More on Alcoholics Anonymous
by Paul Campbell

I know a safe place where you can go and talk about your feelings and about everything that’s going wrong with your life. The people there will have been through exactly what you’re now going through. They’ll give you a lot of support and never ever be judgmental of you”.

Put like that it sounds the kind of place we could all do with, eh? Believe it or not I’m talking about Alcoholics Anonymous. AA is all of the above and more. As I’ve said before the world is a lonely place for those caught up in the illness of alcoholism.

It’s also very scary. We can see booze gradually destroying our lives and that of our loved ones but we feel helpless to do anything about it.

We’ll have tried cutting down, switching our drinks, only drinking at weekends, not drinking at weekends etc etc. To our horror, one day, we realise that none of this works; booze now control our lives instead of us controlling booze. We end up secretly despising ourselves and as our behaviour gets worse our loved ones gradually withdraw from us and us from them.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be like this. Today there is plenty of help in the form of Treatment Centres and Addiction Counselors. But most importantly there is AA. There are AA meetings in practically every town in Ireland; just call 01 4538998 for the one nearest you.

The biggest surprise a new comer gets at their first meeting is just how normal everyone appears to be and how well they are. A nervous newcomer is usually met with the words “you’re very welcome, everyone of us knows exactly how you feel at this moment, we’ve all been where you are now. Just keep coming back and you’ll get well”. The newcomer will then hear others talk about how booze caused so much trouble in their lives. How coming to AA, regularly, helped them get their lives back in order and most importantly helped them stop drinking. They’ll hear members talk about their problems in an open and honest manner. The newcomer will start to hear things from others that they can identify with.

I always encourage newcomers to say at their first meeting – “my name is x, I’m scared”.

For the alcoholic it’s not uncommon that no matter where they go they feel they’re in trouble, work home, friends etc. but it’s good therefore that there is a place they can go several times a week where they know they’ll be made welcome, listened to and supported. Alcoholics can talk to each other as no others can. I’m a long time sober but AA is and always will be my spiritual home – and it’s where my best friends are!

If the above hits a nerve with you, do something – ask for help!

Paul Campbell is the author of the number one best-seller “I’ll Stop Tomorrow" Once one of Dublin's most dynamic and successful businessmen. He had a loving family and lived in a beautiful home. Yet in only three months he lost it all. He found himself living alone in a bed-sit. He had lost his family, his business, his home and had nothing to look forward to in life. Why? Because he was an alcoholic and alcohol had taken control of his life.