🫂 Mutual Support Fellowship

Detailed Information:
Alcoholics Anonymous represents a globally accessible, non-professional fellowship where individuals unite to overcome alcohol dependency. Its framework is built on a guided journey of twelve progressive steps, designed to foster personal accountability, make amends, and support sustained sobriety. Central to its ethos is peer-led group meetings, which provide a confidential and non-judgmental space for sharing experiences. There are no membership fees or requirements, only a shared desire to cease alcohol consumption. The community operates on principles of anonymity, mutual respect, and spiritual (not religious) growth, offering a vital network for long-term recovery outside of clinical treatment.

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a global, peer-led mutual aid fellowship focused on helping individuals achieve and maintain sobriety from alcohol. Founded in 1935 in Akron, Ohio, by Bill Wilson ("Bill W.") and Dr. Bob Smith ("Dr. Bob"), AA operates on the principle of one alcoholic helping another through shared experience, strength, and hope.

Core Principles:

• Anonymity: A foundational tenet—members are known only by first names to protect privacy and emphasize equality.

• Non-professional & Self-supporting: AA is not a treatment program or therapy; it’s free to join (funded by voluntary donations) and run by members.

• Spiritual but not religious: The program encourages a "Higher Power" as each individual understands it—this can be God, nature, the group, or another concept.

The 12 Steps:

AA’s recovery path is outlined in the Twelve Steps, a set of guiding principles for personal transformation:

1. Admit powerlessness over alcohol.

2. Believe a Power greater than oneself can restore sanity.

3. Decide to turn will and life over to that Higher Power.

4. Make a moral inventory.

5. Admit wrongs to God, oneself, and another person.

6. Become ready to have defects removed.

7. Humbly ask the Higher Power to remove shortcomings.

8. List people harmed and become willing to make amends.

9. Make direct amends where possible.

10. Continue personal inventory and admit wrongs promptly.

11. Seek conscious contact with the Higher Power through prayer/meditation.

12. Carry the message to other alcoholics and practice these principles in all affairs.

The 12 Traditions:

These guide AA groups’ functioning and unity:

1. Common welfare comes first.

2. Ultimate authority is a loving God as expressed through group conscience.

3. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking.

4. Each group is autonomous except in matters affecting other groups.

5. Each group has one primary purpose: to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers. ... (and seven more focused on unity, non-involvement in outside issues, and self-sufficiency).

How It Works:

• Meetings: Held daily worldwide—in person, online, or by phone. Types include open (anyone welcome), closed (for those with a drinking problem), speaker, step-study, and Big Book meetings.

• Sponsorship: Newcomers often work with a sponsor—a more experienced member who guides them through the Steps.

• Literature: Key texts include Alcoholics Anonymous (“The Big Book”), Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, and daily meditations like Daily Reflections.

Effectiveness:

While not clinically measured like medical treatments, AA has helped millions achieve long-term sobriety. Studies (e.g., Cochrane Reviews) suggest AA participation correlates with higher rates of abstinence compared to some other approaches, especially when combined with professional care.

AA (Alcoholics Anonymous)