Alcoholics anonymous is a voluntary self-help society started by Bill W and Dr. Bob Smith whose members represented different sections of society and who have a common problem of addiction to alcohol. It can also be considered as a social movement which worked on a menace that society was staggered with and which used unconventional methods to treat this plague. Addiction to Alcohol can be termed as a “Plague” as the medical professionals considered it to be a disease which was apparently treated in hospitals along with psychiatric help and isolation. However it can also be considered as a menace to the society as the addict caused intangible despair not only to himself but to his fellow family and society members. The opinion of the society on alcoholism was, that it was caused as a result combined of moral deterioration and an incurable medical condition. Hence addicts who were deprived of resources found help in charitable organizations and the others who sought help from medical community and psychiatrists were treated using medicines or they were limited to asylums . Thus Alcoholics Anonymous who wanted to address the problem of addiction treats Alcoholism as a disease that needs much more than just medicines like intervention of a superior power and self-control. This is because despite the medical and psychiatric intervention the addicts who turned sober did not remain sober for long after their treatments.
Alcoholics Anonymous was initiated by Bill Wilson who was an Army Veteran of WWII and later became successful stock broker and earned his way to make huge sums of money. Quite soon bewildered by success he was addicted to Alcohol which tormented his financial position and put his wife’s life in extre...
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... a superficial level. It inclines to re-engineer the minds of addicts which has been brainwashed by alcohol. This helps restore sanity in people’s mind and control their drinking habits thereby providing a society of good role models with uniting these easy 12 steps. These steps mostly have a solution through spirituality and religion as the material solutions such as medicines and abstinence from alcohol did not provide a much success. Therefore we can conclude that addiction to alcohol was a disease that effected the physical and mental wellbeing of an addict which was medical in nature but in terms of solution medicinal science has very little to offer and AA offered a religious solution to a medical concern.
Bibliography
W, Bill. Alcoholics Anonymous. 1939. Reprint. New York City: Dover Publications, 2011. Prints.
On February 27, 2014, I visited an Alcohol Anonymous (A.A) therapeutic group meeting called Another Chance. Another Chance is an intergroup meeting located inside the Concord Baptist Church of Christ, at 833 Gardner C. Taylor Boulevard, Brooklyn, NY 11216. Another Chance has been in operation for over thirty years, and holds open discussion meetings on alcohol use and prevention, every Thursday from six in the evening until seven o’clock. This group interaction with alcohol substance use and abuse focuses on helping all members regardless of race, ethnicity or culture, to abstain from drinking one day at a time; and encourages them to maintain healthy thoughts and emotions through the use of the “Twelve Steps and Traditions” of recovery and intervention approaches.
I can still remember the day, June 2, 2013, my cousin took his own life due to alcohol. This is not the first time alcoholism has taken a family member from my family. I lost my uncle ten years ago to the same things, but running his truck into a tree. Like Scott Russell Sanders’ my family has suffered from the pain and disease that alcohol causes. Although Sanders’ case was much different than mine, my families is more unknown until all of a sudden one of my family members is gone. In Sanders’ essay, “Under the Influence: Paying the Price of my Father’s Booze,” he discusses how it was growing up around him, his father’s life being taken, and his life now.
“The harmful use of alcohol is a global problem which compromises both individual and social development. It results in 2.5 million deaths each year. An intoxicated person can harm others or put them at risk of traffic accidents or violent behavior, or negatively affect co-workers, relatives, friends or strangers. Thus, the impact of the harmful use of alcohol reaches deep into society.” This is a scary statistic which figuratively states that every thirteen seconds someone dies in a death related to alcohol. CBS news reported that more than 30 percent of American adults have abused alcohol or suffered from alcoholism at some point in their lives. This is a staggering number which is widely overlooked because alcohol is legal. Those who suffer feel helpless and trapped by their addiction being unable to stop and quit on their own. Thankfully a man named, Bill Wilson, lead a group of men to write how to become set free from the slavery of addiction.
In The Glass Castle by Jeanette Walls, Rex Walls is highly dependent on alcohol, which significantly hurts Jeanette and her siblings and drives the family apart. The Walls children and countless others like them across the United States have become victims of alcoholism, which is a factor that they cannot control, but debilitates them socially, physically, financially, and emotionally. Rex Wall’s alcoholism causes him to frequently neglect his children and ignore their needs, which often endangers them. Furthermore, Rex’s alcohol addiction affects his behavior causing him to use profanity and act in an angry and even violent manner, negatively impacting the family as a whole. Many readers of
A major question that has been asked ever since the creation of AA, people have questioned Bill Wilson’s theory on Alcoholism; whether it’s a disease or a spiritual problem. In addition to the question of the origins of alcoholism another question is if the “Big Book” and 12 step program about alcohol or about finding God. This paper is about Alcoholics Anonymous and how the organization treats alcoholism as a disease that it impossible to cure unless the individual finds God. I believe that AA operates in a fashion similar to that of a cult because of what the book teaches and the message that AA members are instructed to carry out.
Both men immediately set to work with alcoholics at Akron’s City Hospital, where one patient quickly achieved complete sobriety (Pitman 69). In the fall of 1935, a second group of alcoholics slowly took shape in New York. A third appeared at Cleveland in 1939. It had taken over four years to produce 100 sober alcoholics in the three founding groups. That same year, the Fellowship published it’s basic textbook, Alcoholics Anonymous. The text, written by Bill, explained A.A.’s philosophy and methods, the core of which was the now well-known Twelve Steps to Recovery (Pitman 75 & 76). The book was reinforced by case histories of around thirty recovered members. From this point on, A.A’s development was rapidly growing (Wekesser 36).
Before I attended an AA meeting, I did not realize the significance of AA and the twelve-step program. Now I understand how these group meetings were designed to influence an individual to remain sober, but also it was meant to use your voice and ask for help when needed. I was glad that I had the opportunity to attend an AA meeting because I was able to see first hand an alcoholic’s point of view. It helped me understand that the negative stereotype of an alcoholic is not true and that because of their disease, they are living in a world that they cannot mentally comprehend because of their inability to refrain from drinking.
In Alcoholics Anonymous, the source of sobriety is not contained within the alcoholic. Power is given up to God, with powerlessness over alcohol
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has been around for more than 75 years. The biggest controversy about AA is if it is effective or not. Some people find AA to be an effective aid to sobriety; others find AA to be damaging and can lead to increased drinking. AA meetings are groups of people with the desire to quit drinking that help one another achieve and maintain sobriety. These meetings may include readings from the Big Book, sharing stories, discussing the traditions and 12 steps, and celebrating members’ sobriety. Because AA is anonymous, many people feel that participating in a study would be a breach
Alcoholism, as opposed to merely excessive or irresponsible drinking, has been thought of as a symptom of psychological or social stress or as a learned, maladaptive coping behaviour. More recently, and probably more accurately, it has come to be viewed as a complex disease in its own right. Alcoholism usually develops over a period of years. Alcohol comes to be used more as a mood-changing drug than as a foodstuff or beverage served as a part of social custom or religious ritual.
Alcoholics Anonymous is a nonprofit support group and the model it is based on has been transferred over to many other types of recovery programs. This model is known as the twelve-step program and was first published in 1939 (cite). The twelve-step program has gained mainstream acceptance as a viable option for substance abuse treatment. Alcoholics Anonymous meetings can be attended at no cost and the program states that its membership is open to anyone who has a desire to change (cite). The twelve-step program views addiction as a disease that an afflicted person is powerless against (cite). According to the twelve-step model once a person becomes an addict they must remain in recovery their entire lives (cite). The twelve-step program takes a faith-based approach that requires a belief in a higher power to recover from addiction (cite). This program has helped thousands of people recover from addiction by following its steps. Critics of the twelve-step program would argue that there...
Severe mood swings, violent rages, memory loss—each of these problems were a part of my family life during the past two or three years. These problems are the result of alcoholism. Recently, a member of my family realized his abuse of alcohol was a major problem to not only himself, but also to those around him. He would lose control of his temper and often would not even remember doing it the next day. Alcohol became a part of his daily life including work, home, and any other activities. His problem was that of a "hidden" and "high-society" alcoholism. When he was threatened with the loss of his job and the possibility of losing his family, this man knew it was time to get help. After he reached his lowest point, he took the first step towards recovery—admitting his problem.
Connecting is part of this wonderful Fellowship of men and women who share experiences, strengths and hope of a better, sober life. The philosophy of Alcoholics Anonymous is that alcoholism is a disease and no one is “cured” even if they stop drinking. The members of this informal group focus on staying sober “one day at a time”. And, anyone who desires to stop drinking is welcomed into the
This research paper will help enable sociologists to determine what the ongoing effects have on an alcoholic and further provides information on the long-term effects that society has to deal with. The significance of alcoholism and sociology is the ability of sociologists to research and discover how human behaviour is affected on many aspects of its effects on a person. An alcoholic can be described as someone who is addicted to drinking alcoholic beverages in excess. What starts out as social drinking can lead to excessive drinking and the many problems associated with alcohol abuse and i...
Alcoholism is a disease that affects many people in the United States today. It not only affects the alcoholic, but also their family, friends, co-workers, and eventually total strangers. The symptoms are many, as are the causes and the effects.