Am I an Alcoholic? As members of AA, we've all asked ourselves that question at one point or another.  By going to AA meetings and talking with other alcoholics, we've learned that it doesn't matter how much or how often we drink, it's what happens to us when we start drinking that makes us alcoholic. We have found that once we start, we have very little control over the amount we do drink. It wasn't like that in the beginning but somewhere along the way we changed. Rather than give up without a fight, most of us valiantly tried to gain control. We tried switching brands, limiting the number of drinks, never drinking alone, never drinking in the morning, not having it in the house...we tried everything we could think of and when that didn't work, then we flat out swore we'd quit forever. However, once the thought of a drink enters our head, our willpower becomes practically nonexistent and we no longer remember the suffering and humiliation of even a week ago. Left on our own we have no defense against taking that first drink.

If you've been struggling with your drinking and want to quit then AA can help.  We have many meetings throughout Bay County. Click here for the meeting schedule.

If you'd like to talk to a recovering alcoholic, call our 24-hour answering service and they'll put you in contact with one of our members. Call  (850) 784-7431 or (800) 333-0996.

AA publishes a book called Alcoholics Anonymous (we call it the Big Book). It explains more about the disease of alcoholism but most importantly it offers a solution. Read it on the official AA website at http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/ 

 If you're a family member or friend of an alcoholic and their drinking is having an adverse affect on your life then Al-Anon can help. Al-Anon's primary purpose is to help the families of alcoholics. They do this by practicing the Twelve Steps of Al-Anon and by welcoming and comforting the family of the alcoholic.

For us, one drink is too many and a thousand not enough.