Alcoholics Anonymous: history, methods, and impact

Alcoholics Anonymous is an international organization that was formed to help out individuals who have had drinking problems. The Alcoholics Anonymous is an example of a non-profit, non-professional organization, and it is basically an organization that was formed to serve as a medium for individuals and people to have a 'helping hand,' an immediate hand wherein an individual can get help without the embarrassing and tiring process of membership registration and the public knowledge that an individual is experiencing alcohol problems and having difficulty with one's behavior towards alcoholism.

Alcoholics Anonymous as an organization that has its own program in order to deal with individual and groups who are experiencing troubles and difficulties in handling alcoholism. The AA's program is composed of the Recovery Program and the Twelve Steps. These programs can be dealt with individually or in groups, since members of AA have various allegiances, and may undergo treatment (through self -help, that is) by treating oneself or with the help of other people. The Recovery Program aims to 'reach out' to the individual who is having alcoholic problems; the program also involves the psychological, mental, and emotional stage of confronting one's drinking problems. This stage may be in the form of narration, and involves the reflection of the individual himself about the nature, cause, and possible solution to his drinking problem. The program also includes the involvement of the individual himself in helping out another alcoholic in dealing with his/her problem. The Recovery Program has several steps that need to be followed in order to be able to have a systematic and organized program with which everybody can follow, individually or by groups. Meanwhile, the Twelve (12) Steps Program lists twelve guidelines to effectively 'thwart' alcoholism in a gradual manner. It is done gradually because the process of eliminating alcoholism entails not only physical will, but it also involves the emotional, mental, spiritual, and psychological condition of an individual. Evidently, the twelve steps listed in this program also takes into account the following aspects of an individual's well- being: psychologically preparing one's self against the consumption of alcohol, spiritually conditioning and submitting one's self to the goodness and guidance of God, the social task of identifying one's self with the others, and keeping solidarity within them and to others, and by mentally knowing the ill effects of alcohol and the grave consequences (not only physically) that it can give to an individual's psyche.