God, grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
The courage to change the things I can,
And the wisdom to know the difference.

Anonymous groups are fellowships who “share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from their addiction.”

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) started it all in 1935. Since then, dozens of anonymous addiction and general support groups have formed. There are groups for sexaholics, gamblers, workaholics, cocaine addicts, methadone addicts, and many others. If you have an addiction, there will be an anonymous group to help.

Though the addictions are different, the standards for all groups are similar:

  • The 12 Steps are the foundation
  • Members can be anonymous.
  • Meetings are free
  • No records kept; no membership dues
  • Non-denominational; non-political 

For alcohol and drug addiction groups, the main goal is the same: to help you get and stay clean and sober. The two largest groups are AA and Narcotics Anonymous (NA).

Other substance abuse groups are Cocaine Anonymous, Crystal Meth Anonymous, Marijuana Anonymous, and Methadone Anonymous. There is even a group, Al-Anon Family, for friends and relatives of alcoholics.

Let’s look at how anonymous groups started.

AA
In 1934, an alcoholic name Bill Wilson met another alcoholic, Dr. Bob Smith, in Akron, Ohio and the two discussed their addiction. Their long supportive talks inspired one another to quit drinking for good.

Over the next few years, the men recruited fellow alcoholics to their homes to have the same inspiring talks. They found that taking the addiction one day at time was the best approach. Thinking about a lifetime of sobriety seemed too hard.

Bill wrote about these experiences in Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) published in 1939. He also drew from the writings of philosopher and psychologist William James. In the book, he outlined a program for alcoholics to become and stay sober. The 12 steps of AA meetings were born.

Today, AA has some 2 million members in 150 countries. And with that, a long history of success.

The 12 Steps
The original 12 steps of AA are the foundation for these anonymous groups. By following these steps, the groups say, recovery is possible.

  • We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
  • We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
  • We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
  • We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
  • We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
  • We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
  • We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
  • We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
  • We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
  • We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
  • We 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.
  • Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Do Anonymous Groups Work?
Like any program, this depends a lot on the individual. AA’s latest triennial survey of 8,000 American and Canadian members found the following numbers:

  • 47 is the average age of an AA member
  • 67% are male; 33% female
  • 8 years was the average length of sobriety
  • 33% were sober for more than 10 years
  • 31% were sober less than 1 year 

NA’s 2009 survey of over 12,000 members found the following numbers:

  • 9 years was the average clean time
  • 43% were “unable to maintain productivity through work and relationships with family.
  • But, 65% had improvement in employment, family relationships, social connectedness, and hobbies. 

Independent studies show mixed results for both groups.

Summary

Anonymous groups have been successful for many addicts for many years. During those years, these groups have based their success on fellowship and the 12-step program. This program isn’t for everyone but statistics show it does work for those that make the commitment.