Are you new to A.A.?

How A.A. sees alcoholism

A.A. treats alcoholism as an illness rather than a moral failing. Members describe it as an illness of the body and the mind together: the body reacts to alcohol differently, and the mind returns again and again to the idea that this time it will be manageable. Left alone, it tends to get worse rather than better.

That view is not unique to us. Major medical bodies have long recognised alcohol dependence as a treatable condition. What A.A. adds is the experience of people who have lived it and got out.

Signs many of us recognise

Not everybody has the same symptoms, and having a few of these does not settle anything. But at some stage most of us could tick off several of them.

• Only a drink makes you feel confident or at ease with other people.
• You look forward to drinking occasions and think about them a good deal beforehand.
• You often want one more at the end of the evening, after everyone else has stopped.
• You get drunk on occasions when you had not planned to.
• You have tried to control it — switching to beer or wine, going dry for a month, drinking only after a certain hour, only on weekends, only with company.
• You drink alone, drink at work, hide bottles, or play down how much you have had.
• There are gaps — evenings you cannot fully remember the next day.
• You drink in the morning to steady yourself, or to take the edge off guilt and fear.
• You eat badly, sleep badly, or have been warned by a doctor about your liver, blood pressure or heart.
• You shake, sweat or feel very anxious when you stop for a day or two.

Nobody in A.A. will tell you whether you are an alcoholic. That is a decision only you can make, and it is the one decision the whole programme rests on.

If you are drinking heavily every day

One piece of practical advice before anything else: if you drink large amounts daily and have felt shaking, sweating, severe anxiety or confusion when you stop, please speak to a doctor or a clinic before stopping abruptly. Alcohol withdrawal can be medically dangerous. A.A. is not a medical service and does not give medical advice — but we would far rather you got sober safely.

What A.A. asks of you

Very little. There is no membership form, no fee, no register and no commitment. The only requirement is a desire to stop drinking — and plenty of us were half-hearted about that when we first walked in. What helps most is simply turning up and listening with an open mind.

Your first meeting

You can walk into any open meeting on our KZN meeting list without telling anybody in advance. Arrive a few minutes early if you can; somebody will usually say hello and put a cup of tea in your hand. You need not give your name, and you need not speak.

If the idea of walking in alone is too much today, phone the KZN helpline on 031 143 5722 instead. A member will talk it through with you, and can often arrange for somebody to meet you at the door.