If you find yourself having the urge to drink constantly, you might want to consider joining an AA meeting to help cure your alcohol addiction. The road to recovery from substance abuse is long, and people often try various approaches to overcome their addiction. The battle against substance abuse does not have to be faced alone. With the help of family and friends, people can find their strength. Because addiction is an illness, most people go through rehabilitation and treatment programs. There are support groups to help you navigate the many steps to begin living a sober life.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a group of people who get together to share their stories, strength, and hope to solve their shared problem and help others recover from alcoholism. Only a desire to stop drinking is required to become a community member. AA membership has no dues or fees; we support ourselves through our own contributions. Our primary goal is to assist alcoholics in achieving sobriety.
Alcohol is a depressant that can also give temporary happiness but after that, there is a sudden crash after a lot of alcohol intake. You start feeling down and it eventually makes you feel depressed. Also, your self control may slowly disappear each day and can cause problems in your relationships.
The question now is if you are ready to join and attend an AA meeting to help you stay on the path of sobriety. The following are 7 things that you might need to consider if you plan on attending AA meetings:
- You crave alcohol a lot
There are moments when you are so desperate for a drink that you can’t think of anything else until you get one. People, places, things, or times of day that remind you of drinking can trigger that overwhelming need or want. Attending AA meetings help you forget alcohol cravings and instead allows you with your struggles through sharing the same or similar experiences with other people.
- Spending a lot of time on drinking
Drinking during occasions is normal as it helps you bond with other people by opening up to other people. However, drinking more than usual typically means that you are addicted. Joining AA meetings usually make you forget about these things and help you stay sober.
- Giving up on other activities
Alcohol can be fun at times, but as you start getting more and more addicted, it becomes harder to stop, and you start losing interest in doing activities other than drinking. Spending your free time drinking may cause more harm than good. You begin to lose out on the things that could’ve helped you get closer with your friends and family.
- Occasionally having withdrawals
You may experience difficulty sleeping, shakiness, irritability, anxiety, depression, restlessness, nausea, or sweating as the effects of alcohol wear off. Alcohol alters the chemistry of your brain, and when you drink heavily for a long time, your brain tries to adjust. When you stop drinking suddenly, your brain needs to re-adjust, resulting in withdrawal symptoms and feeling discomfort until you drink again.
- Wanting to stop but can’t
Maybe you’ve been concerned enough that you’ve already tried to cut down on your drinking and failed to do so. Alcohol hides unhappy emotions, so those feelings may come back after you quit drinking, making it harder to stick to your goal. Facing it alone only makes it more challenging. Planning to join AA meetings help in making sure that your addiction is taken care of.
- Missing days of work or school
Always having the urge to drink is unhealthy in its own way, but when you start missing out on things that matter, it starts to become an even bigger problem. Alcohol addiction not only harms oneself but also affects those around you. Even family and friends encounter problems when one member starts suffering from addiction. Attending AA meetings require quite a bit of patience, but the reward is well worth it.
- Having problems with your family because of your habit
Alcoholics tend to only think of drinking and refuse to do other things. Self-control is often lost, and your relationships suffer as a result. Staying sober helps you appreciate the better things in life, not constantly thinking about drinking and alcohol. With the help of AA meetings, you can achieve sobriety a lot faster while also having the support of peers who share similar experiences with you.
AA Meetings is here to help
The signs of alcohol addiction are hard to see at first but don’t hesitate to ask for help once you realize this. You don’t have to face your problems alone. Instead, you can join an AA meeting and meet people that are willing and ready to help you with your struggle, as well as share experiences with one another. Finding the right AA meeting for you is easy because you can choose the day, time, and length of your meeting. Feel free to give AA meetings a shot to help you start living your life at its best. Always remember that there are people that care for you and want you to succeed; you’re not alone. Try attending an AA meeting today!