Alcoholic anonymous is a companionship society comprised of women, as well as men, who desire to allocate to others their hope, strength and experience. Sharing with those who may be able to get to the bottom of their general recurring problems and therefore be an aid to those who wish to recover from alcoholism is considered one of the most important beliefs of the alcoholic anonymous members.
The common requirement for membership is a yearning to stop drinking. Being self-supporting through their individual contributions means that they will never charge neither fees nor dues in relation to AA membership.
Alcoholic anonymous does not ever ally itself with any institution nor organization, nor any political, denomination, or sect. Neither do they ever wish to engage in controversies, for they neither endorse nor oppose any causes. They have one primary objective and that is to remain sober and be of assistance to other alcoholics in order for them to achieve sobriety.
One of the basic principle systems of alcholics anonymous is that because they are all alcoholics themselves they understand what their shared illness feels like and thus have a very special understanding of the problems associated with alcoholism.
Its members acknowledge that they are alcoholics regardless of the many years of being sober, as one can solely recover from being an alcoholic, never cured.
The essential thing is the fact that alcoholic anonymous members don’t say that they swear never to drink, but instead they think that alcoholism is able to be treated one day of the week at a time. It is always only for today, never even going as far as tomorrow, it is only for today.
Therefore, when the physical part of keeping alcohol out of the physical being, also the emotional being should be helped. To help this process, members consider that there are "twelve steps" to achieve the condition of alcoholism recovery.
Whenever members of alcoholics anonymous get together, they give suggestions and actions in the form of ideas on the way to go through or adhere the twelve steps.
Alcoholics anonymous meetings happen in over 180 different countries. In their open meetings, which are open to alcoholics and non-alcoholics alike, they relate to each other the manner in which they drank, how they made their discovery of alcoholic anonymous, and thus how helpful that program was for them. Their closed meetings are attended by alcoholics only, so that intense personal problems may be discussed freely among them.
