AA
Spirituality and Religion in Recovery
There is much talk in Alcoholics Anonymous about spirituality and religion, and the mix between the two. There is a fairly simple reason for this.
Many people who look to get sober have had bad if not traumatic experiences with religious organisations, normally as children, but often as adults as well.
What is Emotional Sobriety?
Emotional sobriety is a phrase that was used by Bill Wilson in a Grapevine article, entitled The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety, published in 1958, some 20-plus years after he got sober.
Originally a letter to a friend, he charts his journey in recovery in a very specific way.
Adult Children of Alcoholics
Adult Children of Alcoholics, often referred to as ACA or ACOA, is another 12 step fellowship that has a close association with Alcoholics Anonymous. It is aimed at adults who grew up in a home where they were affected by alcoholism, normally one or both parents, siblings, grandparents etc.
Al-Anon
Al-Anon is perhaps the 12 step fellowship most closely associated with Alcoholics Anonymous.
In the early days of AA virtually all members were men, and their wives would go with them to meetings and normally sit in the kitchen and chat to each other.
12 Step Programs
This can be a slightly confusing term for some people.
It originates from the organisation Alcoholics Anonymous, which developed a recovery program based around 12 specific steps, which are really statements of experience of what the early members of AA did in order to get sober.