Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene

gleasonzoo · Newbie

New Here

hotrod · ~*Service Worker*~

Welcome Shannon I am glad that you reached out and shared . Alcoholism is a dreadful, progressive, chronic disease over which we are powerless .

Living with the disease causes many of us to focus all our attention on others and neglect ourselves in the process. Al-Anon is a recovery program for family members. who have done this .It is here that I learned to break the isolation caused by living with the disease and found a supportive, understanding group of people who, although they did not give advice, supported my choices and offered solutions that were new and worked.

Alanon holds face to face meetings in most communities and the hot line number is in the white pages. These meetings have saved my sanity and life .

I'm so sorry that you have not been able to purchase gifts for the children this Holiday season, and pray that you might find a charity or Church group that might help you before the Holiday.

Keep coming back here as there is hope and help.

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Enigmatic · ~*Service Worker*~

Welcome gleasonzoo, so glad you found us. I found the AlAnon program a few years ago following a recommendation from a health worker. I attended a meeting and realized that there was some extremely helpful information and tools to help me deal with a loved one's drinking in a more healthy way for myself and for them.

I came across this group in the last couple of years, and have found it to be a great place to share our experience, how the program gave us strength, and how maintain our hope. It has been a place that helps me with my perspective and maintaining peace despite the challenges that still exist.

Everyone here has a sense of what you are going through, some of the fears, worries, and feelings of helplessness. But most have also found that AlAnon has helped with those things immensely. We are so glad you are here

Iamhere · ~*Service Worker*~

I too send a warm welcome gleasonzoo - so glad you found us and glad that you shared. Al-Anon is simply a program of support and recovery for anyone who has been affected by the drinking of a friend or family member. Everyone is welcome to join, attend and recover whether their alcoholic (qualifier) is in recovery or not.

I was able to find loving support and others who truly understood what my life was like in Al-Anon. My family and many friends, well meaning, were very judgmental and full of advice. In Al-Anon, we don't give/get advice, but instead share ESH (Experience, Strength & Hope) with each other. Al-Anon has 12 Steps, and many tools we adopt/use to try and not get sucked into the insanity of the alcoholic's actions/thoughts/antics/spirals.

I hope you'll be able to find local meetings and try a few out. For me, it was a game-changer to find others who were close by and really understood. We do have meetings here - twice daily when they happen, and the schedule is top left. The steps if interested in seeing them are at the top right. There is hope and help in recovery - keep coming back!!

The material presented here is not Al-Anon Conference Approved Literature. It is a method to exchange information, ideas, feelings, problems and solutions on a personal level.

Practice the PAUSE...Pause before judging. Pause before assuming. Pause before accusing. Pause whenever you are about to react harshly and you will avoid doing and saying things you will later regret. ~~~~ Lori Deschene