Is AA for You? - 12 Questions

1.       Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so, but only lasted for a couple of days? Most of us in A.A. made all kinds of promises to ourselves and to our families. We could not keep them. Then we came to A.A. and A.A. said: “Just try not to drink today.” If you do not drink today, you cannot get drunk today. Yes No

2.       Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking — stop telling you what to do? In A.A. we do not tell anyone to do anything. We just talk about our own drinking, the trouble we got into, and how we stopped. We will be glad to help you, if you want us to. Yes No

3.       Have you ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the hope that this would keep you from getting drunk? We tried all kinds of ways. We made our drinks weak. Or just drank beer. Or we did not drink cocktails. Or only drank on weekends. You name it, we tried it. But if we drank anything with alcohol in it, we usually got drunk eventually. Yes No

4.       Have you had to have a drink upon awakening during the past year? Do you need a drink to get started, or to stop shaking? This is a pretty sure sign that you are not drinking “socially.” Yes No

5.       Do you envy people who can drink without getting into trouble? At one time or another, most of us have wondered why we were not like most people, who really can take it or leave it. Yes No

6.       Have you had problems connected with drinking during the past year? Be honest! Doctors say that if you have a problem with alcohol and keep on drinking, it will get worse — never better. Eventually, you will die, or end up in an institution for the rest of your life. The only hope is to stop drinking. Yes No

7.       Has your drinking caused trouble at home? Before we came into A. A., most of us said that it was the people or problems at home that made us drink. We could not see that our drinking just made everything worse. It never solved problems anywhere or anytime. Yes No

8.       Do you ever try to get “extra” drinks at a party because you do not get enough? Most of us used to have a “few” before we started out if we thought it was going to be that kind of party. And if drinks were not served fast enough, we would go someplace else to get more. Yes No

9.       Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to, even though you keep getting drunk when you don’t mean to? Many of us kidded ourselves into thinking that we drank because we wanted to. After we came into A.A., we found out that once we started to drink, we couldn’t stop. Yes No

10.   Have you missed days of work or school because of drinking? Many of us admit now that we “called in sick” lots of times when the truth was that we were hungover or on a drunk. Yes No

11.   Do you have “blackouts”? A “blackout” occurs when we cannot remember what happened for hours or days while we were drinking. When we came to A.A., we found out that this is a pretty sure sign of alcoholic drinking. Yes No

12.   Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink? Many of us started to drink because drinking made life seem better, at least for a while. By the time we got into A.A., we felt trapped. We were drinking to live and living to drink. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired. Yes No

1.      We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.

 

2.      Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

 

3.      Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

 

4.      Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

 

5.      Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

 

6.      Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

 

7.      Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

 

8.      Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

 

9.      Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

 

10.   Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

 

11.   Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

 

12.   Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Copyright  1952, 1953, 1981 by Alcoholics Anonymous Publishing (now known as Alcoholics Anonymous World Services, Inc.) All rights reserved.

 

Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

 There are two days in every week about which we should not worry, Two days which should be kept free of fear and apprehension.

One of these days is YESTERDAY, with its mistakes and cares, its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. YESTERDAY has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back YESTERDAY. We cannot undo a single act we performed. We cannot erase a single word we said. YESTERDAY is gone.

The other day we should not worry about is TOMORROW with its possible adversities, its burdens, and its large promises. TOMORROW is also beyond our immediate control. TOMORROW, the sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in TOMORROW for it is as yet unborn.

This leaves only one day – TODAY. Anyone can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities - YESTERDAY and TOMORROW that we break down. It is not the experience of TODAY that drives us mad. It is remorse or bitterness for something which happened YESTERDAY and the dread of what TOMORROW may bring. Let us, therefore, live but ONE day at a time. Beginners Pamphlet

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of people who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for AA membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.

Twelve Steps

of Alcoholics Anonymous

1.    

Yesterday..Today and Tomorrow

Distrrict 34

Quinte East

Telephone

1 877 961 2134

Is AA for You? - 12 Questions

1.       Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so, but only lasted for a couple of days? Most of us in A.A. made all kinds of promises to ourselves and to our families. We could not keep them. Then we came to A.A. and A.A. said: “Just try not to drink today.” If you do not drink today, you cannot get drunk today. Yes No

2.       Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking — stop telling you what to do? In A.A. we do not tell anyone to do anything. We just talk about our own drinking, the trouble we got into, and how we stopped. We will be glad to help you, if you want us to. Yes No

3.       Have you ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the hope that this would keep you from getting drunk? We tried all kinds of ways. We made our drinks weak. Or just drank beer. Or we did not drink cocktails. Or only drank on weekends. You name it, we tried it. But if we drank anything with alcohol in it, we usually got drunk eventually. Yes No

4.       Have you had to have a drink upon awakening during the past year? Do you need a drink to get started, or to stop shaking? This is a pretty sure sign that you are not drinking “socially.” Yes No

5.       Do you envy people who can drink without getting into trouble? At one time or another, most of us have wondered why we were not like most people, who really can take it or leave it. Yes No

6.       Have you had problems connected with drinking during the past year? Be honest! Doctors say that if you have a problem with alcohol and keep on drinking, it will get worse — never better. Eventually, you will die, or end up in an institution for the rest of your life. The only hope is to stop drinking. Yes No

7.       Has your drinking caused trouble at home? Before we came into A. A., most of us said that it was the people or problems at home that made us drink. We could not see that our drinking just made everything worse. It never solved problems anywhere or anytime. Yes No

8.       Do you ever try to get “extra” drinks at a party because you do not get enough? Most of us used to have a “few” before we started out if we thought it was going to be that kind of party. And if drinks were not served fast enough, we would go someplace else to get more. Yes No

9.       Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to, even though you keep getting drunk when you don’t mean to? Many of us kidded ourselves into thinking that we drank because we wanted to. After we came into A.A., we found out that once we started to drink, we couldn’t stop. Yes No

10.   Have you missed days of work or school because of drinking? Many of us admit now that we “called in sick” lots of times when the truth was that we were hungover or on a drunk. Yes No

11.   Do you have “blackouts”? A “blackout” occurs when we cannot remember what happened for hours or days while we were drinking. When we came to A.A., we found out that this is a pretty sure sign of alcoholic drinking. Yes No

12.   Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink? Many of us started to drink because drinking made life seem better, at least for a while. By the time we got into A.A., we felt trapped. We were drinking to live and living to drink. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired. Yes No