{"id":16161,"date":"2020-10-09T16:18:00","date_gmt":"2020-10-09T20:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=16161"},"modified":"2020-10-21T11:35:15","modified_gmt":"2020-10-21T15:35:15","slug":"aa-rules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/","title":{"rendered":"AA Rules: Basic Requirements for AA"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What are the AA rules? How do the rules and principles support the success of the program?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>AA rules are the basic requirements for each local group running AA meetings. There are also Alcoholics Anonymous rules and principles that guide people going through the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Read more about the AA rules and why they are needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<!--more-->\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are the AA Rules?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Alcoholics Anonymous meetings are run by local groups. These groups are autonomous and not managed by a central organization. This anonymity is one of the core AA rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There must be no fees or dues to join AA. This work is not meant to be used to earn a profit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All members must remain anonymous to the public. This makes sure members focus on the principles and the work, not on personalities.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Alcoholics Anonymous Rules and Principles for Members<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It\u2019s necessary for an alcoholic to be \u2018treated\u2019 by another recovering alcoholic.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many non-alcoholic people attempt to help\u2014doctors, spouses, parents, and friends. But they often fail in their approach, having never experienced alcoholism themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In contrast, a recovering alcoholic can approach another alcoholic and gain their confidence within a few hours.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The former alcoholic has had the same difficulty and knows what he\u2019s talking about.<\/li><li>He doesn\u2019t sit on a moral high horse and knows not to judge or lecture the alcoholic.<\/li><li>He asks for nothing in return and sincerely wants to be helpful.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>This doesn\u2019t mean the recovering alcoholic is the only person involved in recovery. As we\u2019ll discuss, people affected by the alcoholic\u2019s behavior\u2014such as the spouse, family, and employer\u2014should also be included in the recovery. Furthermore, the AA member\u2019s non-alcoholic acquaintances can also help\u2014an AA member\u2019s spouse can talk to a new member\u2019s spouse, communicating her story, her mistakes, and reasonable expectations for what will happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To recover, an alcoholic must be sober for the rest of his life. A single drink can kick off a vicious cycle of drinking:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Having just a little alcohol will kick off the uncontrollable craving we last discussed.<\/li><li>The alcoholic will then go on a drinking spree, despite whatever resolve he previously had to stay sober.<\/li><li>After coming to, the alcoholic will feel remorse and promise to quit again. This guilt might trigger even more drinking.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s tempting for an alcoholic who has been sober for some period of time to believe that he can drink in moderation. This is a delusion. The book cites an alcoholic who had stayed sober for 25 years, and that he might give alcohol another try. Within two months, he was in a hospital, puzzled and humiliated. Within 4 years, he was dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The only way to escape the clutches of alcohol is to never drink again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Furthermore, the only way to succeed is to follow the 12 Steps absolutely. No steps can be skipped; they are all essential for recovery.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What are the AA rules? How do the rules and principles support the success of the program? AA rules are the basic requirements for each local group running AA meetings. There are also Alcoholics Anonymous rules and principles that guide people going through the program. Read more about the AA rules and why they are needed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":5465,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,7],"tags":[137],"class_list":["post-16161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ethics","category-lifestyle","tag-alcoholics-anonymous-the-big-book","","tg-column-two"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>AA Rules: Basic Requirements for AA - Shortform Books<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Alcoholics Anonymous programs are run by local groups, but there are some standards that apply everywhere. 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Learn more about the AA rules.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Shortform Books\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-10-09T20:18:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-10-21T15:35:15+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/checklist-checklist.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1081\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"591\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Rina Shah\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Rina Shah\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d07435826f13a8f422d5d333dceac287\"},\"headline\":\"AA Rules: Basic Requirements for AA\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-09T20:18:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-21T15:35:15+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/\"},\"wordCount\":495,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/checklist-checklist.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Alcoholics Anonymous: The Big Book\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Ethics\",\"Lifestyle\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/\",\"name\":\"AA Rules: Basic Requirements for AA - Shortform Books\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/aa-rules\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/checklist-checklist.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-10-09T20:18:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-10-21T15:35:15+00:00\",\"description\":\"Alcoholics Anonymous programs are run by local groups, but there are some standards that apply everywhere. 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