4 Survival Tips for Your First Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting in Texas?

While it is easy to get used to a certain pleasure in life, it sure is tremendously difficult to shake it off once it becomes a habit. And that too, when you feel that it has progressed from a habit to an addiction. Read about First Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting in Texas.

First Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting in Texas

But you know that it can be done – many before you have gotten rid of their addiction and many after you will do so too. So, what’s your fear? If you have been dreading to attend AA Meetings in Texas, here are four survival tips for you to attend AND survive it successfully.

1. Listen carefully: In all AA Meetings, the main focus is on the exchange of experiences by the members. This is because it has been seen that many new members look up to former alcoholic members for guidance. In your first meeting, you must keep your ears and heart open. Many individuals there have been where you are now. You can use this opportunity to seek other newcomers out and try to bond with them. Once the meeting is over, you can also go out for coffee and socializing. Try and gain new perspectives on life from their experiences. Think about the similarities and not the differences, and take a few learnings back so you can adopt those in your own life.
2. Choose carefully: AA has been around for eight decades now. It is natural that there would be several formats available now to cater to the demands of different individuals. For your first meeting, check out an AA Meeting Locator or an AA Meeting Directory. You will find the list of several Local AA Meetings there. Spend some time looking up the different types near your place. If you are the reticent type, go for a closed meeting. If you want your spouse/friend/colleague to accompany you, the open meeting would be a good choice. Then there are gender-specific meetings too. Once you read the meeting description, you will know which one would be a good fit. That will help you to feel somewhat relaxed when you attend that all-important first meeting and you will be more open to the happenings there.
3. Lateness is a no-no: While you would be understandably nervous about your first meeting, avoid reaching the place late. This is a social gathering, and apart from the stuff that happens during the meeting itself, quite a bit of getting-to-know-you happens before and after it too. You can use this opportunity to seek other newcomers out and try to bond with them. Once the meeting is over, you can also go out for coffee and socializing.
4. Be open with yourself: Look, you may feel uncertain that you are indeed an alcoholic. However, don’t spend your entire time in the meeting disagreeing with what the others are saying. It is easy to remain isolated, but you are here because you feel somewhere that you may have a drinking problem. So, be clear to yourself and put in some effort into realising that the only reason you are here is because you want to stop drinking – which is actually the only stipulation to becoming an AA member – the desire to reach sobriety.

Follow these tips and use a Sobriety calculator, and you will soon find yourself well set on the path to recovery from alcohol addiction.