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Al-Anon Forum Magazine Featured Article

A Renewed Spirit
At 10 o'clock on a Friday night I had just gotten up off the floor. That's where I felt the most comfortable when I was sad and lonely. My life had fallen back into the boring pattern of waiting for my husband to come home so I could feel secure. I was explaining these feelings to my dog when suddenly I thought about Step One.
Why didn't Step One work both ways? If I was powerless over the alcoholic, wasn't the alcoholic powerless over me? If that was the case, why did I continue to feel so controlled by this person? It didn't seem fair that the person I lived with could influence my feelings so easily when he appeared to have so little concern for how I felt.
The more I thought about my powerlessness over the alcoholic, the less power I felt he had over me. Slowly my body regained its life and my spirit felt renewed. Needless to say, I had the Al-Anon program to thank once more. Without the tools to keep me moving steadily forward, I would have remained on the floor.
Before Al-Anon, I had similar feelings of abandonment and didn't know how to cope. For many years, I stayed in a constant state of depression. When I found the Al-Anon program, my life took on a new and exciting meaning. I developed the self-confidence to seek out interesting challenges, and relied less on other people to bring meaning into my life.
None of this means that my life is one big bowl of cherries. I'm human, too. But now when I find myself on the floor it doesn't take long before I pick myself up and tackle another challenge - such as writing to The Forum.
Sandy B. - British Columbia
 
Alcoholism is a family disease. Those of us who live with, or have have lived with, this disease as children or adults sometimes have problems which the Al-Anon program can help us to resolve. If you have answered yes to some of all of the above questions, Al-Anon may be of help to you. You can contact Al-Anon by checking your local telephone directory, or from the Resources page. Phone numbers and Contact Information for the Austin Area are listed on the Contact Page of this website.
 
These articles were reproduced with permission from 'The Forum', the monthly inspirational newsletter of Al-Anon. Al-Anon World Headquarters, Inc. is located in Virginia Beach, VA. See www.Al-Anon.org for more information.