Question for current or former AA's.

I've been asked to speak at an open meeting, and I said yes. Now I'm a bit stuck on how to tell my story. You see I view my recovery as 50% stopping drinking, and AA has been incredibly helpful to my continued sobriety, and 50% getting treatment for mental health issues. In my mind they are really intertwinned. There's no way I could have gotten / stayed sober without the mental health treatment I recieved which included hospitalization. Yet I find myself reluctant to talk about that aspect of my recovery. I guess it's partly internalized stigma / wanting to protect my image but I don't know how to say that AA while important has only been part of my recovery.

Even my history with treatment centres is a bit problematic. I went to one really well known treatment centre which has a really good reputation, and is completely 12 step based and it was a complete disaster because they were lousy at dealing with concurrent disorders. I finally landed in a treatment centre that is less well known nationally but certainly known in recovery circles in my part of town, and it's less than popular in AA because it's not 12-step based. But it's great on concurrent disorders and I still go there and find it incredibly helpful.

Meds are also a big part of my story - both in terms of psychiatric meds and using meds to treat my alcoholism. I know that there’s a bit of a group in AA that are anti-med, so I’m afraid that by saying I take Antabuse it’ll look like a cop out and that I’m not really working the program.

I’ve guess I’m just worried that it won’t look like I’m working the program if I admit to how much outside help I need and still get.

I’ve been in and out of AA for a few years and have only heard one speaker explicitely talk about mental health issues, so I know it’s not the norm in my area.

I guess I’m just not feeling entirely secure about being 100% honest about my journey and would appreciate feedback on how comfortable you’d be with hearing someone talk about mental health issues at an open meeting.

I want to be honest, but that means going outside what I consider the "norm" of an AA talk.

Opinions welcome.

Thanks.

Splitimage

((((((((((((((((((((((((((( splitimage ))))))))))))))))))))))))

I think it would be great if you could be comfortable enough to be honest about your mental health issues when you tell your story. For one thing, it's a real, true part of your story, and to leave it out would be leaving out something importanat.

But more importantly, someone might hear it who really needs to hear it. I know that for me, sobriety has been really difficult because of mental health stuff. I spent years beating myself up for "not getting it" and for "doing a bad job" in AA....when the reality was, I had undiagnosed PTSD that made sobriety extra challenging. If I had heard someone talk about the reality of mental health issues early in my sobriety, I think things would have been a bit easier for me.

Good luck whatever you decide to do! How exciting to be telling your story for the first time. I hope you'll come back and tell us how it goes!!

I agree with prev poster. There is definately someone (or many) in that audience who need to hear your message of dual recovery. There will be people sitting there who are on psych meds, but they just don't talk about it. Bringing it out of the closest is so important. I think it would be great it you were able to help them out like that.

As far as mentioning meds - I just wouldn't name what you take. That level of detail isn't needed., and what works for you won't necessarily work for them, so in general I would steer clear of specifics. That way it won't sound like you are recomending, or advising someone to take something specific.

It sounds like what worked for you was taking your meds and working the AA program. For you, one without the other is one hand clapping. Seems like the perfect message! You're gunna do great!!

Slippers

Split ,, Just as I recall ,,>>>.. I was in AA and NA at dif times in my life ,,.

The message was about over coming addictions >> and making apologizes and exceptance of ourselves and goals for a sober future ,.

{ I should point out I maybe wrong ,, that is what I walked away with basically }
Who' s to say ,, your higher power isn' t the meds you choose to help ya win ,.

WMD.

We are only as sick as our secrets...

You have absolutely nothing to be ashamed of split...

When sharing your story try to think of whatever Truths you share as gifts to those who are lost and confused....

Because they are...

With care,

Lenny

When I was in AA I struggled with what I felt was ok to share and what wasn't. I had tried it different ways, sometimes mentioning outside help, others not. Then one day I heard someone share about how they cannot leave out their drug use in their stories, as that was their story! I think thats said it all. We can only tell it how is and was, and who knows, someone else maybe needing to hear that its ok to get outside help also?