So as I attend more NA meetings the NA beleif that alcohol is a drug too is heavy on my mind. I am torn between my feeling about that idea and my general desire to be successful in my recovery.
Part of my conflict is the idea that if alcohol is something I have to avoid, then would I not benefit from going to AA too? Their belief system of 12 steps is the same. With that foundation then they would be a perfect fit to supplement my NA meetings, right?
Also, there are many more (3x +) AA groups in my area then NA groups. During any given day I only have a few choices for meetings during my available times. I am trying to expand my "available times" but there are some times of the day that will just not be possible. And, based on the distance to the NA meeting from my location it could be over an hour round trip. So going to an NA meeting would mean at least a 2.5 hour commitment (or more if I want to stay and really take advantage of making relationships).
But AA has meetings at almost every corner and many times a day.
Also, I am noticing that some of the same people are floating between NA groups. So my exposure to different people is limited. I was really hoping to meet many different people with many different versions of how the disease impacted them. With all the AA meetings in my area, many running simultaneously, it would be a given that I could meet different people.
But on the flip side I see that AA is somewhat more focused in their offering of help.
I see from their information pamphlets though that while they support members with multiple addictions, they do not focus on the other addictions except through any local special groups that may be formed from the parent AA group.
Also, it is clear that from their pamphlets they do not have the belief that alcohol is a drug the way NA does. Specifically their information pamphlet uses terms like "non-alcoholic addict". Basically they place the "non-alcoholic addict" in the category of open meeting eligability only.
So in short, what I have is:
Pros
Adds focused support for any alcohol problems I have
Offers a greater frequency of meeting opportunity and in turn a larger population of individuals to turn to for support
Based on the 12 steps
Cons
Does directly support multiple addictions
Does not hold the same belief that alcohol is a drug and must be avoided (uses term "non-alcoholic addict")
I do not know someone that had multiple addictions (alcohol + drugs) all equally destroying his life. After rehab he turned to AA and made that his home. Never looked at NA at all. He is 21+ years clean and sober.
An addiction is an addiction, right? Same disease, different outlet? When I go to the AA site and take their "Am I an alcoholic" test, but substitute "drugs" for "alcohol", I score almost 100%. That supporets the idea of my addiction doing exactly what alcohol does, just a different outlet.
Has anyone every gone down the AA path instead of NA or in addititon to NA?
Wow!....i think the acronym KISS applies here. Keep it simple. Personally, I believe that choosing a fellowship is the way to go. But I see your dilemna. You choose NA but AA is much more readily available. I would go to every NA meeting I could, but if I felt that I needed a meeting and AA was the only one available I would go there. I have in fact done that actually. I sit, I listen, I take what I need and leave the rest. Whatever works for you is just fine.
Alcohol has never been the problem for me, although it very easily could have been. Yet I attend AA meetings. I've never even looked for NA in the area I live, because my home group is such a diverse group of addicts and alcoholics. What I've witnessed in other, less open-minded groups, is that while addicts are welcome to attend open meetings, they aren't apparently as welcome to share. This is not the case at my home group. (I don't imagine this situation is unique to West Texas.) I truly believe that the 12-step program, in any form, can work for a multitude of issues. I know a teenage girl who goes to AA for self-mutilation. I would encourage you to go to a meeting when and where you can, when you have the need. In the end, I believe, the journey is the same, the stories are the same, the ES&H is the same, whether it be from a group of junkies, or a group of drunks. My two cents' - for what it's worth
Yes Gary NA is what works best for me, but back in '84 when I surrendered,(after 25 years of oblivion)my first mentor(wont call him sponsor cause we did no work (steps,traditions,etc)was from our Parent fellowship..When he died 3 years later(was 85 when he took me under his wing)I drifted around not working at all.WE ARERESPONSIBLE FOR OUR OWN RECOVERIES!.If I am out of town or there is a step meeting around at AA i'll stop in and maybe partake but I respect the house Im in.I share I am an advocate of the 3rd Tradition and leave it at that.i DONT SHARE ABOUT DRUG USE,BUT MOST MEETINGS i HAVE BEEN TO PEOPLE SHARE AS ANDA'S(addicts and alcoholics) back in 84 you would have been tarred and feathered for that.The times they are a changin,,,,,,I find the 'MAIN" PREMISE ,WHICH IS LARGE IS AA DOESNT BELIEVE THAT 'ADDICTION IS THE DISEASE(THE DISEASE OF ADDICTION")they believe that addiction is the symptom of Alcoholism.We in NA focus on the "disease of addiction " taking the focus off of any specific drug..RESPECT THE HOUSE YOUR IN,take what you can use,(leave the rest until you may be able to use it)don't let the contoversies scare you out of any of the process.There are many roads to recovery...We have debated clarity statement saying share in NA language yet out 11th tradition tells us to share freely in your own colorful words,we say its an outside opinion and our 10th tradition tells us we are free to share anything that affects our recoveries(there are guidelines)we just disucssed Gender Bias(thanks Raman) how it could have been looked at (God as we understand God(not Him) and many more controversies.IF IT AINT SPIRITUAL ,IT AINT PRACTICAL...wAY TO KEEP SHOWING UP,SHARING WHATS ON YOUR MIND.If we are here for help and we dont say whats on our mind then how can we get help??? Good job Gary ,keep comin back okay...peace.
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Our purpose is to remain clean,just for today,and to carry the message of recovery.
I'm a one-disease-one-program kind of gal. If I can't find an NA meeting, I get my addict pals together and have a meeting. Or drive to another town with a meeting. Or pick up the phone and call my sponsor.
I've been to a handful of AA meetings in my (short) 4 years in recovery. I never really felt the same connection at an AA meeting as I did in NA. Don't get me wrong, I have beaucoup respect for the AA fellowship. It's just not for me.
Here's why:
My main drugs of choice were alcohol & pot. When I went to treatment, I considered myself an addict. While I was there, I was told to call myself an "addict-alcoholic" because it best describes my "afflictions." I never felt quite right about it, as it says in the BT that alcohol was a drug... I thought it was redundant. When I left treatment and started attending meetings, I realized my gut instinct was right.
In NA, our focus isn't on the drugs we used, how much we used, etc - it's on the disease of addiction. In the first step in NA, there's no mention of drugs. We are not powerless over DRUGS, we're powerless over the DISEASE OF ADDICTION. Using is but a symptom of a much bigger problem.
If I were powerless over the drugs, my life would have been just peachy when I quit using. But it wasn't. I was a miserable wreck without substances.
Even in recovery, while "working a program," I found myself constantly seeking outside myself to fill that void. I always tell my sponsees that cross-addiction is very real. You could tell the quality of my mental state based on the balance in the checkbook...
Compulsive spending? Check. Cheating on husband? Check. Smoking cigarettes and drinking tons of energy drinks? Check. Playing video games til all hours? Check. Surfing then net when I should be working? Check.
I don't know... around here the AA meetings are kind of a wash. I've only been to one good one where it wasn't all about war stories and how "I've spilled more than you've drank" and it was two hours away from where I live.
Yes, the respect issue... don't call yourself an addict at an AA meeting unless it's open. And if it's open, don't speak. Just listen. If you feel comfortable minimizing your problem to just alcohol, then call yourself an alcoholic.
I've been clean for over 26 years and I have attended both fellowships throughout. Though I consider myself an addict, and I identify strongly with NA recovery, I have also benefitted a great deal from attending AA meetings, especially when NA meetings were scarce or not very helpful to me. The bottom line for me is that I need to go to meetings on a regular basis.
