Episode #19: Ever been called an AND’a? Or, been fronted out in a meeting because of how you introduced yourself?

Some of us have to learn this lesson the hard way... by getting fronted out in a meeting for breaking the traditions. This can be a touchy subject. It’s important when you’re in a 12 step meeting to introduce yourself in the way that they do it in that fellowship. For example typically, you do not want to introduce yourself as an alcoholic “and a” addict in an AA meeting or as an addict “and a” alcoholic in an NA meeting . Aside from the fact that in Alcoholics Anonymous they deal specifically with alcohol. So, to introduce yourself as an addict and or talk specifically about drugs, you are breaking tradition or: their suggested rules. It’s important that we keep in mind that each fellowship has a singleness of purpose so that more people are able to identify with who’s speaking. However, not everyone is exclusively one or the other ie: only an addict or only an alcoholic. So the dilemma some people find themselves in is, how do I stay true to myself, as a drug user in AA or a straight up alcoholic in NA. Well, get artful with your sharing. It’s hard to debate someone’s experience. You can debate an opinion but not their experience. So for example, you can mention things like drugs, in passing, be true to your experience as well as let that new commer know there’s people in the meeting that struggled with both addictions. Now, we can very easily get into the weeds on this topic but this episode is a quick thought about a specific conversation I had with a buddy. Let me know what you think or, if you have specific questions, holler at your boy! [email protected]