Al-anon?

[Jiggerz]

Has anyone had any experience with this they're willing to share? I know its a personal and anonymous thing. I'm trying to deal with the ANGER of living with an alcoholic and it just isnt working. I've looked for meetings in my area, but they say 'closed meeting' ..I have no idea what that means, I just assume maybe no new people?

Any help at all is much appreciated.

Michelle

[Judynyc]

If the meeting list has a phone number, why not give them a call and ask them just what that means.

These meetings are supposed to be open so that a person like yourself can get the help/support that you are looking for.

Did you do a google search for al-anon? I think that there are online meetings too.

Heres the link:
http://www.ola-is.org/

[BBQgal]

Hi,
In my area, There are 2 different kinds of meetings to go to, a closed and an open meeting. The open meeting means that any one can come ,police officers, social workers, a college student writing a paper for there psychology class etc.... you can show up to see if you think the meetings would help you.
A closed meeting just means that you or a relative have an actual problem (some places call it qualifying). many times they want you to call a designated member(contact person) who phone number is listed and ask if that meeting is still active. there are allot of old not updated listings out there.
I hope this helps.
Annie

[BetyLouWho]

The way that I understand the process is that there are 'new member' meetings to welcome newbies. You have to understand that the level of trust that sometimes develops in these groups is intense and I suppose that having unannounced walk-ins might be just a little disruptive to the flow and the intimacy.

I applaud you for going to that meeting! That takes a HUGE amount of courage! Please don't be put off by the closed door that you came across. If you think that there might be help there, please try to go back.

Call the contact people and ask them when the next meeting might be for newcommers and I suspect that you will be welcomed with open arms.
You will likely find that after an 'open' meeting, and once you get to know a few people, you will find many there who have many of the same feelings toward their loved ones and their issues as you do.