It’s not easy when you have a loved one who is struggling with crippling alcohol addiction. Alcoholism is a disease just like any other type of disease, which means that a person going through it needs treatment to get better. As a family member, significant other or close friend who is right there, supporting your loved one through their journey toward sobriety, it can be emotionally and mentally difficult. However, there is support out there for you. You might want to consider Al-Anon.
What Is the History of Al-Anon?
Some people make the mistake of believing that Al-Anon is the same as Alcoholics Anonymous. However, it’s a different organization. Al-Anon can be traced back to 1951 when Lois Wilson founded the group as a means of support to individuals struggling with alcohol addiction. The organization was created 16 years after Wilson’s husband founded Alcoholics Anonymous or AA. As Wilson struggled with her own issues while supporting her husband, she decided it was time for a group to be formed for people dealing with the same issues.
How Does Al-Anon Differ from Alcoholics Anonymous?
Alcoholics Anonymous is an organization that specifically aims to help individuals who are struggling with alcohol addiction. Members can remain anonymous while meeting with a group of people who are dealing with the same issues as them and gain support from one another. People can discuss their own personal experiences and how they have managed to overcome various issues to maintain their sobriety. Al-Anon, on the other hand, is an organization that was created to provide support to family members with loved ones who suffer from alcoholism. Like their loved one with addiction, family members also have to deal with myriad issues while being there to support them. Living with and loving someone with an alcohol problem is not easy, but Al-Anon gives people the chance to get together with others who are dealing with the same problems.
How Does Al-Anon Work?
Al-Anon recognizes the family members of people stricken with alcoholism. The organization treats alcohol addiction as a disease that affects the entire family due to the way in which it adversely affects everyone closest to the person dealing with the addiction. Both family and friends of individuals struggling with alcohol abuse are welcome to join a group to both give and receive support for all they go through while supporting their loved one through their addiction and treatment. Al-Anon’s meetings are open to all of those who support a person with alcohol addiction.
Generally, anyone who is personally affected by a loved one’s alcoholism is invited to attend meetings. If you love an alcoholic, whether they are your significant other, sibling, parent, child or best friend, Al-Anon might be the right option for you to find support. If you are unsure whether Al-Anon is worth it, you should know what to expect from attending a meeting. The following are some facts about the organization:
- Al-Anon is exactly as its name implies: it’s anonymous.
- All members are personally affected by alcoholism.
- There’s no obligation to speak, but it’s encouraged.
- There are different types of meetings.
- It’s not a religious organization.
- It follows a 12-step program.
What Are the Benefits of Al-Anon?
Attending Al-Anon meetings can provide certain benefits to family members who have a loved one dealing with alcohol abuse. Those benefits include the following:
- Acknowledging that you cannot change everything: Some things can be changed but others cannot when you have a loved one struggling with alcoholism. Meetings allow the group members to accept those things they cannot change but to acknowledge that they can be there to support their loved one and influence them in a positive way.
- Understand what your loved one is facing: Meetings allow members to better understand what their loved one is facing. Like Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon follows the 12-step program.
- End the cycle of co-dependency: Many alcoholics are co-dependent. Their family members may unwittingly be part of a vicious cycle. Meetings can help them realize this and break that cycle.
- Gain valuable support: Meetings can help members gain valuable support they might otherwise not have, especially with like-minded people. Everyone is going through the same issues and can provide support to one another.
If you are ready to get help, don’t hesitate to contact us. Call us now at 844-844-3463 to get started.