Info Concerning Alcoholics
Anonymous
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If a person is looking for info concerning
Alcoholics Anonymous, a good place to start would be an examination
of the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics
Anonymous.
What is AA and What are the Conditions
for Membership?
Alcoholics
Anonymous is a worldwide organization of men and women from all
walks of life who share experiences, strengths, and aspirations
with one other in the hope that they may solve their mutual problem
and assist others in their quest to recover from alcohol
dependence.
The only condition for Alcoholics Anonymous membership is a desire
to quit drinking alcohol. Therefore, total abstinence from alcohol
is advocated by the organization.
Members make a conscious effort to refrain from
drinking and they accomplish this "one day at a time." In
Alcoholics Anonymous, sobriety
is achieved through mutual support as members share their hopes,
their strengths, and their experiences.
There are no fees or dues for AA
membership. Alcoholics Anonymous is self-supporting through
its own member contributions. AA is neither aligned with any
religious denomination or sect nor associated with any political
institution or organization. Moreover, AA does not wish to
involve themselves in anything that is controversial and neither
sanctions nor opposes any causes. The major purpose of AA members
is to remain sober and help other alcoholics to attain
sobriety.
In 1998 in the United States,
1,668 drivers from the ages of 16 to 20 were involved in
alcohol-related fatal motor vehicle crashes. Another 21,000 were
involved in alcohol-related accidents that
resulted in injury. |
The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics
Anonymous
Part of the recovery
program that A.A. suggests is articulated in the Twelve
Steps.
Based on the
experiences of Alcoholics Anonymous's earliest members, the 12
Steps represent the documented practices and principles, acquired
through trail and error, the early members established in order to
maintain sobriety.
| Research studies have
demonstrated that the following family-related antecedents are
correlated to the start of substance abuse: relationships with
peers who use drugs, neurotic traits, conduct disorders, high
levels of stress and conflict, psychological depression, economic
instability, high sensation-seeking, low academic performance,
sexual or physical abuse in childhood, juvenile delinquency, low
self-esteem, antisocial behavior, parental use of drugs and
alcohol, dysfunctional family behaviors and interactions, coercive
behavior with family members, poor family management, inadequate
mother-infant bonding and nurturing, and genetic propensity toward
substance abuse. |
The Twelve Traditions of Alcoholics
Anonymous
During its first decade, the early members of
Alcoholics Anonymous developed a number of practices and procedures
that fostered the continuation of the informal structure of the
organization. In 1946, in the organization's
international journal entitled the Alcoholics Anonymous Grapevine,
the aforementioned principles and guidelines were documented by the
founders and early members and became known as the Twelve
Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Info Concerning Alcoholics Anonymous:
Conclusion
As mentioned above, if a person is looking for
info concerning Alcoholics Anonymous, perhaps the
best place to gain a basic understanding of Alcoholics Anonymous
would be to study the Twelve Steps and the Twelve Traditions of
Alcoholics Anonymous.
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| Long-term excessive drinking
increases the risk of developing certain types of cancer,
especially cancer of the mouth, throat, esophagus, and the voice
box. In addition, research has demonstrated that women who drink
two or more drinks per day slightly increases their risk for
developing breast cancer. Heavy, long-term drinking, moreover, may
also increase the risk for developing cancer of the rectum and of
the colon. |
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