social issues

social issues


Alcohol Anonymous Experience Meeting
Alcoholism and Family Stress Theory
Our visit to the Alcohol Anonymous (A.A.) office was a wonderful and very educational experience. We were warmly welcomed by both the staff and participants in the A.A. Program. We had a round table conference at the Good Shepherd Church on Beechcroft Road in Columbus, Ohio. All the participants were able to freely express themselves about their addictions. It was in this meeting I learned that the A.A. Program is a voluntary, worldwide fellowship of men and women from all works of life who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that may solve their problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. There are no fees or dues for an A.A. membership; the only requirement is your desire to stop drinking. During the meeting, a bowl was passed around in which participants dropped money and others dropped envelopes that were given to them by the courts. Some of the envelopes contained letters to prove that the participants attended the rehabilitation program. The monies are used to buy books for the needy. Topics we covered during our meeting were Alcoholism, Anger management, and Acceptance. Some of the participant expressed the fear that they are afraid their children may emulate their footsteps in becoming alcoholics. Others said that they have difficulty controlling their anger and one participant stated that he has got a forgiving spirit in him. According to Melissa C Stopple, MD and William C. Sheil Jr, MD research and population surveys have shown that persons under stress, particularly chronic stress, tend to exhibit more unhealthy behaviors than less-stressed persons. Stressed individuals tend to drink more alcohol, smoke more, and eat less nutritious foods. Alcoholism is a complex medical condition that is believed to be caused by a number of both hereditary and environmental factors. While stress is not considered to be a cause of alcoholism, stressful...

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