For the Newcomer
WELCOME- YOU ARE IN THE RIGHT PLACE
DEAR NEWCOMER
You are the most important part of this meeting! We have all been there and we know how new sobriety can sometimes feel overwhelming. We have designed this page to help walk you through some of the mysteries of Alcoholics Anonymous.
When joining the Never Alone Again meetings you will find that we have volunteers assigned to help you. Please take time to identify the Newcomer Liaisons at each meeting, and also those participants designated with Hashtags in front of their names.
One hashtag (#) signifies a man or woman that is just willing to talk. This person may be your best defense against picking up a drink. Reach out to them!
Two hashtags (##) signifies those men or women that are willing to be a temporary sponsor (you can read about sponsorship below). Sponsorship is a key part of helping you achieve a sober life. You can private chat them during the meeting or ask for their phone numbers to talk or text with you later. If they have a hashtag, they are asking for you to reach out. All are available to answer questions that you may have and to help you to feel at home.
Newcomer Liaisons will help answer questions in a general way about literature, sponsorship, how AA works, clarifying things you may have heard in a meeting etc. The Newcomer Liaison can be a very valuable resource for you.
You may also find great value in taking time to just sit back and listen to other people share. You will soon find people that you feel a connection with. Those are the people that you want to reach out to. Connection with another alcoholic is important, even one on one. When you are comfortable, we hope that you will introduce yourself during a meeting and share how you have identified with the topic and speaker. If sharing is still a frightening proposition for you..., again, we've all been there. It may take some time, and that's ok. We have set aside time at the beginning and end of the meeting specifically for you. Most find this time to be a little less intimidating and a little more conversational. You will discover what feels right for you.
We hope you'll find our meetings provide a welcome and safe environment. As you progress in recovery we hope that your goal will be to help other alcoholics find relief. In the halls of AA, we will never feel alone again.
Safety and A.A.
SAFETY and A.A.
The following information is made available by The General Service Office.
Tradition Five states: Each group has but one primary purpose — to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.
Any person seeking help with a drinking problem is welcome at this group. No A.A. entity determines an individual’s membership in Alcoholics Anonymous. It is this group’s conscience that if any person endangers another individual or disrupts the group’s efforts to carry A.A.’s message, the group may ask that person to leave the meeting.
This group strives to safeguard the anonymity of A.A. members and attendees; however, keep in mind that anonymity in A.A. is not a cloak for unsafe and illegal behavior. Addressing such behavior and/or contacting the proper authorities when appropriate, does not go against any A.A. Traditions and is meant to ensure the safety of all in attendance.
Tradition One states: “Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.” Recognizing the importance of group unity, our group wishes to create a safe meeting environment in which alcoholics can focus on achieving sobriety.
Predatory behaviors and unwanted sexual advances are in conflict with carrying the A.A. message of recovery and with A.A. principles.
A.A. does not provide medical advice or detox services; it has no opinion on outside issues, including medication. Medical advice should come from a qualified physician.
The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking. Groups and members strive to create a safe environment for the alcoholic who still suffers.
If safety concerns arise, individuals can speak with a sponsor, members of the group, a trusted friend and/or a professional to address the concern. If a concern arises during a meeting, please contact the host or a co-host immediately.
For more information on this topic, see the following service pieces provided at aa.org.
10 Suggestions on Staying Sober
Don't pick up the first drink!
Each day ask a Higher Power for help staying away from the first drink.
join AA on a daily basis.
Plan your day around a meeting.
Get a sponsor and use them.
Join a group and get active.
Attend a weekly Twelve Step meeting.
Keep the focus on your own recovery.
Thank your Higher Power each night for your day of sobriety.
Don't pick up the first drink.
24 Hour Plan
The Twenty Four Hour Plan
One of the easiest, most practical ways of keeping sober is the day by day plan, the 24 Hour Plan: Live in today only. Forget Yesterday. Do not anticipate tomorrow.
You can only live one day at a time, and if you do a good job of that, you will do well.
You are only one drink away from trouble.
Whether you have been sober a day, a month, a year or a decade, one single drink is a certain way to go off on a binge or a series of binges. It is the first drink – not the second, fifth or twentieth – that gets you drunk.
You know that it is possible to stay sober for 24 hours. You have done it many times. All right.
Stay sober for one day at a time. When you get up in the morning make your mind that you will not take a drink for the entire day. Then go to bed at night grateful for a day of sobriety.
Repeat the performance the next day and the next. Before you realize it you will have been sober a week, a month a year, and yet you will have only been sober one day at a time.
From “A Manual for Alcoholics Anonymous (the Akron Manual) first published in 1939. Neveraloneagaingroup.org
Important Phone Numbers
National Suicide Prevention: Dial 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Help is available. 1-800-273-8255
AA Central Services: Find your local office number here
SAMHSA’s National Helpline – 1-800-622-HELP (4357)
If you are immediate danger of hurting yourself or someone else call 911
AA Glossary
Al-Anon - An independent fellowship with the stated purpose of helping relatives and friends of alcoholics.
AWOL: A way of life” is a kind of meeting devoted to the study of the 12 Steps. AWOL meetings use a specific format to study the 12 Steps of AA for a prescribed period of time, usually six to 12 months.
Closed Meeting: An AA meeting for members only, of whom have a desire to stop drinking.
Cross talk: giving advice to others who have already shared, speaking directly to another person rather than to the group and questioning or interrupting the person speaking at the time.
Dry Drunk: A person who has stopped drinking alcohol but who still acts impulsively, behaves in dysfunctional ways and makes risky decisions associated with addiction. Signs of dry drunk syndrome can include dishonesty, isolation, depression, anxiety and glamorizing alcohol use.
Fellowship: A fellowship refers to a group of people who share similar goals. Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship where the common goal is to stay sober.
Friend of Bill: A recovering alcoholic, especially one who is a member of AA. Are you a friend of Bills? Is a safe way to ask someone if they are in AA.
Geographical Cure: This is when people try to escape their alcoholism by moving to a new location. Such attempts are unlikely to be successful because the individual will take their addiction with them.
H.A.L.T: Means hungry, angry, lonely, and tired. For recovering addicts and alcoholics, this word is how they monitor their state of physical and mental well-being.
Harold-itis: The inability to unmute yourself.
Higher Power: A vital element of the AA program is accepting that some higher power can help the individual defeat their addiction. For many people, this higher power is thoughts of as God. This is why non-believers can feel comfortable with AA. There is no rule that says that people need to have God as their higher power. They may decide to choose the power of the group to be their higher power instead.
Home Group: Most AA members will have one group that they attend most frequently. It is beneficial to have one regular group because it makes it possible to build relationships with other members.
IOP: intensive Outpatient Treatment (also known as IOP for "Intensive Outpatient Program") is a primary treatment program recommended in some circumstances by a clinical and medical assessment.
Jackpot: Terrible things that happen as a result of drinking.
Mocus: A state of confusion, often referring to the state of mind brought about by detoxification.
Old Timer: Generally considered someone who has at least a decade of sobriety.
Open Meeting: An AA meeting that welcomes everyone who has an interest in AA.
Pink Cloud: A is a phenomenon many recovering addicts experience when they first go into recovery. When pink clouding, they feel a sense of euphoria that's then followed by a crash once reality sets in.
Rooms/Halls: AA slang for meetings.
7th Tradition: The Seventh Tradition states: “Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.” While contributions cover each group's rent and other expenses, the Seventh Tradition is essential at every level of A.A. service.
Sobriety: Sobriety means more than just staying sober. It also means living a good life and doing the right things.
Sponsor: A sponsor is an experienced member who will be able to provide support and advice on a one to one basis. Sponsor also take the sponsee through the Big Book and the 12 Steps
Step Study Meeting: This is meeting where the main focus is studying the program. Members share about their experience of working the step under discussion.
Stinking Thinking: Negative thinking can be dangerous for people in recovery. They may start to believe that staying sober is not so wonderful. Stinking thinking can easily lead to relapse.
Thirteenth Stepping: This is where more experienced members of the group take sexual advantage of vulnerable new members.
Twelve Steps: This is the AA program in the form of steps that members should take.
Twelve Traditions: These are the guidelines for how the meetings should be managed and how the organization functions.
Two Stepper: This refers to those members who attend meetings but do not follow the AA program.
12 Steps: click here