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Courage Al-Anon Family Group |
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Jonesboro, Arkansas |
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Frequently Asked Questions |
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What is the Purpose of Al-Anon? Who Are the Members of Al-Anon/Alateen? Will Anyone Say I've Been There? Is This a Religious Fellowship? How Do Alcoholics Affect Families and Friends? Are Children in the Family also Affected by Alcoholism? Will Al-Anon Show Me How to Stop the Drinking of My Loved One?
How do I find a meeting? This website maintains a complete list of meetings in our area. You are invited and encouraged to attend any of them. Click here for meetings times and locations.
What is Al-Anon? The Al-Anon Family Groups, which include Alateen, are a fellowship of relatives and friends of alcoholics who share their experience, strength, and hope in order to solve their common problems. We believe alcoholism is a family illness and that changed attitudes can aid recovery.
What is Alateen? Alateen, a part of Al-Anon, is for teenagers whose lives have been or are being affected by the drinking of a parent or close relative.
What is the Purpose of Al-Anon? Al-Anon has but one purpose: to help families and friends of alcoholics. Al-Anon is non-professional. We do not counsel or advise our members nor do we endorse or affiliate with other agencies or organizations.
How Will Al-Anon Help Me? Many who come to Al-Anon/Alateen are in despair, feeling hopeless, unable to believe that things can ever change. We want our lives to be different, but nothing we have done has brought about change. We all come to Al-Anon because we want and need help. In Al-Anon and Alateen, members share their own experience, strength, and hope with each other. You will meet others who share your feelings and frustrations, if not your exact situation. We come together to learn a better way of life and to find happiness whether the alcoholic is still drinking or not.
Who Are the Members of Al-Anon/Alateen? Al-Anon and Alateen members are people just like you and me - people who have been affected by someone else's drinking. We are parents, children, spouses, partners, brothers, sisters, other family members, friends, employers, employees, and coworkers of alcoholics. No matter what our specific experience has been, we share a common bond: our lives have been affected by someone else's drinking.
Must I Speak At Meetings? It is your choice to speak or not during the meetings. Newcomers are welcomed to meetings, usually provided with literature and a local meeting list, and invited to listen and learn. Some groups offer beginners' meetings specifically for newcomers. Members are available to answer questions before or after the meetings.
Will Anyone Say I've Been There? One of the Al-Anon program's basic principles is that of anonymity. Meetings are confidential, and we do not disclose whom we see or what we hear at meetings to anyone.
What is the Cost? Neither Al-Anon nor Alateen charge dues or fees. Most groups pass a basket for voluntary contributions. The Al-Anon Family Groups are self-supporting through voluntary contributions. Whether you can contribute or not, you are welcome to attend Al-Anon/Alateen meetings.
Is This a Religious Fellowship? The Al-Anon Family Groups are a spiritual fellowship, not a religious one. We avoid discussion of specific religious tenets and doctrines, and members of all faiths (or of none) are welcome. Our Twelve Steps ask us to find a "Power greater than ourselves" who can help us solve our problems and find serenity. Each member is free to define that power in his or her own way.
What is Alcoholism? Alcoholism is widely recognized as a disease of compulsive drinking which can be arrested but not cured. It is a progressive illness that will continue to worsen as long as the alcoholic continues to drink. Total abstinence from drinking is the only way to arrest the disease. Alcoholism affects the entire family. Indeed, everyone who has contact with the alcoholic is affected. Unfortunately, the only person who can stop the alcoholic from drinking is the alcoholic himself.
Who are Alcoholics? They could be anyone, from all backgrounds and walks of life. Over 95 percent of alcoholics have families, friends, and jobs. They may function fairly well, but some part of their life is suffering. Their drinking causes a continuing and growing problem in their lives, and the lives they touch.
How Do Alcoholics Affect Families and Friends? Alcoholism is a family disease. The disease affects all those who have a relationship with a problem drinker. Those of us closest to alcoholics suffer the most, and those who care the most can easily get caught up in the behavior of alcoholics. We react to their behavior. We focus on them, what they do, where they are, how much they drink. We try to control their drinking for them. We take on the blame, guilt, and shame that really belongs to them. We can become as addicted to the alcoholic, as the alcoholic is to alcohol. We, too, can become ill.
Are Children in the Family also Affected by Alcoholism? Yes. Many children are profoundly affected. They experience many of the same feelings that adults do including a sense of loss, confusion and guilt. Alateen is a program for our younger members. In Alateen, young people meet to exchange experiences and to gain an understanding of themselves and the alcoholic. This helps their own personal development and can help stabilize troubled thinking resulting from close association with an alcoholic.
Will Al-Anon Show Me How to Stop the Drinking of My Loved One? Alcoholics will stop drinking only when they want to. We did not make them an alcoholic, and we cannot "unmake" their alcoholism. We have learned that changed family attitudes can lead drinkers to seek help sooner than they otherwise might. It is also true that alcoholics will frequently continue to drink as long as others continue to remove from them all the painful consequences that arise from their drinking.
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Copyright © 2011 Courage Al-Anon Family Group |
