Observation 1
Date: Sep 17th, 2006 12:15:17 am - Subscribe
For my first project, I decided to seek an experience completely outside of my comfort zone that reflected the antithesis of my customary habits. Some choices I actively pursued until some unavoidable problem occurred. Several other unusual or atypical options came to mind. For instance, I located a practice range that offered a shooting competition to the public. However, my husband pointed out that guns and my temperament do not mix.
Next, I found The White Rabbit Club that featured an array of heavy metal bands. The drawback was that the show only performed once a week and I was unable to attend. However, my favorite option pertained to pole dancing. Suddenly, my husband became very supportive and encouraging me to attend classes. He even offered to buy my costumes. But pole dancing classes require several weeks of commitment in order to graduate with a diploma (a monogrammed G-string).
However, I elected to test one of my most ingrained beliefs. For many years, I considered alcoholism to be a choice and not a disease as touted by many sociologists and other humanists. As a teetotaler and mother, I believe alcoholism to be an emotional weakness. For years, I have preached to my children the “evils” of excessive drinking that leads to self-destructive behavior. For this reason, I wanted to acquire first hand knowledge regarding the onset of a drinking addiction. I wanted to determine if my stance resulted from negative experiences or an acquired bias.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Before the Meeting
As a former nurse, I assisted many abusive, combative, and aggressive patients in their repeated attempts at recovery within the confines of a hospital setting. As a result, I came to the conclusion that alcoholism is an acquired weakness that drinkers use in order to avoid facing any sort of conflict or dilemma. Many of the patients reported during the medical intake a history of social or recreational drinking. A number of heavy drinkers confirmed a gradual increase in consumption over a period of years as an outlet to frustration or as a means of forgetfulness over a painful incident.
Although the organization, Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.), is a national recovery group, I have never attended a meeting to learn about its objectives. Of course, the organization’s Twelve Steps to Recovery is well-known but I had not read AA’s famous creed. Therefore, I came to the realization that in order to take such a rigid stance against alcoholism, I needed to validate my opinions or dismiss them as prejudicial and erroneous. I wanted to see and understand if AA’s group affiliation and support truly works.
I am ashamed to confess a slight wariness regarding attending this AA meeting. I feel that some attendees might misconstrue my cautiousness as condemnation. They might resent my curiosity as intrusive and patronizing. It is not my intention to make anyone uncomfortable or to let them feel as if their lives are on display.
After the Meeting
I felt so awful for intruding on these individuals’ pain and suffering. For the first time, I witnessed the other side of excessive drinking. For the first time, I believe I truly understand the multifaceted destruction of lives caused by alcohol. The members of A.A. leave their pride and egos at the door. They recall humiliating and degrading events caused by this addition. Yet, the nonjudgmental support of the other members can be felt.
The chapter members extended their hospitality to me without reservation. However, the members assumed my presence was due to a drinking problem. I found I could not admit to being there as an observer. Basically, as an observer, I felt that the members would feel as if I would be invading their privacy.
The emotional and medical aspects of the disease were frankly discussed and examined. One gentleman carried a portable oxygen tank as a result of liver and heart failure and one lady sported head injuries from a fall acquired from excessive drinking. Another member confessed, due to excessive alcohol, to parking his car in the wrong driveway and attempting to enter the wrong house. These individuals urged the others to use them as examples to prevent relapses.
Some admitted to be forced by the courts to attend these meetings but found themselves returning without coercion. Several people admitted to D.U.I. citations and arrests due to alcohol use. Many testified that without God’s intervention, they would not survive. At the end of the meeting, everyone gathered in a circle to recite the Lord’s Prayer and ask for strength to pursue daily activities. Consequently, the spiritual aspect of the program seems to be a huge factor in the recovery process.
The organizers of the A.A. meeting provided a booklet containing details of all the area support groups available everyday of the week at various times during the day. The local chapters provide a helpline number that can be accessed anytime of the day or night. If a member chooses, he or she can add his or her contact number to a support or sponsor list if another member experiences a temptation to drink again. When these periods occur, members admit to feeling a loss of control.
In the text, “A Framework for Understanding Poverty,” educator Reuven Feurstein indicated that if some individuals who do not have access to a story structure with cause and effect, consequence and sequence, find that they cannot plan and predict, identify cause and effect and cannot control impulsiveness. Even though he applied this theory to criminal behavior, I believe these cognitive issues plays a role in some alcoholic addiction cases.
Confession and intervention play important roles in these support groups. Dr. Feurstein refers to this strategy as mediation and believes that “deliberate intervention does three things: points out the stimulus, gives the stimulus meaning, and provides a strategy to deal with the stimulus.” The Twelve Steps provides a spiritual intervention and a hope for recovery. Although the intervention may be interpreted as religious in nature, the application of the Twelve Steps may also be construed as a greater being than oneself or the power within an individual.
Alcoholism destroys many facets of family life. For those who want to save themselves from the brink of destruction, A.A. is a lifeline. Alcoholics Anonymous has one goal: sobriety. The organization achieves this condition by intervention. I agree with the assessment of intercession. For people, with any type of addiction, alternative resources provide the means to cope and resume a healthier lifestyle.
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