Question and Answer: AA or not to AA?

Another in the series of “You Asked and We’re answering.”

The question we get quite a bit from clients and family members is this - Do I have to go to Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings to get sober?

Here’s your answer – No, you don’t have to go.  Every year people stop using alcohol or drugs on their own without going to AA meetings.  I’m not talking about problem drinkers or people that abuse alcohol.  I’m talking about alcohol dependent people, alcoholics.  People also stop smoking every year without formal treatment like a patch or gum.  And by the way, obese people every year lose weight without having FedEx drop off food every week.

WAIT, quick follow-up question – “Should I go to AA meetings?”

That answer is absolutely.  Every year people are able to finally stop using drugs and alcohol with the help of meetings like AA.  And every year people try to lose weight and aren’t able to do it without getting someone to help.  They go to great programs that help them finally lose weight (Places like the Cooper Clinic Wellness Program in Dallas).  And by the way, quite a bit of very good research on addictions and recovery the past decade tells us that people that include a 12-step meeting like AA in their recovery have better outcomes.

Be wild and reckless in your recovery, try the things that have helped others even when you don’t want to.  Odds are being wild and reckless is something you do well if you are addicted to drugs and alcohol.   Apply that same planning and obsessiveness to getting your life back.  Hang out with people that have done what you are trying to do.