Helping people addicted to alcohol

• Alcoholics Anonymous...

Alcoholics Anonymous overview Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal periods of sobriety, even when they knew that society of more than two million recovering they would then develop overwhelming alcoholics in the United States, Canada, and cravings. In addition, Silkworth theorized other countries. Alcoholics Anonymous is also that alcoholism was akin to an allergy, in the name of the book used by its members to the sense that it produced abnormal reactions recover from alcoholism. AA members meet in to alcohol that were not observed in local groups that range in size from a nonalcoholic drinkers. He called it a handful to many hundreds in larger "phenomenon of craving"; with the first drink communities. Although AA has a central the alcoholic finds, it virtually impossible communication office, each group is to stop. The "obsession" was the desire to essentially autonomous. The stated primary start drinking, and the "allergy" was the purpose of an AA group is to "carry its compulsion to continue. His theory explained message to the alcoholic who still suffers." the enormous recidivism rate of alcoholics. AA was the first 12-step program and has been Silkworth was also familiar with the writings the model for similar recovery groups such as and  theories  of  Jung  and  James. Al-Anon/Alateen, Gamblers Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Sexaholics Anonymous, The  possibility  of  spiritual  healing and Overeaters Anonymous. Al-Anon and Alateen are companion programs designed to provide Wilson heard that some alcoholics were support for relatives and friends of recovering on a spiritual basis. During alcoholics. Wilson's hospitalization at Towns Hospital, Silkworth informed Wilson that he could be AA teaches that an alcoholic, in order to healed by the Great Physician, which meant recover, should abstain completely from Jesus Christ. This is advice Silkworth gave alcohol on a daily basis; the society in turn to other patients, such as Norman Vincent offers a community of recovering people who Peale, whom recounted this story about help each other and work the Twelve Steps Charles in The Positive Power of Jesus together. Christ. This approach was used by one of Wilson's old drinking buddies, Ebby Thacher, AA  History to stop drinking. Thacher had learned about the spiritual approach from Rowland Hazard, Pre-AA  understanding  of  alcoholism an American business executive and alcoholic who had undergone treatment with Jung. After Until 1934, alcoholics not having the a prolonged and unsuccessful period of financial means to hire a psychiatrist or therapy, Jung told Rowland that his case, admit themselves to a private sanitarium like that of most alcoholics, was nearly could find help only through state hospitals, hopeless. Rowland was horrified and begged jails, rescue missions, the Salvation Army, Jung to tell him anything that might help. religious evangelists, or street ministries. Jung replied there was only one hope: a The founding of Alcoholics Anonymous marked genuine spiritual conversion. History, he the first approach to supporting the said, had recorded examples of recovery from sustained recovery of alcoholics, regardless alcoholism that appeared solely attributable of their financial standing. Additionally, it to the spiritual conversion of the alcoholic. was the first approach to combine the faith He told Rowland to seek out a conversion in a of religious people, the knowledge of medical religious  atmosphere. people, and the experience-sharing capabilities of alcoholics who knew how to AA's  origins:  The  Oxford  Group get  well. Upon returning to America, Rowland Hazard AA was initiated by Bill Wilson, a Wall became a member of the Oxford Group[8] and Street stock speculator, and Dr. Bob Smith, a mastered their life-changing techniques to surgeon from Akron, Ohio, both alcoholics. In overcome alcoholism. The group was a AA circles, the former is known as "Bill W." self-styled first-century Christian movement and the latter, "Dr. Bob". The two met on May founded by Frank Buchman, a Protestant 12, 1935. Wilson had been sober for five evangelist, circa 1919. It advocated finding months when he met Smith, although he had God through a surrender to Him, moral struggled with sobriety for years. During inventory, confession of defects, elimination Wilson's struggles, he had made several of sin, restitution, reliance upon God, and important discoveries about his own helping others. It appeared from the alcoholism. successes of several alcoholics in the Oxford Group that a conversion experience (which Wilson had been influenced by the opinions of they chose to call a spiritual experience, Swiss psychiatrist Carl G. Jung, who believed and later a "change") would relieve that alcoholism could be cured by a genuine alcoholics of the mental obsession that kept conversion, and William James, a Harvard sending them back to alcohol after periods of philosophy and psychology professor who sobriety. Wilson later credited AA's ideas of believed that recovery by conversion had been self-examination, acknowledgment of character sporadically taking place for centuries in defects, restitution for harm done, and churches, rescue missions, and the Salvation working with others, to the teachings of Army.[4] William Duncan Silkworth, a New York Wilson's friend, Rev. Samuel Moor Shoemaker doctor, told Wilson that alcoholism was not a and the Oxford Group.[9] Later, in an article moral weakness. Silkworth told Wilson that published in AA's Grapevine, Wilson said that alcoholics had a mental obsession that gave every idea in Steps Three through Twelve came them reasons to return to alcohol after directly from Shoemaker's teaching 1 A B C D 62 63 65 66 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 83 87 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 105 106