RE: My mother and her Al-anon quest
November 8, 2012 at 7:09 pm
(This post was last modified: November 8, 2012 at 7:10 pm by festive1.)
Welcome, Gruce!
TGAC, Al-Anon is an anonymous fellowship/support group for people who are friends or relatives of alcoholics. It's based on a 12 step program, just like Alcoholics Anonymous. Ala-Teen is Al-Anon for teenagers coping with alcoholic parents.
There's a lot of talk about god in 12 step programs. Which can lead to zealotry. However, I'm an atheist and an active participant in a 12 step program, ACA, Adult Children of Alcoholics (and dysfunctional families), which is an offshoot of Ala-Teen that started about 25-30 years ago. I'd say that religion is the problem, not the steps or fellowship. Though my home group is very liberal and accepting, I've shared that I'm an atheist and haven't gotten any guff about it.
I'd be happy to speak in-depth about this sort of stuff either through a thread or PM.
And don't worry, I won't be offended by bashes of the program. It hasn't helped my father who has been in AA for almost 30 years now... Sure, he doesn't drink, but he's still a really fucked-up asshole!
TGAC, Al-Anon is an anonymous fellowship/support group for people who are friends or relatives of alcoholics. It's based on a 12 step program, just like Alcoholics Anonymous. Ala-Teen is Al-Anon for teenagers coping with alcoholic parents.
There's a lot of talk about god in 12 step programs. Which can lead to zealotry. However, I'm an atheist and an active participant in a 12 step program, ACA, Adult Children of Alcoholics (and dysfunctional families), which is an offshoot of Ala-Teen that started about 25-30 years ago. I'd say that religion is the problem, not the steps or fellowship. Though my home group is very liberal and accepting, I've shared that I'm an atheist and haven't gotten any guff about it.
I'd be happy to speak in-depth about this sort of stuff either through a thread or PM.
And don't worry, I won't be offended by bashes of the program. It hasn't helped my father who has been in AA for almost 30 years now... Sure, he doesn't drink, but he's still a really fucked-up asshole!
