Does AA Work? How Meetings Can Help You Through Recovery

If you or someone you love is trying to recover from alcohol addiction, you probably wonder if 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) work. AA faces regular skepticism, but parts of its system bears out time and time again—meeting with and talking with others who have experienced substance use disorder can be a helpful part of any full treatment plan.

If you or someone you know wants help with recovery, Central Kentucky Addiction Treatment can help you begin the recovery process. Once you’ve finished rehab, regular meetings like those done at organizations like AA can give you the tools you need to stay sober and on track.

Since 1935, Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) and its many offshoots have been helping people achieve sobriety. The cost-effective method helps people achieve and maintain abstinence from alcohol if they’re willing to put in the time and effort. Meetings also require a certain amount of vulnerability because attendees must admit they have a problem and can’t handle it on their own. With the stigma surrounding addiction, anonymity is also an important component.

These components work together to make meetings effective at helping people abstain from their addictions. Trying to change a behavior is difficult. Finding others trying to make the same change makes it easier because they support one another through recovery. For many people, AA fills this need by giving them a group of people they can connect with, who are on their side, and know what they’re facing.

When it was originally designed, meetings with individuals going through recovery were meant for people facing alcohol addiction recovery on their own. However, meetings are even more effective when they are combined with rehab and behavioral therapy as part of a full treatment plan. Here are some of the ways meetings can help:

1. You connect with people who have been there. They know what it’s like to face addiction and how hard it is to go through recovery.
2. You gain emotional support and practical tips.
3. You begin to reconcile the fact that you don’t have control over certain aspects of your life and that you need outside help.
4. You’re in a supportive non-judgmental space where you can share the things going on in your world that are causing you to struggle and get advice about them.
5. Being around people who have succeeded can raise your confidence and your belief that you’ll be able to do the same.
6. The meetings are free, so there’s no cost barrier.
7. You can find meetings that fit your schedule or are available when you start struggling.
8. Since you can go to as many meetings as you need throughout the week, so you maintain motivation.
9. Working through the 12 steps has helped many people deal with depression.

Meetings are remarkably effective, especially when combined with professional therapy, medication therapies, and rehab. They can give people the day-in, day-out support they need, for free.

Together, these treatments can change a person’s perspective and their life. It can also be a good complement to the one-on-one therapy we offer at Central Kentucky Addiction Treatment.

If you or a loved one struggle with any form of addiction, including gambling addiction, sex addiction, alcohol addiction, or drug addiction, reach out to Central Kentucky Addiction Treatment for help.

We proudly serve all of Central Kentucky, including Richmond, Somerset, Nicholasville, Irvine, Berea, Lancaster, Lebanon, Liberty, Campbellsville, Bardstown, Stanford, London, Corbin, Monticello, KY, and the greater Danville, KY, area.