Is AA For You?

Only you can decide whether you want to giveA.A.
a try — whether you think it can help you.

We who are in A.A. came because we
finally gave up trying to control our
drinking. We still hated to admit that we
could never drink safely. Then we heard
from other A.A. members that we were
sick. (We thought so for years!) We
found out that many people suffered
from the same feelings of guilt and
loneliness and hopelessness that we did.
We found out that we had these feelings
because we had the disease of
alcoholism.

We decided to try and face
up to what alcohol had done
to us. Here are some of the
questions we tried to answer
honestly. If we answered
YES to four or more
questions, we were in deep
trouble with our drinking.
See how you do.
Remember, there is no
disgrace in facing up to the
fact that you have a problem.

1 - Have you
ever decided to
stop drinking for
a week or so, but
only lasted for a
couple of days?
Most of us in A.A.
made all kinds of
promises to
ourselves and to
our families. We
could not keep
them. Then we
came to A.A. A.A.
said: "Just try not
to drink today." (If
you do not drink
today, you cannot
get drunk today.)

2 - Do you
wish people
would mind
their own
business
about your
drinking--
stop telling
you what to
do?
In A.A. we do
not tell anyone
to do anything.
We just talk
about our own
drinking, the
trouble we got
into, and how
we stopped.
We will be
glad to help
you, if you
want us to.

3 - Have you ever
switched from one
kind of drink to
another in the
hope that this
would keep you
from getting
drunk?
We tried all kinds of
ways. We made our
drinks weak. Or
just drank beer. Or
we did not drink
cocktails. Or only
drank on weekends.
You name it, we
tried it. But if we
drank anything
with alcohol in it, we
usually got drunk
eventually.

4 - Have
you had
to have
an
eye-open
er upon
awakenin
g during
the past
year?
Do you
need a
drink to
get
started,
or to stop
shaking?
This is a
pretty
sure sign
that you
are not
drinking
"socially."

5 - Do
you envy
people
who can
drink
without
getting
into
trouble?
At one
time or
another,
most of us
have
wondered
why we
were not
like most
people,
who really
can take it
or leave it.

6 - Have you had
problems
connected with
drinking during
the past year?
Be honest! Doctors
say that if you have
a problem with
alcohol and keep
on drinking, it will
get worse -- never
better. Eventually,
you will die, or end
up in an institution
for the rest of your
life. The only hope
is to stop drinking.

7 - Has your
drinking caused
trouble at home?
Before we came
into A.A., most of
us said that it was
the people or
problems at home
that made us drink.
We could not see
that our drinking
just made
everything worse. It
never solved
problems anywhere
or anytime.

8 - Do you
ever try to get
"extra" drinks
at a party
because you do
not get enough?
Most of us used
to have a "few"
before we
started out if we
thought it was
going to be that
kind of party.
And if drinks
were not served
fast enough, we
would go some
place else to get
more.

9 - Do you
tell yourself
you can stop
drinking any
time you
want to, even
though you
keep getting
drunk when
you don't
mean to?
Many of us
kidded
ourselves into
thinking that
we drank
because we
wanted to.
After we came
into A.A., we
found out that
once we
started to
drink, we
couldn't stop.

10 -
Have
you
missed
days of
work or
school
because
of
drinking?
Many of
us admit
now that
we
"called in
sick" lots
of times
when the
truth was
that we
were
hung-over
or on a
drunk.

11 - Do you
have
"blackouts"?
A "blackout" is
when we have
been drinking
hours or days
which we
cannot
remember.
When we came
to A.A., we
found out that
this is a pretty
sure sign of
alcoholic
drinking.

12 - Have you
ever felt that
your life would
be better if you
did not drink?
Many of us started
to drink because
drinking made life
seem better, at
least for a while.
By the time we got
into A.A., we felt
trapped. We were
drinking to live and
living to drink. We
were sick and tired
of being sick and
tired.

Did you answer YES
four or more times? If
so, you are probably
in trouble with
alcohol. Why do we
say this? Because
thousands of people
in A.A. have said so
for many years. They
found out the truth
about themselves —
the hard way.

But again, only
you can decide
whether you think
A.A. is for you.
Try to keep an
open mind on the
subject. If the
answer is YES,
we will be glad to
show you how we
stopped drinking
ourselves. Just call.

A.A. does not promise to
solve your life's problems.
But we can show you how
we are learning to live
without drinking "one day
at a time." We stay away
from that "first drink." If
there is no first one, there
cannot be a tenth one. And
when we got rid of alcohol,
we found that life became
much more manageable.

ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS® is a fellowship of
men and women who share their experience,
strength and hope with each other that they may
solve their common problem and help others to
recover from alcoholism.

• The only
requirement for
membership is a
desire to stop
drinking. There
are no dues or
fees for A.A.
membership;
we are
self-supporting
through our
own
contributions.
• A.A. is not
allied with any
sect,
denomination,
politics,
organization or
institution; does
not wish to
engage in any
controversy;
neither
endorses nor
opposes any
causes.
• Our primary
purpose is to
stay sober and
help other
alcoholics to
achieve sobriety.