I
I Am
Responsible:
This
expression comes from the Responsibility Declaration adopted at AA's
1965 International Convention. The declaration reads, 'I am
responsible. When anyone, anywhere, reaches out for help, I want the
hand of AA always to be there. And for that I am responsible.'
Identification:
Identification
is one of the ways in which we overcome the denial associated with our
alcoholism. When an alcoholic in recovery honestly tells his or her
story, and we can identify with him or her, our denial is momentarily
overcome. This discovery formed one of the fundamental principles of
AA: that one alcoholic could help another alcoholic stay sober.
Insanity:
AA's
Second Step states we 'came to believe that a Power greater than
ourselves could restore us to sanity.' Sometimes in AA we hear insanity
defined as 'doing the same thing over and over but expecting different
results.' Albert Einstein is the reputed author of that definition of insanity.
Intergroup:
A
local coordinating office for AA groups. It also acts as a point of
contact for the general public and as a clearinghouse for information
on AA meetings and activities. In some cities it is called the 'Central
Office.'
Intervention:
The
process by which family members and/or friends of an alcoholic get
together and confront the alcoholic about the negative effects of his
behavior. The goal of an intervention is to break through the
alcoholics denial of his problem and to motivate him to seek help.
Intervention is often a means of assisting an alcoholic to hit his or
her 'bottom' long before he or she would naturally.
Into Action:
This
is the title of chapter 6 of the Big Book. AA is a program of action.
Good intentions, intellectualizing, and theorizing aid the disease and
not our recovery from it- if they are divorced from Action. |