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.
What are meetings for families, friends,etc. of drug addicted titled? Is there a difference between those meetings and Al-Anon? What would the difference be since they are both re-lated to the substance addict? Does it matter which you go to? Tx...jaja
Drug addiction..alcohol addiction... they are the same disease, just a different altering substance. Still causes the same devastaion to signifigant others, family and friends. Glad to see you here
Some people feel more comfortable going to meetings where the subject relates to the trauma or chemical used and Mindy is accurate. In Al-Anon you will find the relatives and spouses and friends of all forms of addictions yet it was started by the wives of Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith the co-founders of AA. Even AA attempts to limit the subject to experiences with alcoholism yet their meetings are filled with both alcoholics and addicts and cross addicted (both) people. All of the programs center around the steps and traditions and concepts of service of AA. It is all spiritual recovery. If you want more information about Narcotics Anonymous and their family groups see if you can find their hot-line in the white pages of you local phone book or call the local hospital or recovery center or you might even contact AA and see if they have the information.
I think that the meetings are called naranon. I went to several and found them to be very similar to alanon. What I found though was, I had alot more options available for alanon meetings. It seemed to me that they just inserted drugs for alcohol and addiction for alcoholism. I am sure you will be welcome where ever you choose.
We use to have a meeting in my area that was a support group for families of addicts, regardless of type of addiction. It was separate from Alanon. There are NA and AA meetings. If you go to the NA website they might be able to direct you. Regardless you are always welcome here. The disease of addiction is what bonds us here. Glad you're woith us.
Live strong,
Karilynn
__________________
It's your life. Take no prisoners. You will have it your way.
Those meetings are called nar-anon. I have personally experienced both (because my brother and daughter are both drug and alcohol addicts). I have found that nar-anon and al-anon follow the same 12-step principles, but the meetings are different.
I think the difference comes from the fact that alcohol is a legal, and drug usage is usually (but not always) an illegal addiction. Again - this is just my opinion. In addition to the topics found on this board, I have found a lot of discussions on the nar-anon board/meetings on how everyone deals with jail, police, courts, to death from their young loved one overdosing, etc.
Both groups (nar-anon and al-anon) are still dealing with the same thing: a loved one who is addicted to a substance.
