Alcholics Anonymous – Overview
Alcoholics Anonymous is a voluntary organization that was conceived back in 1935 to help practicing alcoholics to find sobriety. It was the brainchild of Mr. Bill Wilson, a onetime financier who’s career in Finance was shattered by alcoholism.
Whilst attending a hospital, suffering from the effects of acute alcohol poisoning, Bill Wilson underwent what he called a spiritual experience, and in his new found acceptance and belief in God, was able to cure himself.
Once leaving the hospital, he worked together with Dr. Bob Smith, and they performed their cooperative job to help and heal alcoholics. The project was very successful and in 1939, Bill Wilson created a book called Alcoholics Anonymous that started the organization we know today.
At the moment there are more than 106,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meeting groups and the organization has spread around the world. The requirements for joining Alcoholics Anonymous are that only have to be an alcoholic who wants to stop. There is no payment or fee thus the foundation receives its funding from private donations.
The alcoholism treatment concept as a disease was the result of Dr. William Silkworth’s idea, the doctor who has treated Bob Wilson in New York hospital, where here his spiritual experience that put him on the way of creation of Alcoholics Anonymous.
As alcoholic anonymous grew during the late 1930s and early 1940s, and today the 12 basic principles were grown that are the backbone of the organization. The first 12 principles were:
• Admitting their lives have been ruled by alcoholism
• Believing God could cure alcoholism
• Putting themselves in hands of God
• Honest self evaluation
• Self-confession of wrongs performed
• Preparedness for God to remove bad characteristics
• Requesting that God remove these bad characteristics
• Making list people they had harmed as well as committing to restore wrongs done
• Actually making any amends possible
• Continuous self-evaluation and admittance of any ongoing imperfections
• Promising to try to recognize God and the plans to recover alcoholics
• Committing to help other practicing alcoholics
Alcoholics Anonymous had a basic foundation in the belief of God, it appears from the original mission statements or principles, but the companionship has increased over the passage of several years, the principles have to be more and more general so as not to estrange or make themselves indefensible to alcoholics that badly need and want assistance, but saw religion as an obstacle to obtaining the assistance.
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