I found my experience at the Hero’s Journey to be very moving. I came to realize...
Martha
Support Groups
The sense of community and belonging, which are the gifts of our program, begin at the group meeting level. The CoDA community uses the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, which are the foundation for our program, and are guides to our personal behavior and attitudes. They teach us to be respectful and honorable with one another.
A CoDA meeting is much more than a place to sit and tell your troubles, it is a place to meet people like yourself and to learn from those who are different from you; a place to interact with people focused on learning to have healthy and loving relationships.
A CoDA meeting is a group of people who come together around their shared desire for healthy and loving relationships. The meeting uses the Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions of Co-Dependents Anonymous as the basis for working toward recovery. It is a place to find sponsorship and fellowship as well as the sharing of experience, strength, and hope. A strong sense of acceptance and community makes a meeting attractive both to the newcomer and old timer.
CoDA meetings remain strong and have the ongoing participation of long-term members when they demonstrate the qualities of acceptance and community. Members are encouraged to carry on fellowship outside of the meeting by going to coffee afterwards or working with a community committee to plan community events such as picnics, pot lucks, camp outs, or other events.
Adult Children of Alcoholics is a Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition program of women and men who grew up in alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes. We meet with each other in a mutually respectful, safe environment and acknowledge our common experiences. We discover how childhood affected us in the past and influences us in the present ("The Problem"). We take positive action. By practicing the Twelve Steps, focusing on "The Solution", and accepting a loving Higher Power of our understanding, we find freedom from the past and a way t0 improve our lives today.
Al-Anon is for families, relatives, and friends whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking. If someone close to you, such as a family member, friend, co-worker, or neighbor, has or has had a drinking problem, the following questions may help you determine if Al-Anon is for you: Do you constantly seek approval and affirmation? Do you fail to recognize your accomplishments? Do you fear criticism? Do you overextend yourself? Have you had problems with your own compulsive behavior? Do you have a need for perfection? Are you uneasy when your life is going smoothly, continually anticipating problems? Do you feel more alive in the midst of a crisis? Do you still feel responsible for others, as you did for the problem drinker in your life? Do you care for others easily, yet find it difficult to care for yourself? Do you isolate yourself from other people? Do you respond with fear to authority figures and angry people? Do you feel that individuals and society in general are taking advantage of you? Do you have trouble with intimate relationships? Do you confuse pity with love, as you did with the problem drinker? Do you attract and/or seek people who tend to be compulsive and/or abusive? Do you cling to relationships because you are afraid of being alone? Do you often mistrust your own feelings and the feelings expressed by others? Do you find it difficult to identify and express your emotions? Do you think someone's drinking may have affected you?