Talking Out of Alcoholism: Results of a Survey of Alcoholics Anonymous in England and Wales, Henry S and Robinson D,
Journal
of the Royal College of General Practitioners, Vol. 28, 414-419, July
1978
“SUMMARY.
A national survey of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
produced data on the way AA
members talk about their experiences and the role this plays in
achieving and maintaining sobriety. The survey was based on
self-completion questionnaires given to one in four members attending
meetings of a one in ten random sample of AA groups operating in
England and Wales. Only 1.8 per cent of current members had never
spoken regularly. Hearing other people's personal stories was felt by
members to be the most useful part of AA
meetings. At some time 81.9 per cent of members had told their
own story and their was some relationship between dropping out and
not telling personal stories. The great majority of those who had
told stories reported changes in their content over time; 58.0 per
cent of these changes involved a shift of emphasis from drinking to
recovery. The result suggest that AA
enables people to change the way they perceive and evaluate
themselves it enables them to talk themselves out of alcoholism.
All
we can hope to do, by talking about (a person's) experience is change
his attitude...Who
am I to say he is wrong? I must be tolerant and accept that this is
how he is thinking. It may be a barrier to his recovery and all I can
hope to do
is influence his thinking and outlook .... by talking. You kick a
ball around long
enough and you'll have a game, won't you? Talk, talk, talk and
because you talk you start a man thinking.
Bill,
General Secretary of Alcoholics Anonymous in Great Britain”
See also Links and downloads
PS
For AA Minority Report 2013 click here
