Zounds!

[Guest guest]

Last night I went to my first 12 step alternative meeting. It was cool! I

was really nervous about it. My experience with AA 15 years ago was this

big emotional boil and I kind of lanced it by coming here to 12 step free

and expressing my feelings. It's amazing what an atmosphere of acceptance

can do for a person's mental health, and that's what I believe 12 step free

provides: an atmosphere of acceptance.

It was uncomfortable but beneficial for me that Jim K was here, he kind of

put a face on the icky side of AA for me. (Now Jim, don't take that the

wrong way. I'm not expressing gratitude here, why should I be grateful to

someone who hangs around making snide comments. I'm just patting myself on

the back for utilizing you as a resource in my recovery from AA

I was so afraid to go to ANY kind of meeting. I took many months before

committing to any plan for moderation/abstinence, because I wasn't having

any big problems. Abstinence/moderation is something I want to do for

myself.

At the 12 step alternative clinic where I attended my first meeting last

night, no one asked for detailed information. It is confidential. It is

inexpensive, by donation only, but it is certainly worth at least a $20

donation each week to me, to have access to and support this kind of

environment.

At one point, we were talking about our emotions, and I just said " I don't

really want to go there right now. " And the guy who runs the clinic said

that was cool, we are respectful of people's boundaries here. Wow!

Boundaries! What a concept.

Anyway, I feel really good about it, very optimistic. I haven't been

sharing much optimism here of late, and it's good to be feeling up again.

Judith

________________________________________________________________

Get FREE voicemail, fax and email at http://voicemail.excite.com

Talk online at http://voicechat.excite.com