Types of 12-Step Meetings - Essay Example

Self-Reflection Paper: This essay seeks to explore what influence was produced on me when I attended a 12-step meeting at narcotics anonymous. I will focus on describing how attending this meeting contributed to my knowledge and how it made me feel while I was there. Before actually attending this meeting, I was a naïve person and had no big expectations. I thought the point of meeting was just getting a bunch of addicts together in one room and having them exchange their stories as a way to help them open up to other people. I never knew that there could be such riveting depth to a 12-step meeting at narcotic anonymous. It is so much more than simple exchange of stories and a get-together of people who have addiction issues. It was only after I attended this program in person that I realized the real potential of 12-step facilitation therapy. I then realized that the program focused on inducing people to develop an idea of self. It seeks to raise the level of self-actualization so that people could overcome the problematic issues and get able to deal with the consequences of their choices. There are several types of 12-step meetings. The one I attended was an open meeting. Both addicts and nonaddicts can attend open meetings (Miller, 2011, p. 215). General consensus is that addicts are weak people because they become slaves to things which are far inferior to real relationships. This is because they lose the potential to handle their cravings and become uncontrollable. The target of 12-step therapy is to enhance this potential of human beings to drive them toward self-acceptance. Self- acceptance requires one to develop a keen familiarity with oneself and addicts have no idea about who they are and what is their purpose of life. I realized that the instructors at the program specifically concentrated on stimulating addicts to accept themselves for who they are and forgive themselves for their misfortunes of the past. If it is difficult for one to accept oneself, it becomes quite an arduous task just to go through the daily routine of life. Same is the case with people enslaved to alcohol or substances. Everything starts losing significance and nothing gives joy. That is why instructors of the 12-step program emphasized at the meeting which I attended that self-acceptance is critically important to add strength to mind and character. Acceptance is the key idea of the program and it dominates along with two other key ideas which are surrender and active involvement. First, instructors focus on helping an addict accept his/her problem and develop a keen familiarity with self. Secondly, the addicts are motivated to surrender to ensure their compliance with the recovery activities of the 12-step program. Finally, every addict has to willingly ensure that he/she will remain actively involved in all subsequent meetings held for his/her benefit (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2012). Before attending the program, I did not know that a 12-step therapy meeting could have so much depth to it and that it has so much to offer to a person dealing with addiction. During my stay at the program, I noticed some of the clients were very hesitant to let down their barriers. It seemed like they were there due to being pressured by someone they did not want to lose. I could just look at their faces and tell that they were suffering from extreme consequences of low self-esteem and other self-loathing issues. When for a moment I placed myself in those people’s shoes, I discovered how hard it must be for each of them to silent the cacophony inside them in order to attend the meeting. It was no big deal for me to be present at the meeting as a silent observer. But, for an addict to attend any such program is a whole another story because addiction is like a roller coaster over which one has no control. Addicts can be surprisingly fearful of such meetings (Pomm & Pomm, 2008, p. 23). However, when people decide to be a part of drug rehabilitation programs by choice, it is a life-changing decision and the first step towards self-acceptance. Though much of the meeting time was devoted to letting members share their experiences, but a good thing was that if anyone chose to remain silent, he/she was not forced or shamed in any way. I did not expect before witnessing the meeting myself that such great focus would be laid on respecting every attendee. It is one of the biggest rules of the program to respect every attendee independent of the depth of his/her problem (Recovery.org, 2014). Focus is not laid on the attendees’ respective histories or however low have they stooped in the past to support their addiction, rather recovery is prioritized over everything else. I experienced a variety of emotions during the meeting from incredulity to disgust to despair to grief to hope to happiness. It would not be an overstatement if said that I was a roller coaster of emotions that day because I experienced so much that not every part of it is even describable in words. I witnessed that day the potential toxicity of alcohol and drugs in their full glory. I realized how many homes around us break forever due to alcohol abuse and addiction to drugs. I developed a new appreciation for how many people around us have fallen prey to petty things. I recognized the consequences of wrong priorities and how swiftly those consequences can envelop a person twisting and turning him/her until nothing is left of that person. I heard the woes and felt the pain of the addicts’ loved ones in their accounts of addiction which quite literally scared me to my bones. I believe that I felt and learned more in that one day than I did in all months of that year. I also believe that irrespective of addiction issues, even people who have never had to face any such problem should at least once in their lives attend any such meeting at narcotic anonymous just to feel blessed for all they have which clients do not have. No fees are demanded for attending the meeting neither from clients nor from observers. Everyone is welcome to participate and contribute in whatever way possible for wellbeing of clients and society. People are encouraged to share their insights and any thought-provoking message which could help addicts in getting over their issues and become productive citizens. I did not regret my decision of attending the meeting for a second while I was there because I was not given any reason to feel negative about my decision. Rather, I was inspired by so many things and developed a new respect for my life. The meeting discussed above was the first meeting attended by me at Narcotics Anonymous. So, I had no real-life experiences before coming to this meeting to compare them to the experience I gained here. However, I had watched such meetings in television dramas and movies quite a few times. But, a real-life experience with a 12-step meeting told me that there are huge differences between actual meetings and those portrayed by media. The open meeting which I attended had a lot more depth to it and it left a life-long impression on my mind. I experienced a variety of rich emotions while I was there. Same cannot be said for any meeting conducted for recovery of addicts which I witnessed in dramas or movies. References: Miller, G. (2011). Learning the Language of Addiction Counseling. John Wiley & Sons. National Institute on Drug Abuse. (2012). Principles of Drug Addiction Treatment: A Research-Based Guide. Retrieved from http://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/principles-drug-addiction-treatment-research-based-guide-third-edition/evidence-based-approaches-to-drug-addiction-treatment/behavioral-4 Pomm, H.A., & Pomm, R.M. (2008). Management of the Addicted Patient in Primary Care. Springer. Recovery.org. (2014). About the Narcotics Anonymous (NA) 12-Step Recovery Program. Retrieved from http://www.recovery.org/topics/about-the-narcotics-anonymous-na-12-step-recovery-program/ Read More