How Joining a Support Group Can Help You
By: Royane Real

Are you going through a tough time in your life? Do you feel like you’re all alone with your problem? One of the toughest problems you can face is that of addiction.

In the beginning stages of an addiction, getting high usually feels great. It seems like the perfect answer to all your problems, because your problems just seem to vanish while you are high.

But as time goes on, and the addictive process deepens, the addiction starts becoming a part of the problem and not a part of the solution.

At this stage, the addict is torn between wanting to quit, and getting deeper into the addictive process. You feel all alone, and don't know where to turn for help.

Some communities have very good facilities set up for dealing with people who have addiction problems, and some places have nothing at all to help these people.

Chances are that there are a lot of other people who are facing a similar difficulty right now, perhaps even other people in your own community.

Whether you are trying to kick an addiction or trying to maintain your sobriety after rehab, you can find the help and support you need to get through this period, as well as find helpful advice and good friendships by joining a support group made up of other people who are struggling with the same problem that you are.

Joining a support group is a way to quickly fill your life with kind and caring people who will help you on your journey.

What is a support group? It can be a formal or informal group of people who get together on a regular basis to share certain aspects of their lives with others and to offer each other emotional support.

Sometimes these are also called self help groups.

Perhaps the most famous of the support groups that exist today is Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.). This organization started in about 1935 in Akron, Ohio, when two alcoholics found that talking to each other about their drinking and following a simple program helped keep them both sober.

Since that beginning, the A.A. organization has spread throughout the world and millions of alcoholics have learned to stay sober by helping each other.

The A.A. model has been adopted by people dealing with addiction problems other than alcohol, so today there are support groups that deal with addictions to narcotics, cocaine, food, and many other substances and activities.

In addition, there are support groups that use the A.A. model to help the partners or children of addicts. Being the spouse or child of an alcoholic or addict brings with it certain painful problems that are often best understood by other people who have lived a similar experience.

Support groups that use the A.A. framework are often called “12 Step Groups”. That is because these groups base their founding principles and traditions on the 12 steps which were proposed by the initial founders of the first Alcoholics Anonymous groups.

One of the key principles of the support groups using the A.A. model is the tradition of secrecy. People who attend these meetings use only their first names. They do not publicly advertise their participation in 12 Step groups. Everything said at these meetings is meant to be kept strictly confidential by those who attend.

It is because of this tradition of secrecy that those who attend the meetings can feel free to discuss extremely personal matters.

Not only have 12 Step groups enabled millions of people to overcome their addictions, reclaim their lives and gain peace of mind, they also foster close friendships and emotional intimacy for many of those who attend.

Not all self help or support groups are fashioned on the 12 Step A.A. model. Many support groups today exist to help people battle specific diseases.

Self help groups also exist for many emotional problems and social situations.

You can usually find information about the location and times of support group meetings by checking in a local newspaper or telephone book.

If you decide to try visiting an existing support group, it’s best to go several times before you decide whether or not it’s right for you. Sometimes a group can have an “off” night when things don’t quite work well, and yet other meetings might be much better.

Of course it is often easier to find a support group for an obscure problem if you live in a large city rather than in a small town. But you are not limited by geography as long as you have a computer—nowadays there are many support groups on line.

Using the Internet you can access people who are willing to talk about your problem, at any hour of the day or night, in any corner of the world.

Whatever type of problem you have, it’s quite likely that somewhere in the world there is a group of people who are already trying to deal with the same problem.

And if you can’t find the right kind of support group locally, another option for you is to try start up a support group right where you live. Not only will you be helping yourself, but you will also be helping others, and you’ll probably meet a lot of interesting and friendly people at the same time!

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

This article is by Royane Real, author of several self help books available at her website, including “How You Can Have All the Friends You Want – Your Complete Guide to Finding Friends, Making Friends, and Keeping Friends” To increase your circle of friends, download it today at www.royanereal.com

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