You’ll hear a lot in the rooms of recovery about making meetings. It’s important. Meetings aren’t the ‘program’ of AA or NA. The program is the 12-steps. Meetings are considered the ‘fellowship’ of 12-step groups.
Aside from the fact that they keep you sane…that you’ll always feel better after a meeting (even if it’s not a great meeting), it’s really important to invest in the fellowship of recovery. Investing in the fellowship is kind of like putting yourself in the middle of this thing. When you go to a lot of meetings, you meet a lot of people (this was not appealing to me when I was newly sober.) When you show up regularly in the same place, people get to know you, and it’s easier to tell them when you’re suffering. It’s easier for them to know you’re hurting even when you don’t say a word. And just in case you’re wondering…you can feel any way you want to about people. You don’t have to be enthusiastic!
In the beginning, many suggest 90 meetings in 90 days (in other words, make it to a meeting every day.) I probably did 1,000 meetings in my first year (and for those among you who are math challenged…that’s an average of almost 3 meetings a day. Of course, I lived with 5 other people who all drank and used like I did. I couldn’t afford to move for more than 6 months. My house was full of illegal narcotics, tons of booze and every imaginable mood-altering substance. The only place I felt safe was in a meeting. I used to sit outside the door of the clubhouse smoking cigarettes (Radford Hall, North Hollywood group) and wait for them to open the door. Then I stayed until they kicked me out. That’s how I stayed sober…for a long time!
The point is, go to meetings. Go to regular meetings. Keep going to meetings (you’ll find out why later) and you will be well on your way to making it.
A Recovering Life 