Alcoholics Anonymous is a worldwide fellowship of men and women who help each other to stay  sober.  We offer the same help to anyone who has a drinking problem and wants to do something about it.  Since we are all alcoholics ourselves, we have a special understanding of each other.  We know what the illness feels like — and, together, we have learned how to recover from it in AA.

Once people have lost their ability to control their drinking, they can never again be sure of drinking safely — or, in other words, they can never become "former  alcoholics" or "ex-alcoholics".   But in AA, we can become sober alcoholics, recovered alcoholics.

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Area Service Committees of  Northeastern Area 84 

The Twelve Steps and Traditions of Alcoholics Anonymous

FAQs

"From the beginning, communication in AA has been no ordinary transmission of helpful ideas and attitudes. Because of our kinship in suffering, and because our common means of deliverance are effective for ourselves only when constantly carried to others, our channels of contact have always been charged with the language of the heart." - Bill W. (co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous)

Am I an alcoholic?
If you repeatedly drink more than you intend or want to, if you get into trouble, or if you have memory lapses when you drink, you may be an alcoholic. Only you can decide. No one in AA will tell you whether you are or not.

What can I do if I am worried about my drinking?
Seek help. Alcoholics Anonymous can help.  Look for meetings in your area.

What is Alcoholics Anonymous?
We are a Fellowship of men and women who have lost the ability to control our drinking and have found ourselves in various kinds of trouble as a result of drinking. We attempt—most of us successfully—to create a satisfying way of life without alcohol. For this we find we need the help and support of other alcoholics in AA.

If I go to an AA meeting, does that commit me to anything?
No. AA does not keep membership files, or attendance records. You do not have to reveal anything about yourself. No one will bother you if you don’t want to come back.

What happens if I meet people I know?
They will be there for the same reason you are there. They will not disclose your identity to outsiders. At AA you retain as much anonymity as you wish. That is one of the reasons we call ourselves Alcoholics Anonymous.

What happens at an AA meeting?
An AA meeting may take one of several forms, but at any meeting you will find alcoholics talking about what drinking did to their lives and personalities, what actions they took to help themselves, and how they are living their lives today.

How can this help me with my drinking problem?
We in AA know what it is like to be addicted to alcohol, and to be unable to keep promises made to others and ourselves that we will stop drinking. We are not professional therapists. Our only qualification for helping others to recover from alcoholism is that we have stopped drinking ourselves, but problem drinkers coming to us know that recovery is possible because they see people who have done it.

Why do AA's keep on going to meetings after they are cured?
We in AA believe there is no such thing as a cure for alcoholism. We can never return to normal drinking, and our ability to stay away from alcohol depends on maintaining our physical, mental, and spiritual health. This we can achieve by going to meetings regularly and putting into practice what we learn there. In addition, we find it helps us to stay sober if we help other alcoholics.

How do I join AA.?
You are an AA member if and when you say so. The only requirement for AA membership is a desire to stop drinking, and many of us were not very wholehearted about that when we first approached AA.

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