholic, but this was the only way I could blend in and "do my time" without making waves in the group. I definitely felt weird talking about prescription drug abuse--the vibe in some groups felt very "Oh look, here's Miss Priss with her hoity-toity pill problem." I finally found one group that was comprised of more high-functioning alcoholics who had some cross-addictions and could relate to them a bit more than the initial group I started going to (which was mostly just because it was huge and I could get off the hook on sharing). The camaraderie of being around other people with addictions was nice. The 12 Step methodology itself I despised. I found myself extremely stressed out about having to go to AA instead of looking forward to it or feeling I was getting any benefit from it. After a year of complaining to my case-manager about hating the 12 steps and sponsorship and feeling forced into religious participation under the guise of "spirituality," I was allowed to participate solely in SMART Recovery instead. I can honestly say SMART and the techniques I have learned therein have really been the life-changer that I needed. I know lots of people who love AA and I can't say I didn't get anything out of it, but I wish 12 Steppers would realize it isn't a panacea and it isn't for everyone.

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IMO they never should have asked you that. Try a different group of people!!

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