Field Study At Alcoholics Anonymous Essay - 1065 Words

Field Study At Alcoholics Anonymous On Wednesday March 15 and 22 I attended meetings of the Serentiy Group, a local meeting group of Alcoholics Anonymous that were held at the Congregational Church in East Bridgewater. The meetings started around 8:00 pm and went until each member was given the opportunity to speak, or to share their feelings in some way. There was a total of 15 people present, including myself and my companion. The group was primarily made up of males, there was one female aside from my companion and I. The age of the group members was pretty much middle age (late 30s to 50s). Before attending the meeting I was very apprehensive about going, for many reasons. The main one was that I did not know†¦show more content†¦Once I met these people and began conversing with them I knew I was wrong. I think that I felt this way because of the negative stereotypes that are attached to being a drunk, and not what the positive effects of a group such as Alcoholics Anonymous could be. In this small group of individuals I found somewhat of a family structure. These people cared not only about themselves, but each other as well. They all shared their addiction to alcohol, which brought them together. The outlook and attitude of these people was very optimistic. This surprised me considerably because I had expected the meeting to be full of negativity and pessimism. The warm welcome that this group gave me showed me how much that they do care and how willing they are to help others afflicted with alcoholism. The one thing about this group that surprised me the most was how openly they referred to themselves as drunks. I had always thought that it would be an insult or degrading to a recovering alcoholic to call them a drunk. I realized that I was wrong. Being a drunk is what each and everyone of these people is, and in order for them to begin the recovery process they need to first admit to themselves that they are indeed a drunk. One belief that seemed to be held universally among all of the members of the group was that AA has one purpose. That purpose is to help alcoholics deal with their addiction to alcohol. An AA meeting is where you go to discussShow MoreRelatedAlcoholism : A Serious Issue1311 Words   |  6 PagesPeople turn to alcohol to escape and not feel whatever it is that they are going through. Most alcoholics drink because they cannot deal with being sober, and eventually they drink to overcome the severe mental craving for alcohol. Alcoholism destroys families, it affects everyone close to the alcoholic in a negative way, and work/school suffers. Relationships suffer due to alcoholism, and often the alcoholic loses family and friends. 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