What Is This Al-Anon Thing?

What Al-Anon Is All About

Al-Anon began as an adaptation of the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step recovery process to focus on the support of friends and loved ones of recovering alcoholics. Friends and family often feel guilt, anxiety and sadness when loved ones suffer from an alcohol addiction, but Al-Anon provides a means by which friends and family achieve peace and happiness even if the alcoholic they love continues to drink. Al-Anon focuses purely on alcohol related issues, not narcotics. Al-Anon uplifts and galvanizes family units that are affected by someone else’s drinking.

The Al-Anon Process

The most important principle of Al-Anon’s 12-step recovery process is that the focus is on family members who are affected by alcoholism. Hours spent worrying about the alcoholic’s choices are what lead most people to Al-Anon. The 12-step process focuses on the strengths, hopes and experiences of its members in order to help them grow in how they deal with people, especially the recovering alcoholic. In the process, members share the story of their life’s journey while listening to the real-life stories of others, which helps all of the Al-Anon members recover in the process.

An essential component of the process is that there are no judgments regarding how any member feels. If one person has felt a certain way, odds are great that others have felt the same at one point or another. At its core, Al-Anon is a mutual support group where everyone shares and listens while transitioning into a triumphant recovery.

Al-Anon Promotes Healing and Restoration

As members move through the recovery process, the end goal is to feel restored and healed. Once members recognize that they have choices and their choices can be made to improve their life regardless of whether or not a loved one drinks, then attitudes can be changed. At its core, Al-Anon is designed to help members realize that their life circumstances do not define their existence. Choices can be made that promote healing and restoration, which in turn fosters the attitude necessary for living a fulfilling and healthy life.

For anyone affected by drinking and alcoholism in their family life, a loving Al-Anon community is waiting with open arms to provide members with a community of openness and healing. Al-Anon has helped the lives of millions, and will continue to be a success story for millions more in the years to come.