Discussion Board 4.2
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Liberty University *
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691
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Jan 9, 2024
Type
docx
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Uploaded by ElderTeamSeahorse30
On Thursday November 30
th
, 2023 at 8:00 pm EST I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous
online meeting hosted by “The Road to Happy Destiny.” This group hosts meetings every two
hours from 6:00 am until midnight 7 days a week. There is a new chairperson ever two hours,
however a few of the chair-people lead two to three meetings a day each. This person is in charge
of starting off each meeting, posting important information for the attendees, and also taking the
attendance for anyone who is mandated to be there by the judicial system.
Once everyone was settled in, the host began with the AA Preamble, Serenity Prayer, and
a moment of silence. Once that was concluded, the host asked if anyone had an anniversary.
Even though these members did not receive a physical chit from the host, taking the time to
recognize these milestones was important to the rest of the group, especially newcomers, as it
lets them see that progress is possible. After anniversaries were recognized, the host opened the
floor to any specific prayer requests or readings as this was a multi religious open meeting.
I was impressed with how openly religious this meeting was due to the fact that it was not
centered around one religion. One member said a prayer in Hebrew, another in Polish, and
another in Hindu. However, it was not the difference in language that I found so interesting and
inspirational, it was the level of enthusiasm and support from the other members during this
time, regardless of if they spoke that language or worshiped that same deity. I think this one part,
especially at the beginning of a meeting is what really galvanized the togetherness and set the
tone for the rest of the meeting.
Just as these members finished sharing prayers that were important to them, they began
sharing stories. It was in this moment you could really see that their stories and shared
experiences are what gives AA and meetings like this their strength. “The common suffering
experienced by AA members is thought to provide a sense of belonging that can help reduce
loneliness, guilt, and shame while instilling hope for the future” (Kelly et al., 2020). Even more
so, it demonstrated the common need for support when most of these members are used to the
opposite.
Once everyone finished stories and exchanging banter, the question of religion was
brought up by a new member. This member was concerned because they were Atheist, but most
12-step programs preach of a “greater power” and that the addict has to have this greater power
with them if they are going to beat addiction. So, she was concerned she would fail because she
did not believe in a higher power. Meaning, This concept of “spiritual hope” is demonstrated by
the idea that something higher or larger than the individual exists, and that this “power greater
than the alcoholic could restore his or her sanity” (Wnuk, 2022, p. 72).
The host replied by saying something along the lines of, “your higher power can be
anything. It can be a friend that won’t leave your side, it could be a member of this group that is
always there for you, etc.. The whole point of the “higher power” is that yes, you can’t go
through addiction alone, we all need help, and for some of our members, that “higher power”
that keeps them from reaching for the bottle is simply knowing they have another meeting
available every two hours.” Hearing this really brought home the point of support and
togetherness in these AA groups, that you do not need to try and beat addiction alone.
REFERENCES
Kelly, J. F., Abry, A., Ferri, M., & Humphreys, K. (2020). Alcoholics Anonymous and 12-
step facilitation treatments for alcohol use disorder: A distillation of a 2020 Cochrane
review for clinicians and policymakers.
Alcohol and Alcoholism, 55
(6), 641-
651. https://doi.org/10.1093/alcalc/agaa050
Wnuk, M. (2022). The beneficial role of involvement in alcoholics anonymous for
existential and subjective well-being of alcohol-dependent individuals: The model
verification.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 19
(9),
51-73. https://www.doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19095173
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