Greetings and welcome to our Class Blog. I look forward to reading your reflections about Psychiatric-Mental Health Nursing. The weekly blog entries should be posted by the due dates listed on Blackboard. I will post the weekly assignment. To post individual responses, students should click on the word, "comments" then write in the comment window to the weekly assignment. Blogging is not Discussion Board. Students are expected to reflect on the weekly posting each week. Students are encouraged to read other students' comments. You do not have to respond by commenting to classmates. These are your thoughts. This is a closed blog thus only students enrolled in NURS 432 will have access to this Blog by email invitation. Our confidentiality rule applies to all class bloggers. Please be mindful that scholarly writing is expected. You may refer to our class Blackboard for more detail about this Clinical Activity under Assignment. NOTE: Instructions on how to proceed are located in the Welcome to the May Graduating Class of 2015 message on the lower right side under Blog Archives October 2014. You will not be able to post a comment here. I initiated this Class Blog in 2011 with (6) discussion questions. You will be instructed to respond to my discussion questions ONLY. DO NOT START YOUR OWN POSTINGS. I look forward to your comments. Happy blogging!
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Week Five
Blog about your support group experience as a participant-observer.
I attended a drug addiction group meeting. I really felt out of place becasue the drug of choice I decided to say I am addictted to was not as bad as the other persons in the meeting. I said I am addicited to marijuana, the other people were addicted to crack, heroin, meth, and alcohol. All of these people had been to a rehab center already but they continued to attend support groups to maintain sobriety. It was very interesting listening to the diffrent stories about what lead them to using drugs. I believe that they could tell that I was a fake because of the way they looked at me after I shared my story.They still were supportive. One story that had my attention was this guy he looked about my age, he had been on crack since he was fifteen. He abruply lost his mother in a car accident on her way to pick him up from school, and he never knew his dad so he had to live with his 70 year old grandmother. Which he admitted that she could not control him so he did as he pleased and got caught up with the wrong crowd. He explained how the experience was when he first got high, he thought it was the greatest feeling he ever felt. He decided to seek help after his grandmother passed away from diabetes. His story hit home because I would have known him if we went to the same school and I cannot image any of my friends strung out on drugs. I do not know anyone personally who has been addicited to drugs. It was just sad, but I am proud that these people have decided to get help and making efforts to stay clean.It was a great experience to see into the lives of other people and how they were so open with something that can be so hard to talk about.
I attended a Grief counseling support group at United Baptist Church located at 1615 E. Eager Street in East Baltimore. The counseling session was a very emotional experience for me. I felt very empathetic for all of the people there who recently experienced a loss. I was able to release a few “held back” tears myself. I never had the opportunity to grieve for the loss of my aunt who passed away this past August. When she passed, I was at school at the medication exam review and I received several telephone calls and text messages. I excused myself, went outside to release a few of my mixed emotions. I returned to the review, because I did not want to miss any important information. All week, I kept my emotions held inside because I wanted to focus on studying for the medication exam. I used the defense mechanism “Suppression”. Ironically, the funeral and the medication exam were scheduled for the same day. I had a plan to go to school, take and PASS the exam, then make it to the second half of the funeral. The medication exam did not start on time; therefore, I MISSED my aunt’s funeral. This was very upsetting for me; however, I did make it to the repast to finally spend time with my family. I was able to suppress my feelings and gained motivation because I was at my aunt’s house the day that I passed the medication exam for the summer semester in May. This is how I was able to stay focused. At the grievance counseling session, I learned different ways that other people cope with losses. Some people attended monthly meetings, some have picked up hobbies to fill the void of time spent with their loved one and others are still trying to find something that fulfills that emptiness. There are various types of losses and I was surprised to see that not everyone was there for the loss of a loved one. Some were there for loss of positions at work, status and items and property. The story that will always remain in my mind is the story of a young mother, who lost her mother, daughter, son and nephew in a car accident in November, 2009. Her mother was driving and her son, daughter and nephew was in the back and her Uncle was in the passenger seat. A drunk driver was driving recklessly behind them and crashed into the back of her mother’s Mercedes, killing her, her two grandchildren and great nephew. Apparently she looked in the rear view mirror and saw the pickup truck coming down the hill at a rapid, reckless speed. Her mother’s last words were “JESUS” (per the Uncle). Her Uncle was in a coma for twenty-one days. When he regained consciousness, his family had already been buried. This was a very tragic experience for this family. Currently the mother is experiencing “complicated grief” because she has not been able to return to work or do things that she used to enjoy doing. She has not cleaned her mother’s room or removed any of her belongings. Her son and daughter shared a room and she has not touched any of their items and refuses to allow anyone to come in and do it for her. She will not change the message on the answering machine which is her mother’s voice. She stated that her uncle committed suicide last November on the one year anniversary of the accident. This session was very emotional and informative. I had the opportunity to release the feelings that I suppressed for the past few months. When I walked away from the session, I had a greater appreciation for the small things in life.
Harriet Ndele Nursing 405 Sect. 002 C13 Support Group Experience October 6, 2011 I attended the HIV Support Group at 1221 Caraway Court, Largo MD 20772 on October 1st, 2011. The meeting started at 2:30pm in the afternoon with about 25 HIV patients participants. Before the meeting started one of the participants volunteer to give the opening prayer. The turn out of the support group was quite impressive, a lot of the HIV patient’s came with their family members. There were three speakers at the meeting, Andrew Cain who is a case manager and volunteer at P.G Hospital was the main speaker. I told Mr. Andrew Cain that I am a nursing student at Coppin State University and I want to be an observer in the meeting. He agrees and then welcomes everyone in the room. Below are the summaries that I gathered from the meeting. Starting HIV medications can be a very overwhelming process for many people, especially for the younger (under 25) and newly diagnosed populations. Taking a pill every day is a subtle reminder that you are HIV positive and that can discourage some people from sticking to their regimen due to depression or fear of others finding out. A few things to keep in mind: First, those pills are going to preserve your immune system from being assaulted by HIV, and ultimately cause you to have fewer complications from living with HIV. In addition, getting your viral load undetectable makes you less likely to transmit the virus to sex partners. Another big concern for people adjusting to medications is the side effects from the meds. The key thing with side effects is that they’re your body's response to now having this medication in its system every day; once your body adjusts to the medications (sometime between two and four weeks), most of your side effects will subside. Just keep sticking to your regimen and give it some time. If you are having trouble remembering when to take your pills or if you took your pills, try using a pill tray -- that way you will always know if you took your meds or not by simply looking at the tray. Remember to stay in communication with your health care provider or care manager if you have any problems with adherence or side effects. Even as an observer, I also learned a lot of things about HIV management from the meeting which is vital to me as a future nurse because I will be educating clients like this in the future. There were some snacks after the meeting and almost all the attendees were pleased. Overall the meeting was interactive because the HIV patient’s were asking questions about their conditions, and the speakers readily answered their questions. There where handouts given to the patients and their family members to take home which includes phone numbers and other HIV support services.
I attended the “Caregiver Connections” Support Group meeting, which took place on Tuesday October 4, 2011. This support group is meant for family, and friends of adult patients at Lombardi Cancer center in Georgetown University Hospital. It was a hard decision for me to attend this meeting because my mind was preoccupied with the fact that these members in the meeting must be going through difficult time having a loved one at the center that is suffering from cancer. The meeting started around 5:10 pm, it was made up of about 30 members. At the beginning of the meeting, we all introduced ourselves and we also mentioned who we are taking care of and how they are related to us; when I got up I had adapt by telling a lie that I am taking care of my younger sister (I don’t have any younger sister) who is suffering from breast cancer. After the introduction, the main speaker who is a social worker at George University hospital, thanked everyone for coming and praised us all for the good job we are doing in caring for our loved one. He talked about the significance of cancer care giving to the patient and the family as a whole; the consequences of the care giving which he categorized them under: physical, emotional, financial, and social health of the cancer care givers. He emphasized that care givers have to provide proper care to themselves and that no care giver should allow anxiety and or depression to affect his or her health because if the caregiver is not healthy, he or she would not be able to provide appropriate care to the adult cancer patient. Another speaker talked about the benefits of cancer care giver support group. He said a group like this helps relief stresses that are associated with caring for a cancer patient because of the highly demanding nature of the care from cleaning, administering medication, making doctor’s appointments, cooking, providing, comfort and making sure the patient has everything he or she needs. Also in a support group like this people share their experiences which help others in providing care as well. After this speaker finished, everyone was given the opportunity to ask question, after the questions and answer sessions, members shared their experiences and how the patients are doing. One of the members came and taught relaxation techniques for stress management and some aerobic exercises. The meeting lasted for about an hour twenty minutes; next meeting was schedule to take place on Tuesday November 1, 2011. This was a great experience for me because it was my first support group I have ever attended I found myself transforming from being an observer to being a real care giver during the course of the meeting.
I attended an eating disorder support group on October 12, 2011. It was hosted at Sheppard Pratt main campus. The population was mostly young, white females. I was surprised they all looked healthy. The group started out with an opening question of what we liked or disliked about the month of October. I think it was supposed to get the group to open up and share; however, there was a lot of silence throughout the meeting. The conductor of the meeting was a substitute for the regular conductor. She did not have any guidance questions to direct the group. She asked the general question of who wanted to share anything new that was happening with the group. Slowly, individuals began to share different things about coping with an eating disorder. Other members in turn readily shared advice about topics such as staying motivated during recovery, how to deal with emotions that were triggers for becoming symptomatic, and how to share the mental aspect of the illness with family and friends. There were also support persons there sharing their experience of how to best communicate with them as a support person. Over all, I thought the information that was shared was good. The group seemed very supportive of each other and shared some good tips that could possibly be used in areas other than coping with an eating disorder.
I went to an AA meeting at Sinai which was a great experience. I was shocked at the different age groups that were at the meeting. They were on the tenth step which include taking control over their lives and their addiction. Some people drank because they were angry and to cope with problems. An elderly lady shared her story that when your young and start to drink the problem gets worse with age. So the fact that younger people were in their was a good sign because they could tackle their addictions early. Their was this young girl in the meeting who stated that she was facing two years of jail time and her younger sister died at 15 with the disease. They talked about how it was never ending cycle of being sober and drunk sober and drunk.Waking up saying I am not taking another drink but then end up drunk. The definition of insanity...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results.
I attending an AA meeting at Sheppard Pratt in Towson. It was interested at first how the people stated their names introduced themselves as alcoholics and shared their story based on the 10th step that was being discussed in the meeting that day. I found it interested because it was just as I had seen support groups on tv. However, what I didn't get from tv shows is that these are actual people suffering with alcohol abuse issue. The group varied in age from young to old, male and female; the vast majority of the group I attended was white. The most important statement that I remember from the meeting that I feel will stick with me forever is "most people who are alcoholics use some other forms of drugs as well". The people in the meeting talked about how they initially started out drinking socially, then over time it turned into weekly then daily, then they started experimenting with other drugs. They also talked about some of the bad decisions that they made while under the influence of alcohol, and waking up in the morning wondering how they got home, how did they crash their car, what did they hit. That's when the group became really sad to me.
I decided to attend a narcotics anonymous meeting. The group was called the Courage to Change it was held in a church in North east Baltimore. I attended this type of meeting for many reasons. The main one is I have numerous members of my family that have been addicted to drugs. Some have been clean for years and some are not clean. Drug addiction has always been something that I don't quite understand. There was one lady whose story stood out the most for me. She was raised by her mother and father, her father was a minister so she always had a relationship with God. She said growing up she was sheltered and she was made to go to church all the time. When she became of age and went to college she met a man who introduced her to drugs. So we know what happened after that. The reason this story stands out for me is, because she is the person you would least expect to get addicted to drugs. Also I have a daughter that I think is a little sheltered and I'm really not interested in exposing her to a lot of things that i was growing up. Sometimes I don't know if that is a good or bad thing, because of stories like hers. Going to this meeting helped me gain a better understanding of the addiction and it also help me to deal with the negative feelings I have towards my family members that have not gotten cleaned up. The stories I heard helped me realize how blessed I am, because it is only by the grace of God that I haven't taken that path. I would never say that I would never do drugs, but having seen so many of my family members lose everything and not be able to accomplish goals in life is always in the forefront of my mind. It saddens me when I see people that have no desire to do better for themselves, but I guess that's all apart of the addiction.
I attended a support group for eating disorders on 10/12/11 at Shepard Pratt Hospital. The group was very good. It seemed as if the same people were coming every week because they reflected on past sessions. These young ladies were already in treatment and were there just to keep themselves strong. The only thing I did not like was the leader of the group. She was substituting for someone else and she was not helpful at all in my opinion. She let silence linger too long and did not really try to keep the group on track. This group really gave me a sense of the mindset of a person with an eating disorder and how it is something that they constantly struggle with. Some had family support, some did not. They all shared their coping mechanisms with each other and how they stay motivated to pursue higher levels of treatment. I would recommend this group to anyone who has this problem because it is a great way to get support from others who understand what you are going through.
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting at Sheppard Pratt in the Towson area. I was a little apprehensive about going because I went to an early morning session and I was unsure of what or who to expect. To my surprise, when I got there the room was over crowded and I had to stand up during the meeting! Thankfully one of the gentleman got me a seat. The clients that were there included mostly Caucasion men and women of all ages. Some were professionally dressed and even stated that they would be on their way to work after this meeting. I came in during the reading of the 12 steps. Afterwards the floor was open to anyone who wanted to share their story or experience. Surprisingly, people were fairly comfortable sharing information and offering advice and encouragement. There were a couple of people who were celebrating their sobriety anniversary. Although I did not actively participate in discussions, the group made everyone welcome. I was even invited to an AA gathering they were having the next week… :~)
I attended a narcotics anonymus meeting at Johns Hopkins hospital. The meeting was held by people that were recovering addicts. When You came in, various people were given parts of a speech to read. Before you spoke, you had to say Hi my name is ( fill in the blank). Then everybody says Hi (your name). Then you would continue with your speech. The whole speech basically said that you were an addict looking for help, be strong, do give up, and take one step at a time because you can do it even though at times you want to give up. After everybody said their part of the speech, there was a geust speaker who told his story about his addiction. He had said that he was addicted for 53 years of his life and that day he was 10 months clean. He stated that he started sniffing glue at the age of twelve and by fifteen years of age, he was shooting dope into his body. His reason for starting drugs was that he wanted to be cool like the othr neighborhood boys. He said that he regretted it because it ruined his life. The sad part was that his younger brother wanted to be just like him and he over dosed on drugs and died. The speaker said he is getting his life together and ironically, he has been accepted to Coppin. He will be attending next Fall. Other people also spoke at the meeting and told their story and how they were or already have gotten their life together. In the end the participants were stating how long ther were clean and evverybody clapped and encouraged one another for being there. They the all started chanting " Keep coming back! Keep coming back! keep coming back!" In the end, we all formed a prayer cicle and prayed for a well recovery from addiction. It was a nice experience for me. The people did not try to sugar coat their stories. They told their life as it was and their feelings. It was a good meeting. I would attend again because it's good to support them in their efforts of recovery because they don't feel alone when someone is there especially going through the same thing.
I decided that I would attend a gamblers support group. I often attend either AA or Gamblers anonymous once or twice a month. I prefer the location in Towson because I spent a lot of time with a ‘Runing partner’ (a person who you share a friendship with due to a common addiction) of mine at this location. I develop a taste for both gambling and ETOH when I was in my teens. I’ve been sober and free from gambling for over a decades but the meetings to me, are like an old pair of worn leather shoes, that just feel so right when you have them on. Not to my surprise I found my self surrounded by friendly yet humble individuals. As to be expected due to the hardship of the ecomomy the place was filled with people who have lost marriages and homes…etc; even more depressing are the number of women who are starting to attend these meetings. I first attended a Gambler support group back in the late 90’s and the population consisted of mostly older males ( retired men and men with ETOH addiction) and 2 females (out of a group of about twenty). This group consisted of middle age women, elderly men and a couple who appeared to be in their twenties. I introduce myself as a student who has not had any activities within the last 5 years (strict abstinences from any type of gambling). I announce that I didn’t have a story to share but I wanted to sit and listen to what the support group had to say and take part in the activities that they were going to offer for their service. I found the group therapy to be very relaxing and informative. After several minutes had passed I learned that the group meeting was a ‘step-based programs’ and not a ‘Open’ support group meeting. The members were made up of individuals who were lottery players, online gamblers, and casino players. The programs goals was aimed at ‘healing addiction, creating financial health, and improving mental wellness,’ through the use of a 12-step program adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA-meeting). The meeting was held in a Towson church; after the two leaders of the group spoke and reherse the 12 steps, they offered drinks and food which was made by the attendies. Although I haven’t stepped foot in a church since I enrolled in Coppins Nursing Program because of weekend commitments at Johns Hopkins I must say that I walked away from the group meeting with a comforting feeling of union with not just gamblers who were dealing with finacial hardship, depression, ETOH abuse, and other delimas but people who committed to living a better life. The feeling wasn’t spiritual at all but more like a fellowship or bond between ordinary people from various walks of life.
I attended an NA group meeting at JHH. It began by everyone introducing themselves, followed by a welcome to everyone. Then various persons read statements specific to addiction. Once the reading was completed, people where given key chains to acknowledge their years in recovery. Finally, people began to share their experiences of how they became an addict, what they did to maintain their addiction, how it affected the people who cared about them, what and who they loss while going through the addiction, and how they reached the point of wanting to overcome the addiction. It was profound to me how people were willing to share their experiences very openly. Many of them acknowledged how they knew each other during the time of their addiction and what that person was like then as opposed to now. So many of them had some of the same experiences to share in terms of what they did to maintain their addictions. A few shared how they had loss everything and everyone they cared about because it was more important to them to maintian that high. One gentlemen spent a great bit of his life getting high and now he is in his 50's and he has decided he doesn't want to get high anymore. One of the ladies admitted that she had an urge to get high as she sat in the meeting, and they applauded her for admitting it because they remembered what it was like when they first attended the meetings. It was very interesting and enlightning at the same time. You just really don't know what it is like for someone who has to deal with this type of addiction. I was sitting there feeling sorry for these people. I also remember thinking,thank GOD I my life went in a different direction. I enjoyed having this opportunity becuase it gave me a chance to get to know their experiences. I think that if I am faced with having to care for an addict, I will have a different perspective on what life is like for them.
The support group that I went to was a sex addicts anonymous held at Baltimore Hope and Recovery, 5603 N. Charles Street. My thought before I arrived is that there were going to be some creepy looking males who just think about sex sex sex all day. As I arrived, there were a few white males who greeted us at the door and directed us to the group. This time, I discovered that this was a catholic church. Instead of being all old men, it was a mixture of young and old white men, also a young African-american woman. She seemed very excited to see other African-american women at the meeting. The first was to introduce yourself, and admit that you were a sex aholic, now I just introduced myself, I did now claim being a sex acholic! There were different pledges and rules that were read by the members, and everyone was very friendly. A couple of the males, I remember seeing on the sex offenders wed site, so this was pretty interesting. One of the guys was telling his 1st step story to the group and what he wishes to gain from coming to the support group. After his speech, we went around the room to make comments and offer encouragement to him. At this time, I felt compel to offer him some encouragement to hang in there and to move forward. At the end, we all formed a circle, and the serenity prayer, and said goodbye. We were invited to come back again.
I went to NA meeting at John Hopkins. The NA meeting started by everyone introducing themselves, and everyone followed by said “Keep coming back”. They also asked if anyone was there for the first time. There were a few people there for the first time. I didn’t acknowledge myself as being an addict but I did participate in the reading of the inspiration speech. My reading was “Why are we here”. After reading the literature I had a better understand of what my ex-husband was going through in his addiction. I couldn’t understand why he just couldn’t stay clean but the addiction is cunning, and the only way you can stand clean is to attend NA meetings and develop a contract list for when times get hard so you can pick up the phone for help and someone will be there for you. It’s a network of brothers and sisters helping each other no matter what color or ethnicity through their addiction. They acknowledge anyone any that was recovering for as little as 30 days to many years of recover. They were giving a keychain as a gift for their time. There was man there that had been addicted for 53 years of his life. He started when he was very young; he was brought up in a religious household with both parents. He wanted to be accepted by his peers so he did the things they did, they told him it would make him feel good, but didn’t tell him about the bad things it would do to him. Finally, he decided it was more to life then getting high and by the court order he had to attend NA meetings so he gave it a chance it’s been 10 months and he’s been clean and very happy about it. He didn’t not sugar coat his story but told the straight truth. It was a very good experience and I have a different view of addiction now. The one important thing I took from the meeting was each person must make a choice to be free from addiction and it’s a one day at a time sobriety.
I attended an AA meeting around where I live. It was held at a church. I went with someone who actually has an addiction to alcohol so I was there for her support and for my observing experience for class. It was a good experience. I have seen it firsthand how it affects people and seeing people talk about their struggles gave me a more in-depth view into the subject at hand. The meeting had about 30 participants; more middle aged people than people my age. The leader I felt was adequate. Everyone who wanted to discuss whatever they wanted got a chance. I felt going in that I would feel uncomfortable because of how I feel about alcohol abuse being that my grandfather died in motorcycle accident with a drunk truck driver running in to him and other issues relating to alcohol abuse. However, I realize that with support groups one is able to discuss things out with other people in the same situation and not be judged. So I walked out with a new feeling of people who are going through this addiction. I was there not to judge but to observe and learn. I am glad I got this experience and I know my friend benefitted from going as well as she has been to previos AA meetings years ago but fell off the wagon and going back to this AA made her realize she needs to go back to the meetings.
I attended a NA meeting. It was not the first that I have been to but it was the first time I have been as an observer. I found it to be quite captivating just listening to these people spill out about what drugs did to their lives. Everyone who spoke seemed to have lot in common. They all did what they called shameful and hurtful things to themselves and the people they love for the use of drugs. they talked about how drugs too over their lives, their inability to function as normal adults. A lot of them lost jobs, friends, housing, children, and their health for the sake of using drugs. Some even discussed the effects of detox treatment on their lives and how hard staying clean is now. I felt very uncomfortable at first because I thought I was gonna have to speak and I was the youngest person there. It was a small group of about 15 with a equal amount of women and men. Listening to some of the things people did and sold for drugs was somewhat shocking for me. There were arts of this meeting that really was emotionally and made me see addiction and group therapy in a new light.
I attended a SAA meeting at a church in towson. My initial thoughts were of nervousness because I didn't know what to expect as far as how far people would go in terms of sharing their experiences as a sex addict. I was thinking all kinds of thoughts like "omg, what if they are perverts or pedophiles or something" and "i need to wear loose fitting clothing to this meeting". Really nervous to say the least, but I felt like I needed to attend to pull me out of my box with the narrow thinking I had involving sex addiction. I learned from the meeting that sex addiction may not necessarily involve having sex with random people. I learned that sexual addiction can range from constant thoughts of sex, to constant looking at porn to wanting to have sex all the time. I just wonder where do people draw the line between liking sex alot and sex addiction? Because I hear lots of people say they really enjoy sex, but are they considered to addicts?? I guess its considered an addiction when it starts to interrupt your daily living. I chose not to participate, instead, I preferred to just listen. I preferred to just listen because some of the stories you may hear may lend an explanation to why some people become obsessed with sex. Some people may have been a victim of sexual abuse as a child, which may or may not cause them to become addicted; some people may have witnessed sexual acts on tv or in their homes as child which may have stirred their curiosity. We may never really know what causes one to be addicted to sex, but based on the stories I heard at the meeting, most of those individual had a fascination stemming from childhood, but they didn't go too much into detail with what they saw as a child. Overall, the meeting was informative and interesting, left with much less judgments than I had before about sex addicts.
I attended an AA meeting on November 25, 2011 located in towson. Prior to attending this group I have only attended one support group. I was kind of okay going into the meeting but nervous at the same time. At the begining of the meeting the class started to say the serenity prayer. At the begining of the class we learned about what the program consist of what the 12 steps/principles are, each member of the group introduced themselves and explained what caused them to seek assistance. Some mentioned that it was the stress of their job, divorce, loss and new onset of disability that led them to drink excessively. Many of them admitted that they have weak coping mechanisms. They used liquor to console them instead of turning to their loved ones. Admitting to themselves that they had a problem was kind of hard to do. Being able to admit you have a problem is the first step in being a recovered alcoholic. During the meeting there was a guest speaker who spoke about his past life as an alcoholic. He stated that he use to lie, cheat and steal to get that high, his mindset was whatever it take. His story was so interested that I have chosen not to participate but just to listen to the different stories being told. I decided not to be judgemental because you really don't know what a person is going through or has gone through. All you can do is lend an ear and a shoulder and that is what I have done at the meeting. I will definitely go to another support group.
The AA meeting is the support group that I experience as a participant-observer. The meeting took place at Gaudenzia at Owings Mills, Maryland. This was a group meeting for individuals who were recovering from alcohol and other illegal substances. The group meetings took place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I attended the meeting on Friday 12-02--11. The attendance rate depends on the level of recovery. The goal was to maintain sobriety, and the purpose was to help the individual stay sober, and refrain from alcohol and other illegal substances. The meeting started at 7:00pm with introduction from the group members. Everyone in the group then took turns to relate their stories, their drug of choice, alcohol of choice, their length of sobriety, and the coping mechanism being used. At the end, I think the meeting was functional and productive. The group was concerned about helping each other to stay sober. Members of the group who needed other help and assistance in their recovery program were given references. The meeting ended at 8:00pm with holding of hands and the pledge by the group members.
I attended an SAA support group which also, was in conjunction with a rape support group at Lutherville, Maryland, on November 28, 2011. Initially, my goal was to go to the SAA which was for people who loved too much sex or maybe addicted to it, but i found myself being drawn to the rape victims support group; maybe because a very good friend from back home got raped by none other than her own buddy. I got to the place at 7pm and the environment was very clean and inviting but i could actually feel the solemn mood of the members and this made me feel a little uncomfortable. The meeting begun by people fellowshiping with hugs and handshakes, wihtout much ado, the ball was set to roll with members sharing their experiences with rape and how they were coping with the aftermath. I was shocked to have found people of all ages and race, and even male victims but the shock of all was a 79year old African American female who had been raped by a familiar stranger a little over four days ago. I use the words a family stranger because the guy was a person the lady used to ride the bus with all the time, so one night after the bus had dropped them off, the guy decided to help with her heavy load. Some few meters away from the stop, the goodsamaritan switched gears and pounced on the poor woman. She recounts that, she laid in the area for quite sometime before being rescued by some passerby's. Since this incidence, she has exempted herself from her usual activities and has also sworn never to go outdoors again. Infact, that day was her first time of coming out since the attack and this was made possible by being accompanied by a male family member. Uncontrollable sobs were heard from within the audience as she recounted the story, this sent chills down my spine. Members who needed further assistance were referred to other reputable programs to help these victims. After the group at 9pm, i went to the lady and offered some encouraging words, that whole night was frightening to me to the extent that when i got to my apartment i stayed in my car for close to 30minutes before going into the apartment. Since hearing this incident, i have desisted from making friends with strangers and being more careful of my so called friends.
I attended a support group for people with eating disorders. The support group is held every wednesday evening, but the week of Thanksgiving, the support group was held on a Tuesday evening. The meeting began with everyone introducing themselves. Some people brought family members or friends with them for support. Other people came alone. The support group wasn't really structured for specific discussion topics. There were only women who attended the support group that night. All of the women talked about their previous experiences with the group, so I assumed that they had been there before. I was surprised to see that the women didn't look like they had an eating disorder. They looked healthy. Some of them talked about the goals that they set for themselves. None of their goals were directed towards gaining weight. All of the goals were directed towards them being strong mentally and being physically healthy. I didn't participate in the discussion, but I enjoyed going to the group and hearing about everyone's experiences because it helped me to see another side of what we read in our textbook. The director of the support group was very patient with the participants. She used therapeutic communication by using silence and asking open ended questions. She seemed familiar with many of the participants. There was even one young lady who stated that her family didn't know that she had an eating disorder and she planned on telling them after the meeting. I thought about her when I left and I wondered how things turned out with her family.
I attended an AA meeting in Washington DC with a family member who was celebrating an anniversary. The meeting lasted an hour. Everyone was very encouarging towards one another and I felt like the support probably keeps alot of them from regressing back to drinking. People spoke about how they bagan drinking and what their triggers were. My family member was celebrating 20 years and two others were celebrating 10 years. I was very enlightened by peoples new found strength . Eventhough I do not drink I think we all could learn from going to these types of meetings to experience the will power and strength of these individuals. I was proud of family member and I will go back and support them again at any time
Since I’ve been contemplating Weight Watchers I decided to go for my group requirement and it was a free visit. YAAY!! I attended a my meeting Friday, December 2nd at 1000 in Columbia Maryland .First I want to say everyone was sooooo nice and I understand why you lose more weight with the support group than online. I advised I was there because I was curious and wanted to see Jennifer Hudson. My meeting leader Heather laughed. I weighed in a WHOOPING #$%.... SMH stupid fried chicken Wednesday. There was a presentation on Holiday Eating, which was very informative and depressing. They suggested replacing champagne with sparkling water. REALLY?! I enjoyed it, if it wasn’t so expensive, I would look into joining. I added it up and my $25 gym membership and weekly pole dancing classes is cheaper. I decided to just go by Dollar Tree purchase some measuring cups and watch my portions.
I attended a weight watchers support group. When some people think of weight watchers they think of people who are overweight but what I observed when attending the meeting is that there are people of all sizes. When you come in they weigh you on a scale to get your baseline weight. From the baseline weight they calculate a numerical number and that number is a number they use to give you for the number of points you can consume in a day. They use a point system and every food item has a certain number of points that is assigned. For you to lose weight you have to stay within that point value. What I learned is that it is not to your benefit to eat below that number but very close because your body may store fat based on under eating. They also give you a booklet to help you calculate the number of points for each item. What I found out in the meeting is that weight watchers has an application that you can download that gives you points on hand for everything even when your out to eat. They also allow you to have a certain amount of extra points during the week that you can use. I learned in the meeting the extra points are helpful when there is a special engagement that you maybe attending. Some of the people in the meeting said if they know they have something coming up they will cosume things in lower point value so they are able to have the extra points to consume their tasty treats on occasion. In the weight watchers meeting everyone is able to freely express how they feel about the problems or obsticals they may be having. Everyone was able to give tips to the other members in the group on what works best for them which was very helpful to the others in the group. The meetings that are held I feel gives those involved the strength to make it through because they have others to lean on and give them tips and encouragment. I definityly felt the energy in the meeting and it made me feel like it is something I would possibly be involved in because your not alone in your struggle. I really enjoyed the meeting and I was educated at the same time!
I went to weight watchers. I figure with all these Jennifer Hudson commercials I want to see what all the hype was and what do they do to help people lost weight. When I went they let me sit in one of their meetings. It was odd to me cause I honestly thought people pay monthly for a initial meeting where they check your weight and then they tell you how many points you can do a day and then you met every month just to stand on a scale an check your weight again to see your progress. I knew they gave you information on how many points different food were. I had no idea weight watchers was a support group. When I sat in the meeting I found out that they have a different topic they talk about every meeting. The meeting I went to was discussing the point system changes they have made to the program allowing people to have more points. It was nice to see that the people who were interacting with each other genuinely cared about people accomplishments no matter how big or how small. In going to this meeting I have realized that maybe I can do something like that, it will help me stay encouraged to lose the weight I want to lose. I use to be a lot smaller then I am but nursing school has packed on some pounds with munching while I study… and let’s just say I study A LOT :)
I attended eating disordered support group held at Sheppard Pratt Hospital. The group beginning with introduction, and many of the participants was accompanied with their family members. The group consists of women and young ladies, they all look healthy with no sign of eating disorder. The group continues by asking if anyone has something to share with the group. I was surprise the way many people open up and may contribution to the discussion. Many stated the reason why, and what they think the society is saying about their body image. Some stated that they are unhappy with their body, which make them experience low self-worth. Many were able to state what trigger the disorder, and how to control eating disorders; they also share their coping machanism. In my on view the group seem like they are not first timer base on their discussion, some referred to previous meeting. The group was able to use the families, friends as support system. The group was supportive of each other and they share good information about how to deal with their mental illness, and recognition of their support system. The coordinator of the support group use therapeutic communication, by showing empathy with the participant and not been judgment.
I attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting at Johns Hopkins Hospital. This meeting was led by recovering addicts. The meeting started at 7pm and was attended by about 25 persons. It started with introduction of the coordinators and a welcome word form one of the leaders. Hand outs were then given to some attendees to be read in a particular order. Before reading, the reader had to introduce themselves by name then proceed to reading. After the readings were completed, prizes were handed out to those who had been clean for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, 12 months and for someone with the desire to quite using drugs in this order. Each time someone accepted a prize, everyone else clapped for them and asked them to keep coming back. The main speaker was introduced and he took came forward and started telling his story. He was a 57 year old man who told the story of his 40 year old drug using habit. His story seemed to capture everyone’s attention at the meeting drawing support and encouragement especially among those who knew him. After his 30 minute story, many people in the room came up to him and gave him a hug with some words of encouragement. I was particularly interested in the part where he decided to turn his life around and how his life has become since stopped using drugs. He had been clean for 10 months but seemed to have impacted a lot of people already; encouraging his friends to turn their lives around and enrolling in college to get his bachelor’s degree. The meeting came to a close with a prayer in which everyone held hands as a sign of fellowship and encouragement.
My group session was about stress release it was a wonderful experience. We started out by letting everyone introduce themselves and then we explained what stress was and how it can affect people. Then we ask everyone to tell us what they do to release stress whether positive or negative. One client stated he us rap to release stress and even gave the group sample of his talent. Once he did this other patient opened up and we began to have a little talent show. I think this aloud the clients to feel comfortable with the students because people just talking to us about why they was on the psych united and what they need to do to get better. The group was successful because everyone in the group was able to relieve some stress by talking, singing, dancing and even though laughter from our comedian clients.
I went to alcoholic anonymous and at I was kind of afraid about telling story because I thought that everyone would be able to tell that I was making it up. Everyone talked about what their week was like without alcohol and only one person had a relapse. However, I believe they are still in denial because they made excuses for it and tried to minimize the event like it was just a casual thing that happened. Some people had come very far and had been alcohol free for years, but they still come to some meetings to have someone to share their feelings with people that will not judge them and understands where they are coming from. I was surprised that everyone makes the statement "My name is... and I'm and alcoholic or I'm a recovering alcoholic". Also, from observing I realized that people can be very functional even while drinking because most people were dressed okay and just did not look like what I thought an alcoholic should look like.
Blog #5 I attended the support group for drug addicts who are working on cleaning up their act. The group is located on Pennsylvania Ave. on the Westside of Baltimore City. The environment was quite uninviting, scary and very unfamiliar. I have never heard anything similar to the kinds of stories told by the participants. Their stories range from the one of being lured by a friend one likes most, to another who talked of the need to use drug any time he was to address a large number of people and so many other weird stories. One particular story was very interesting. The participant met a lady whom he liked so much but unfortunately could not express his feelings and he said to himself he must have the lady at all cost. He therefore resorted to what he felt could embolden him in order to win the girl which is drug use. To me these stories are very flimsy and it is a reminder of the fact that many different lives are being lived in our community.
Week 5 Mulumbwa Chishimba November 28,2011 I went to an AA meeting at Sinai which was a great experience. I was stunned at the diverse age groups that were at the meeting. They were on the tenth step which includes taking control over their lives and their addiction. It was exactly what I thought it would be, people struggling with alcohol and trying to find solutions to their problems. Most of these people were working class they came in business attires. They all seemed sad and heavy burden, it was then that I realize your smile can say a great deal about your life. Many of the recovering addicts shared their stories of addiction and the many hardships they faced because of this situation. Some talked about the traumas that lead them to abusing alcohol. Many of them spoke spiritually about facing their recovery and knowing that it will take a higher power to see them through. Attending this meeting helped me realize that I should not take life for granted and I should thank GOD for him. I saw that most of these people abused alcohol because of what happened to them, i.e. loss of loved one, loss of job, stress, recession. I thought of myself when I lost my best friend who was my father I would have been in this situation but thank heaven I turned to God every time I felt challenged by life. And I praise him every day for that and for keeping me stronger.
On November 14, 2014, I attended a widows' support group.
To be honest I felt very awkward attending because I have not lost my spouse or significant other. I was told that I did not have to talk when I called the number prior to attending the meeting, making it less awkward. There I was in the midst of the group of about 9 people (one person kept going in and coming back) and I sat there listening to the group, all of which were women. When the meeting started, it seemed that some people were already familiar with one another because they hugged and greeted each other. I sat down and the woman who was leading the discussion asked if you anyone wanted to introduce their self. No one did perhaps because they were regular attendees and I didn't raise my hand.
The women were discussing a novel that they were reading titled ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’ Imagine my surprise when there weren't any sob stories of how much they were missing their departed spouse. These women were channeling their energy into positivity and staying engaged in other activities that bring them joy. Although I have not read the book, the comments that were shared centered mostly on taking charge of one’s life and not being afraid of making decisions in life (whether spontaneous, drastic or otherwise). They also discussed different recipes that they tried from their last meeting and raved about how good it tasted.
When I started to search for the support group that I would attend for this particular blog post, I wanted it to pertain to an issue that many people experience, but one that many people wouldn't want to sit in on. I expected it to be like the group description read, which is: “to learn the stages of the grief process and get help towards growth and recovery,” and in a unique way, they did. They were growing and recovering by sharing similar interests after experiencing a similar devastation. While it may be possible that previous and possibly, future, meetings have a more somber atmosphere, this meeting was one that inspired a silent me.
Week #5: Blog about your support group experience as a participant-observer. How has this experience supported empathic behaviors in you?
I went to a sex addiction group meeting near my town, this is an unforgettable experience. Everyone looks normal, well dressed and well put together. When they start talking about their significant ones and valuable stuffs they have lost over the years, I finally understood these people are fighting serious demons in their lives. A very attracted, well-spoken woman was explaining how she will wake up in some strange and scary places, cannot remember how she got there and nobody around her never suspected she was living such dangerous life. One day, she decided to get help because she felt this obsession was taking over her life. As a woman of God since I was raised in a Christian home, I’m asked often, “Is sexual addiction a sin, or is it a disease?” After the meeting I will say the answer is yes. It is both. Undeniably the kinds of behaviors these individuals are engaging in are sinful. The affairs that the married man/woman was involved in, the great promiscuity that anyone was involved in before their marriage, these are unquestionably sin. And they are also part of a disease called addiction. Sometimes people come to a Christian pastor or counselor looking for help with sexual addiction and they get an answer like this: “Pray more, go to church more, read your Bible more. Be more committed. Be more [whatever].” I don’t want to be misunderstood. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in reading the Bible. I believe in being connected with other Christians and going to church. And I believe in surrendering to Christ. So I’m not minimizing the importance of these things. But I also believe in science and these things in and of themselves will not help with the disease of addiction. Believe me, people who struggle with sexual addictions have prayed. They have tried to surrender their will to God. They have tried to get connected at church. And it has not helped. Putting a kind of spiritual Band-Aid on this problem is not going to be helpful. It is going to be harmful. This experience supported empathic behaviors in me, when I put myself in their position I can see how hopelessness these people feel. The shame that the addicted person feels is overwhelming. During my observation in the group, I have learned sex addiction is a serious and dangerous illness, the client need to be assess as a whole because there is a mental component. There is a relationship component. And there is a spiritual component. All these components need to be addressed if the addicted person is to experience healing.
I visited King Health System Inc. A mental health facility located at 3502 West Rogers Avenue, Baltimore MD 21215. Met with the office administrator Ms. Tessa, who started by stating their mission; which is to provide culturally sensitive, high quality mental health services to children, adolescents, adults, and their families in order to empower healthy people in a strong community. They provide psychiatric evaluation, medication management, psychosocial assessment, individual treatment plan, individual, family, couple, and group therapy, psychiatric rehabilitation program partnership, case management, linkage to community resources, parent support and training, behavior modification, and training, school liaison, specialized evaluation for DSS, DJS, and court ordered assessments.
King health system also strives to be a positive influence within the community, and aid in any way possible to improve the neighborhood. They provide services for ages 6yrs and above with Medicaid, Medicare, or any type medical assistance. Referrals are gotten through social workers, and patients are seen by psychiatrist in the facility. . This facility seem to take care of all mental health cases but not acute situations. I saw a lot of patients there waiting to be seen, some were in the examination rooms with the tech taking their blood pressures, some having their session with the psychiatrist, while the rest were sitting comfortably at the waiting room watching TV and discussing with other patients. I did not notice any acute situation or any kind of disturbance at the place. I felt really bad for the patients because most of them were parents, and I can imagine how I would feel not been there for my kids due to some psych issue that I may be going through. They must have missed out on their children’s lives due to one psych problem or the other. Those wonderful times surely they cannot get back. One of the patient I spoke with told me he has been a patient there for almost 4yrs now; he never thought he would be alive today, but the therapy he has received thus far has helped him to see reason to live.
I have always felt sadness when I hear in the news about another woman that killed the spouse after enduring years of domestic violence and sexual assault. A time comes when the woman flips or snaps and then decides to fight back and then what happens, she ends up in jail for committing a crime. I have wished that she would have had the courage to leave before it came to that. I have a passion for women in such situation and I feel I can relate to their flight. So, I decided for this blog to attend a domestic violence and sexual assault support group where I work.
The group is a 12 week Didactic Group for female survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault who are incarcerated in one of the Baltimore county correctional institute. The group is facilitated by licensed therapists and the aim is to provide education and support group about domestic violence and sexual assault. It is a place and a time for treatment, support, the feeling of “you are not alone in this” and a place and time for expressions of anger, forgiveness and maybe down the line, a reconciliation within one’s self of acceptance of the current situation and the actions that brought one to that place.
Some of the women looked strong and self-assured and it made me wonder what happened. While for some of the women, you could see that they are still scared and looked troubled, with a faraway look in their eyes as if they would want to take it all back, sort of like rewind the times. They all had diverse stories to tell but all with the same theme and all showed the cycle of violence and the constant roller-coaster that they felt while in the relationship with their spouses or boyfriends. I truly believe that more needs to be done to curb domestic violence and sexual assault on women and children. It is sad and depressing to see lives lost for preventable events.
I attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. The meeting was located on Druid Hill Lake drive in a community living center. The name of the NA meeting is, “Messages of Recovery”. I attended the meeting during a marathon, which is meeting every hour for an hour. This marathon last for 12pm to 8pm, however I only stayed for one meeting. During holidays I was told the meeting could go for 24 hours. When entering the meeting I did feel out of place but I did try to make myself fit in. They had coffee, tea, and cookies. There were also people selling food and drinks. I sat down and waited for the meeting to start. (There are 5-minute breaks between each hour) When starting the meeting there is a table where the secretary and the speaker sit while everyone else sits around them in an audience style. The meeting began by people volunteering to read the literature, but by reading the literature you had to state your name and say you were an addict. This meeting was a bit crowded so everyone didn’t introduce his or her selves. After several people read the literature, the speaker started to address everyone and began her testimony. She talked about how drugs affected her life and how she overcame addiction. Her story was very touching especially when she talked about how it affected her relationship with her children. I almost wanted to cry because sometimes you don’t realize how fortunate you are and valuable family relationships are. It put a lot of things into perspective. Towards the end of the meeting they did announcements of events and upcoming anniversaries. They also gave away key chains for 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days clean. And they have a keychain for who they call the most important person and that someone who has one day clean, and during that time people who have a lot of years of sobriety come and exchange contact information. Women exchange numbers with women and men exchange numbers with men. This was good thing to me because it helps set up a support system for someone who is just turning their life over. They also passed around a basket to donate money and the money goes towards the literature, key chains, and coffee. And they ended the meeting with a serenity prayer where everyone stand in a circle and state it together. This was a big actually an experience I’m glad I witnessed and is a positive system of support.
FIFTH BLOG ENTRY Blog about your support group experience as a participant-observer. During my first blog entry I briefly spoke about one of my family members having the diagnosis of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. I wanted to find a support group that would be beneficial to me and some of my family members; a group that would help us gain understanding and develop effective ways to cope with our family member’s mental illness. My search led me to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI is an organization dedicated to advocacy, education and support for persons with mental illness, their families, and the wider community. I found that they hold free family support groups every Thursday from 7:00 pm- 8:30pm at Govans Boundary United Methodist Church located at 5210 York rd. Baltimore, MD 21212. The family support groups are for adult family members of individuals living with mental illness. The groups are led by trained facilitators, there is an opportunity for family members to share common issues, and to offer possible solutions and help one another. When I arrived I signed the sign in sheet and the facilitator went over the ground rules which mostly dealt with being respectful and not interrupting one another. There were eight participants. Some individuals had been attending the group for years while others were new to the group. During introductions each person identified who they were and shared story about how mental illness was showing up in their family. We discussed the emotions that go along with caring for a family member who has a mental illness and how sometimes we forget about taking care of ourselves because we are so entangled in trying to help them. Although I could relate to mostly everyone in the room I learn that emotions show up in different stages. For example, you can go through many months with your family member where things seem normal. They are taking their medication, making their appointments, communicating effectively and then almost suddenly they fall into crisis. Often times when they are in crisis you find yourself to be in crisis right along with them. We talked about feelings of anger and resentment associated with these times and how we may always feel responsible for our family member’s well-being. We spoke about how our feelings can constantly change depending on the circumstances associated with our family member’s mental illness. At the end of the meeting we each had to say one thing that we were going to do for ourselves within the upcoming week. I enjoyed this moment in the group because it helped me to realize that even in caring for someone else it is so important to stop for a minute, just long enough to do something caring for yourself.
Hello Class, On Saturday, November 22, 2014 I went to sit in on a Narcotics Anonymous support group meeting in the inner city of Baltimore. On that day they were actually having a "marathon" which means that there would be meetings all day non stop from the morning time and ending at 8pm. I thought that was wonderful because there may have been many people who really needed support who could not make certain times or especially the new comers who needed support throughout their day. The crowd was mixed with black and white, but majority black people at this particular meeting. There were also just as many men than there were females. One guy that shared at the meeting, I distinctly remember because he was so funny and he had over 12years clean from drugs, however he shared his story as if it was just yesterday. The way he delivered his story for an hour time seemed so poetic and comedic at certain times when information got heavy. He started from his childhood sharing how he always wanted to fit in and the neighborhood he grew up in. He shared about his 11 siblings and how he was an excellent student and ended up joining the marines after graduating high school and how he rose to the top of the marines and then how it all came crashing down. Another interesting thing about him that I later learned was how he was now battling with cancer but his spirits were so high and he looked so peaceful and accepting of his life. His story had a great message that some parts of it, even I found myself understanding and relating to about my own personal life and how I view things. The N.A meeting was a great experience and at the closing of the meeting everybody started reciting different things that are routine for closing a meeting, one thing they chanted in unison was the serenity prayer.....I LOVE THAT PRAYER! Then they encouraged the old comers, strayers and new comers to keep coming back to N.A and working on themselves. In that meeting, you could see a lot of support and offering of self to get over this struggle with addiction. I really enjoyed that experience.
Today on November 23, 2014, I attended a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting. Before arriving, I didn’t know what to expect. I have seen support groups on television but it wasn’t really like that. The group I attended was in Catonsville and it was rather small. The group consisted of about 7 middle aged men. It was very interesting hearing everyone’s story although they weren’t as juicy as I expected. They were all men who had been in the program for longer than 3 months, some even for multiple years. Since there was a newcomer there, they each shared about what made them come into the program. The reasons varied from excessive masturbation, spending copious amount of money on pornography, to procuring prostitutes on the internet. They also discussed the concept of the three circles. The innermost circle are the bad acting out behaviors. The middle circle consists of triggers or risk factors for the bad behaviors. The outermost circle consists of positive behaviors that help prevent the acting out behaviors. I think was the most meaningful I heard at this meeting. It is really focused on self-awareness and taking responsibility for your own actions.
I attended a sex addict anonymous group meeting located in Catonsville at a church. Before going, I expected a large younger population. I thought they would be spilling all of their juicy stories about how much they have sex, and with how many people, and how they got caught, etc. Instead, there were 5 Caucasian men between 40 and 50 years old. One man told a story about how he was a womanizer, and loved being with many different women. His daughter found an ad for a prostitute on his computer one day and told her mom; he almost lost his wife and children to his addiction. His wife agreed to stay with him only if he started attending church, stopped drinking, and started attending the SAA meetings. Another man told a story about how he would download excessive amounts of internet pornography and watch it and masturbate all hours of the night without sleeping. Staying up watching the porn would interfere with his normal day to day activities because he wasn’t sleeping. A lot of what he downloaded was illegal, and he ended up getting into legal troubles; he had to spend a lot of money to pay for the porn and for a lawyer to defend him. He said that experience was very embarrassing and humiliating. Another man stated that he loves to masturbate and he does it multiple times a day and even does it at work. One guy stated that he would masturbate instead of having sex with his wife and that was causing tension in his marriage. He said he experienced high levels of anxiety when not masturbating so he started drinking, and now he feels like he needs help with his alcoholism. Although I was bored and tired of hearing about these men masturbating, I was happy to be there. The men were very nice and welcoming. I told them name was Devonte, and I supplied a fake phone number. I told them how I had sex with women and men just for convenience, and I contracted gonorrhea. They were very understanding and said that I could call them whenever he needed help. They gave a button welcoming me as a new member and congratulated me on taking the first step to recovery. The meeting last a little over an hour, and we closed with a prayer together while holding hands.
Was this your MTV moment? Guess it didn't live up to the hype...but its good to have a support organization to deal with form of addiction that can and does destroy the person's life.
On November 23rd, I attended a Sex Addict Anonymous (SAA) meeting at Immanuel Church located in Catonsville, MD. To be honest, I was super nervous walking into the meeting, and sitting down in a room with a hand full of middle-age men made me a little tense. However, each member was very welcoming and the atmosphere became open and comfortable. To begin the meeting, we went around the table and read from a pamphlet that discusses why we were attending the meeting, weekly goals and guidelines set by the group, and then introduced each of ourselves and whether we were a “current sex-addict” or “recovering sex-addict.” We then went around the room and shared personal stories and struggles with sex addiction, and how each person copes with their compulsive behaviors ranging from watching pornography to actual sexual behaviors and temptations. I was able to share a fictional story, and was comforted by the words and support of others in the room. What I thought was especially welcoming was the fact that every time someone shared a story, they ended with “thank you for letting me share” and the group responded by saying “thank you for sharing.” At the end of the meeting, chips for sobriety and new-comers were given out, the group gave me a pamphlet to take home to educate me more about the topic, and even though they welcomed me back they also referred other sex addict anonymous groups in the area that they thought would be more comfortable for me, including SAA for women and SAA for young adults.
I really enjoyed my support group experience as a participant-observer. My clinical instructor wanted us to visit a resource support center within the 21215 zip code. This is to make the resource center as close to Zeta senior center as possible. We are going to visit the seniors at the Zeta center next week, so we will share our findings with them and tell them about the resources close to them they can utilize based on what we saw during our visits. I was paired up with a classmate, so we were instructed by our clinical instructor to visit at least two places since we will need to write two separate papers on our individual experiences. First, we visited Dominion resource center in Randallstown. It is a charity organization which offers community residential services, community supported living arrangements, group homes, family and individual support services, alternative living units, support services and respite care at subsidized rates. They accept all age groups from children to seniors. We also visited ABA health services in Baltimore city. It is an outpatient mental health clinic that provide services like counseling, psychological testing, mental health therapy and therapeutic behavioral services. They also serve all age groups except infants. I enjoyed my visit to these facilities, the staffs were really friendly and answered all our questions. They gave us brochures and pamphlets. They were really excited to have students visit them. I am looking forward to sharing my findings with the seniors at the Zeta center next week.
On November 19, 2014 I attended sexaholics anonymous at 3901 Dillion Street Baltimore MD 21224; this group meets from 7pm to 9pm twice a week. The group is open to the public however they really didn’t like to invite the public unless it’s group members who invite someone to attend. The members truly believe the average person can be very judgment about their illness but, surprisingly they were very cooperative with students. Before attending this meeting I tried to prepare myself both mentally and emotionally, honestly it’s not much one can do to prepare for this event. There is always something that will have an impression on you, specially the first time. For example I thought a professional was going to run the group like at most mental health sittings. To my surprise it was an open group, which means any member was able to speak about their experience or problem at anytime. Other members had the power to address the speaker directly, give advice or critique the speaker’s action or behavior. Whenever one thinks of sexaholics the first image that comes in mind is a strength young male figure. To my astonishment, the group members represented all members of society, gender, racial, religious, and all kind of professionals. I am not sure if giving specific detail of their personal stories maybe a violation of their right so I wouldn’t do that but the stories were just unbelievable. The one thing that I really couldn’t get ready for was the level of respect the group members had for one another. Their level of intelligent when speaking, making logical decision when it came down to doing things they would do to cover their steps or to avoid the law. I would recommend that each and every nursing student takes the opportunity participate in a group sessions in order to appreciate what we read about in textbooks.
On Wednesday November 19 I attended an open discussion AA meeting at United Methodist Church. That night they had a guest speaker. At the open meeting they could talk about anything they wanted to. One woman stated that after being forced by her boss to get clean and come to AA she finally got sober on the third attempt because she didn't want to lose her job and at her age it would be difficult to find another job. She stated that she drove drunk all the time but never got stopped by the police or never harmed others or herself and for that she was grateful. The leader of the meeting asked if any new people wanted to speak and introduce themselves. I just sat there. One man stated he had been sober for 14 years but unfortunately due to his drinking and doing drugs his wife left him and he had lost contact with his children for a long time. The speaker told his story of how he had four DUI's. While sitting in the jail cell the last time he dropped to his knees and God to help him. He has been sober for 2 years and now he sponsors someone. They had the Twelve Steps and Traditions hanging up and I didn't know how much they incorporated God into it. Some said that when they finish all the steps they redo steps 10-12. The meeting was an eye opener. You never know what demons someone is battling
This week I attended an AA meeting with a class mate. Not thinking about, it became very personal for me. When being introduced to a few of the members and hearing their stories, I realized that I had missed an opportunity to take care of one of my friends a few years ago. This one woman was telling her story of how her friends would go out with her and no one ever noticed that she was drinking way too much and went out way too often. She spoke of situations that her friends would let her go off with random guys and no one would ever call her and see if she was ok. Her story was way too familiar. I had a friend who was doing the same things. She was always going out, drinking too much and hooking up with the most random of men. A few times I would take her keys, but I never thought she had a problem. She once hinted at the fact that she thought she had drank too much and she should get help, but I laughed it off. The members all spoke of, so called friends that continued to take them out and they did not know how to say no. One November night I thought I took the keys away from her but I too had been drinking, I got into the car and did not tell her not to drive, she said she was fine and who was I to say that she wasn’t. I woke up to find myself in the muck with a headache and she was still in the car. When she woke up in the hospital her first words to all of us were, “ I told you I have a problem” I then realized that people with a mental illness at times are well aware and just don’t know how to treat the problem. One major way to treat the problem is to identify it and ask for help, but friends are another way that can help. Be a real friend and listen. That is one of the reoccurring themes of the night, “ I wanted help, my friends just did not want to help, they wanted me to join them in their misery”.
Week 5 blog My visit to social groups as a participant observer was very interested and informative. I visited two social groups with my classmate namely Dominion Resource Center and ABA Health Services. Dominion resources center located in Randallstown, Baltimore is a charity organization that provides provide services to the community through the provision of services like, community residential services, community supported living arrangements, group homes, family and individual support services, support services and respite care. They provide these services to all ages at a moderate price. They also provide opportunities for needy individuals like seniors and the mentally impaired & physically disabled people in the community to receive care and support through their programs and services. The second group we visited ABA health services located in Reisterstown road, Baltimore is an outpatient clinic that provides mental health, psychiatric rehabilitation services, therapeutic behavioral services, psychological testing, counseling services, and substance abuse treatment. They provide services for children 5yrs old and above, adult and seniors. We were told that 90% of their clients are on Medicaid, about 8% are on Medicare and only about 2% on private insurance specifically Cigna insurance. We were received with open arms in both places and they answered all our questions. We saw a few clients at the reception and about 3 clients being attended to by the social worker, psychiatrist and counselors when they gave us a tour at ABA health services. The few clients seen looks cooperative which is an indication that whatever therapy or counseling they are receiving there is working, hence I hope to recommend these agencies to any person that might be in need of any service they offer. We will be visiting Zeta center by our next clinical day and I will definitely recommend these agencies to them during my presentation there.
Week Five This assignment bought back sad memories for me, my father who was an Alcoholic died (not alcohol related) when I was at the age of fourteen. I remembered my father going to AA meetings and always recited the Serenity Prayer. Therefore, In Memory of my Father, I took this opportunity to visit an Alcoholics Anonymous Support Group in Columbia on one of their Thursday’s meetings Living Sober. About 20 people were seated in a semi-circle of chairs. One person sat in the middle of the circle. Later I learned that she was the meeting chairperson for that particular day. The meeting began with the chairperson reading the AA Preamble, then leading a group prayer, the Serenity Prayer in which the majority of the people recited. The chairperson asked if there was any newcomers, or first timers, attending the meeting who would like to introduce themselves by their first name. A few raised their hands, I was not one of them, as this was an obvious option and not mandatory for me to do. This particular meeting I attended was a Step Meeting. The chairperson announced which step they would be discussing from the book which was “The Twelve Steps and Twelve Tradition,” the chairperson then asked if anyone has any experience, strength and hope relating to the step, would like to share. To me this was the most fascinating part of the meeting. Watching people begin to share their experiences with alcohol then relating it to the step was fascinating and familiar since some stories seems to relate in my memories of my father and his experiences with alcohol. After everyone completed sharing, the chairperson asked if there were any AA-related announcements. Then she announced that it was time for the Lord’s Prayer, and everyone stood in a large circle, holding hands, and recited the prayer. Once the prayer was over, the meeting ended. On my drive home I had some mixed feeling from the meeting, I felt sadness, and happiness , sad that my father had gone through such a terrible disease, and happy that he was not alone, that there were people like him, who support each other 24-7 hours of the day.
For This week assignment I decided to attend an SAA (Sex Addiction Anonymous) meeting located in Immanuel united church of christ in catonsville. The meeting started promptly at 7pm and the interesting thing was there where more women than men in attendance and I was floored because I thought being addicted to sex will be more of a male disorder. They where about 15 people total in attendance and because I was new to the group, I was asked to go first... I was not sure of what to say so I quickly said I do not think I am addicted to sex but my husband thinks I need help (Denial) I also asked to be excused from questions and just listen to everyone else. The group was nice enough to understand this was my first visit and continued to the next person. I was able to identify some of the paraphilias as Macochism, sadism and there were about 5 people with really wired fetish. The one that stood out the most was this lady whose fetish is to watch her son and his girlfriend have sex inorder to have and orgasm and has gone as far as videotaping them when she is not home. when she finished I literally threw up in my mouth went to the bathroom and left. I felt bad after I left but that was alot for me to handle. My goal is to gain courage and go back to complete the experience.
Week Five Blog For my group experience, I attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I always wanted to attend one of these meetings because drugs and alcohol have done a lot in my life, and no matter how many classes I take or documentaries I watch, I can never understand why these drugs take such a strong hold over someone’s life. Anyway, I was very nervous going in because I didn’t know what to expect. I got a little more comfortable as the main speaker said a few jokes and every now and then some people who shared their stories made a few jokes. The people there had such sad stories about why they went to drugs. One woman began telling her story about being addicted to heroin for fifteen years. She said she was abused by her stepfather who was an alcoholic. When she was 17, he came home drunk and started to hit her mother. When she came to her mother’s defense, her mother started to defend him. She said that was the worst beating she ever had “not because of the bruises, I was used to that. But because my own mother turned on me, for him”. She continued her story about how she ran away and met a guy who got her started on heroin. They would shoot up in a bathroom or where ever they could. The only thing that mattered was getting the drug and getting high. She had kids that went to live with her sister and her turning point was when her daughter had been abused by a friend of her sister. The woman didn’t protect her daughter because she was getting high on heroin. She went to get clean and relapsed a few times but she’s been sober for ten years now. My heart hurt for her because by the time she got it right, her kids must have already almost been adults themselves. That’s two lives missed out on. That’s where my understanding of addiction goes out the window. Everyone was pretty welcoming and I realized they were going to expect me to share and I had not quite gotten my story straight. I told them I have a history with cocaine and some of the troubles in my life that lead to it. They were really supportive and I felt so bad that I just lied to them. Everyone was very appreciative to share and be listened to that it made me think if some of them had someone to listen to them would they be at these meetings? At the end we all were leaving a few guys asked me to not turn to cocaine anymore because I was “to pretty to be on that junk”. Which was nice of them, but still awkward for me. The lady whose story I was talking about walked next to me and had my number read from the beginning. She knew I wasn’t using cocaine because I didn’t “look like her” when she was my age. I thanked her for sharing her story and she told me to tell it. I had a really good time because of her.
I had a interesting experience as an observer in the support group I chose. I attended an Alcoholic support group at my friend’s church in Columbia, Church of Christ. It is not exactly called Alcoholic Anonymous; although, according to my friend, it is a support group formed by the church to help members who are struggling with alcohol addiction. The way everything was orchestrated, it looked similar to what I have seen on TV about AA. Members offered to talk about their life experiences, what lead to their addiction, and what they are doing now to change their situation. Individuals that have been sober for years, shared with the group how they achieved abstinence. Like AA, they recommend taking the process one day at a time. Individual in the groups have each other’s phone numbers and they are urged to call someone if they have the desire to drink. They believe in total abstinence. I had a good experience with the group. Initially I was skeptical because I didn’t know what I would say if I was called upon to share my experience with alcohol. I was glad to see that people were not called upon or forced to share their experiences; they actually offered to. I also had a concern that people will recognize that I am not a member of their church and would have a problem with me being there; but they didn’t. However, I must say it was helpful to go with my friend who was celebrating her sobriety. Overall, it was a fun experience to see someone who made it through alcoholism volunteer to help another person conquer the same problem. I don’t know if it’s because it was a church, but the people were really loving and genuinely caring towards one another.
Last week I played “the undercover boss” and attended an Alcohol Anonymous meeting in an AA chapter I shall not disclose for obvious reasons. The meeting started at 6pm and prior to the commencement of the meeting, I sat there quietly looking at everyone strangely. Some came in looking unkempt, others came in formally dress and well groomed. It wasn’t until after the introduction that I knew that alcoholism is a serious problem that cuts across race, gender and social class. There were Caucasians, blacks, Hispanics, male, female, middle aged and even older folks. There were doctors, lawyers, truck drivers and even a nurse. I was particularly amazed by how organized they were, because prior to actually being in that meeting I had thought given their history, it was going to be chaotic, but I guess I was wrong. Their secretary started the meeting say “ladies and gentlemen, this is the regular meeting of the …..AA chapter my name is (he stated his name) and I am an alcoholic. Everyone took turns to introduce themselves stating that they were alcoholic. When it got to my turn, I was some kind of hesitant to state that I was an alcoholic, but I didn’t want to blow my cover, so I muttered that part that said I was an alcoholic. However in all sincerity I was impressed by their frank expression and recognition of their problem as well as the desire to do something about it. After the introduction they said what they call “serenity prayer” during which they ask God to grant them the serenity to accept the things they cannot change, courage to change the thing they can and the wisdom to know the different. Thinking I was a new member the secretary stated that their association is a group of men and women who has the desire to stop drinking and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. He added that they were self-supporting group through their own contribution. That they are not affiliated with any sect, denomination or political organization and do not support any cause. Then came the moment I was waiting for, the part where people shared their history and struggle with alcoholism, the daily challenges they face to stay sober as well as some success stories. This came with mixed emotions for me. Sometimes I was sympathetic, at other times I was frustrated and at one point I was really angry to the point I became judgmental. A 45 year old alcoholic shared how he sold his family house in other to keep up with his drinking habit. Some of their stories were both depressing and thought provoking. Many of them have done unreasonable things just to keep their drinking habit. Sometimes I wanted to interject and ask why they could not just give it up, but then I remember the reason why it’s called an addiction. This section was the most exciting tart for me, it was quiet revealing. The chairperson then addressed the group as well as another speaker who spoke like he has been a motivational speaker for years. Finally they made announcements about the association’s business and passed basket around for member to voluntarily donate. I left this meeting a changed person. First of all my opinion about alcoholism changed. I realized that certain people who have drinking problems are regular people, some of who are making conscious effort to achieve sobriety. I was realized at that point the enormous effect of alcoholism on both the alcoholic and their families. My lesion from that experience is to remain a non-alcoholic.
i attended a support group not quite recent. it was on October 13th 2014 at Church of the Redeemer brotherhood on 5603 N Charles street at Melrose. My cousin invited me and i remember thinking "this is not meant for me...i mean what will i say if am called to introduce myself." i almost did not go and as at now, i am very glad i went; it was a great experience. we got to the meeting right on time and immediately i felt the warm welcome with some of the members i guess i was scared in the beginning because i kept thinking.. these people are sex addicts and what if...a bunch of ignorant thoughts but none of those thoughts was ever going to happen. the group consisted mainly of African American males between ages of 30-45 years. it began with the group reciting this poem that basically meant " we are Sex Addicts, we cannot help ourselves, that is why we support ourselves, to fight this addiction..." the words were amazing, yes, i could feel how each person strongly believe they had a chance to be better. the leader called new members to introduce themselves; my cousin introduced herself but i couldnt..am terrible at lying and did not know what i was going to say but good thing is introduction was not a requirement. the floor was open for people to start sharing. almost everyone had something to say. great but mostly sad stories. as i sat there i kept thinking how most of these people became addicts due to being at the right place at the wrong time. most of the stores were heartfelt. and after each story they shared some coping mechanisms that has helped them to slowly weaned from this addiction. a man shared this story that almost made me tear up; he talked about how his uncle frequently raped him during his childhood. and he was scared to tell anyone because he threatened to send him away if he did. "growing up and getting used to that kind of lifestyle.." he said, " made desire sex more than anything." this man's world was crushed at such an early age and looking at him, i kept wondering how he survived. i was so glad i went..it was refreshing feeling the hope in their voices when each person was about to end their story. that meeting lasted for 2 hours and afterwards snacks and drinks were served. the people were soo welcoming. overall it was a great experience and i remember saying i was going to visit often....hopefully soon.
I went to an AA meeting at Sinai hospital last week which was a great experience for me. I was surprised to see different age groups that were at the meeting. They were on the tenth step which include taking control over their lives and their addiction. Some people drank because they were angry and to cope with problems. But the interesting thing is that younger people were in the group which I believe will enable them to tackle their addictions early and make changes. They talked about how there is never a ending cycle of being sober and drunk sober. They narrated that it is very hard to say no to drinking. Many people wake up and say they would not drink anymore but they end up getting drunk at the end of the day.
I actually attended two different meetings. One was with my stepdad and that was an NA meeting and the other was an AA meeting. My stepdad has been a recovering attic for over 15 years now and i am very proud of him. He was happy that i tagged along with him to his meeting. When i got to the meeting it was so many people in there that i actually knew me when i was a little child. My mom is also a recovering attic but she does not attend any meetings she has been clean for over 21 years now. But as i sat there an observed i heard some very touching stories that made me think back to when my mom was getting high. One lady said she ended up in the icu so mamy times because the drugs she was taking was overpowering her body along with her asthma the two did not mix. Another guy aslo stated that he would leave his kids in the house all alone just to go and cop drugs. The remarkable turn around for these people is very heartwarming because i can relate to alot of their stories it really touched me. At the AA meeting i felt right at home. I wouldnt call myself an alcoholic but i have had a near death experince and i have totally had a new outlook on life. It was alot of young people in there and they were very supportive to me i admited i had a problem and things had to be done before it got out of control. They welcomed me with open arms i must say i may attend the group a little bit more often if i feel myself getting out of hand but nursing school hasd me busy so i barely see a drink. Both of these meetings definatly was great experiences. alot of people at the AA meting drank to cope with there problems i do that alot also but i realized drinking does not solve the problem but yet i continued to drink. One girl said she lost her sister becasue she was drinking and her sister was the passenger she stated it was was the worse day of her life and now her family resents her for it she is trying to do other things to distract her from going back to drinking. I pray that these meetings are very helpful to all of the participants and myself. I was so emotionally involved
On Monday November 24 I had the opportunity to attend the depression and bipolar support group. Since my clinical group will be teaching at the Zeta House and doing depression screenings we instructed to attend support groups where we could grab resources to teach the elderly clients about resources in their area with the main focus being depression. The support group I attended was very small and intimate. It was maybe 8 or 9 people including myself. All were people suffering with bipolar and depression but mostly depression. Everyone pretty much took turns listening to one another share their current issues they are facing at the time. As a listener in the group I realized that support groups seemed to be therapeutic for those suffering and it almost looked like a relief for those I watched participating in sharing their troubles. This was a great experience for me and gave me a insight on the additional problems those mentally ill face on a daily basis.
I attended an AA meeting here in Baltimore. I really appreciate an opportunity like this to observe AA meeting and hear people voice out their challenges and experiences with alcoholism. I learnt a lot from the meeting. The members of this meeting were mainly whites and few blacks. I really admire their sincerity and words of encouragement to one another to continue attending the meeting because it yields positive results. Everyone introduced themselves as alcoholics and I also introduced myself as a new member. Everyone shared their touching stories of the journey through sobriety. Some of the people that attended were sent by the court to attend such meeting to help them overcome their alcoholic addiction. The members get help by sharing their experiences and encouraging one another. The coordinator or secretary asked people to share their stories or experiences. A man shared how he expressed love to his neighbor’s family this thanksgiving period after living in the neighborhood for 39years. Another man shared how alcohol addiction messed his career (businessman), family (4th marriage) and valuable assets (car accidents) up. Another man share how alcoholism broke his family and controlled his life. He though that there was no problem with him and blamed the problem on other people but when he read a book on AA and how people benefitted from it, he decided to give it a try. Currently, he is so happy that he took that step to get rid of his addiction and live a clean life. He also announced that his family has reunited and everything looks good. The coordinator/secretary also shared her story of alcoholism that nearly broke her marriage and also led to medical concerns. Her doctor advised her to stop the alcohol addiction and recommended AA meeting and she started since 2years now. She is so happy to be a member of this group and wish to celebrate her 2years of sobriety come December 21st, 2014. The passed an offering pan around and some people voluntarily donated money. At the closing, the coordinator made some announcements and they shared a prayer encouraging everyone to continue coming. I realized that the AA meeting has really helped a lot of people and the members are happy attending meetings. At the end I left happily because I was able to witness and hear how people work hard to achieve sobriety. I was so glad that I am not an alcoholic and will never be because it does not pay but can only lead to destruction.
I had the pleasure of attending a sex addicts support group. I have to admit I was extremely nervous in the beginning. I didn't know what to expect and feared they would see I was merely a student and not an addict. After everyone introduced themselves people began to share their stories. I declined to share and was extremely surprised at how open and comfortable some people were in sharing their battle with addiction. I never looked at sex as a life altering addiction but it is. Some people have lost jobs, relationships and friends because of their addiction. I am glad I was able to experience this group. It gave me a new outlook on mental health and addiction. The group was a very warm, inviting and nonjudgemental environment and the participants shared openly. I could tell those who shared were appreciative of the fact that there were others present understood their struggle with their addiction. Support groups are very therapeutic and allows individuals the opportunity to share their journey in a positive way. These groups help individuals cope with their addictions no matter what it is!
I attended an AA meeting at the Annapolis Area Intergroup in Annapolis. This group consist of group or representative from each AA group in the central, western and southern Anne Arundel County in Maryland. During the opening of the meeting every one introduce themselves and indicate their purpose and challenges. Truthfully I have to be honest to the group and introduce myself as a student which of cause the group members are willing for to hear their problems and challenges. Most of the members were sent there by the court mostly for DUI. 80% of the group are men mostly African Americans and Latino’s. Most group member accept their responsibilities for what they did and the challenges to make a better change. But one think that strike me a few members are there for the second time with the same problem. I wander why some people could not take the opportunity of second chance and make a great difference in their life. Most of their stories were remorseful and regretful. During the meeting I learn that addiction is really a psychological problem, Alcohol addiction is just like cigarette or sex addiction. Is very difficult to distinguish between this three because they have the same potential graven and urge. Addiction recover goes a long way, the individual will need family support, emotional and psychological support. The meeting at the Red house is held every third Tuesday of the calendar month at the 7th floor.
I went to an AA meeting on Monday November 24, 2014, called the Mustard Seed in Baltimore. It was interesting to see and hear how they introduced themselves when someone went to the podium to speak and when they stepped down from the podium after. What I have seen in movies and TV shows at that moment was deemed true, “Hi my name is Rose.” “Hello Rose welcome.” After, “Thank you for letting me share.” “Thanks for sharing.” The thing is TV doesn’t show you how inspiring and heart felt, and even heart breaking these individuals stories are. There was one older gentleman who shared his story and told us how he had the big house with the white picket fence, wife, children, and even a dog. Now although he is in recovery, he has lost everything and only very recently was able to pay rent for an apartment in what he said, “the hood.” It was very inspiring to know that everyone who was in that room keeps coming back because they all in some way, shape, or form stated that they need one another. They need to continue to hear the continuation of one another’s story to know that they are not alone, that things can and do get better. One thing that I found very interesting was the fact that even though many of the people in that room were fully recovered, they still introduced themselves as alcoholics and that that was another reason why they would continue to come back. “I will keep coming back,” was a statement said by all the individuals that spoke. One of the women that spoke stated that being sober and drunk was a never ending, and you cannot do the same things and expect different results. Everyone that spoke said that many people say that a person who constantly drinks has a “drinking problem,” when in fact that is a symptom. Many of their actual problems dealt with loss of family/jobs, anger, depression (not knowing how to use positive coping mechanisms), etc. It was sad hearing that many of them lost the connection with their family/loved ones not because they drank, but because they blamed everyone else for their drinking (never ranking themselves high on the accountability ladder). Stories about how they ended up in the hospital because of outrageous fights, car accidents, etc. were all so eye opening. Here I am thinking that nursing school is one of the hardest situations that anyone can be involved in and there are people who are practically fighting to regain their lives. “What the hell was I thinking?” was what I was thinking listening and watching as those who spoke poured their hearts out. My reality will forever be changed after one meeting.
After attending an AA meeting in my county, nearly in my neighborhood I realized that many people I have seen before were there. Some have worked on my car, I see them in the grocery store, and just doing day to day activities. I was stunned, these people go to AA meetings every Sunday evening. I was "Stacy, and I am an Alcoholic." I put on my best actress role, and tried to play the part but once we went around the room talking about personal experiences, I tensed up and kept quiet. I listened to stories from people younger than me, and some way older than me. It was eye opening. I kept thinking in my head questions like; Does anyone else know your secret? Do you work? Do you have children? One woman talked about drinking and doing drugs since she was 13, she was only 19 now. I felt bad when she told me about her sexual encounters, she couldn't even remember after it happened. I thought where were her parents? Poor kid. Before we began the stories, the group leaders talked about a "no judgment zone." Trying not to judge, was nearly impossible. This was all a new experience, I just taking it all in... trying my hardest not to judge. At the end of the meeting we gave a donation to the group for the coffee and cookies they provided. A woman stood up and was the "chip giver." She passed out chips to reward people for being sober for a certain amount of time. She started with a year (no one stood up)...11...9...8...7 months (1 person stood up to receive a chip)...6...5..4..3..2.. 30 days... 7 days...24 hours. Many people still have a long way to go. Out of 30 people, two stood up to being sober. Definitely an awesome experience. Glad I had the opportunity to do it.
I have a long history of alcoholism in my family. Both my grandmother and grandfather have 30 plus years of sobriety from alcohol. Both of my aunts are recovering alcoholics. So I decided to go with one of my aunts to her regular AA home group on Monday nights. I found it uncomfortable at first not knowing anyone but my aunt and not wanting to seem out of place. The speaker for that evening was 20 years sober and told their experience and the ups and downs of living life as an alcoholic. She was very open and funny at times. She had been asked to share by one of the regular members of the group. There were more young people there than I imagined, as well as, some older adults. Some shared than they are addicted to more than one drug and attend a variety of meets such as AA and NA to help keep them sober. Some feel that God is their higher power and that’s what helps them get through. Some of the slogans I heard a lot of were: “Let go and let God”, “Keep coming back it works if you works it”, and “One day at a time”.
I attended a bariatric support group this evening at St. Agnes Hospital. My uncle recently got bariatric surgery in August and goes to the meeting on the first and third mondays of the month so this monday, I went with him. I even invited a couple of my classmates who attended also. I thought the meeting was nice. I did not feel uncomfortable, possibly because I did not feel like I had to "pretend" to be anyone. I simply stated that I was ther with my uncle for support. Oddly, they noticed that our faces were not familiar, but did not even ask who we were until we started mingling amongst ourselves. At the meeting, they talked about coping with eating during the holidays since most families have many traditions for the holidays that involve lots of food. Many people shared their challenges during thanksgiving and they also shared things that they are looking forward to during christmas to lighten the mood a little. I really enjoyed myself because I felt that the people were nice and welcoming and that they honestly have some of the same problems that I have with food and eating :) I did not share during the group, but this meeting was also a holiday party/potluck so everyone bought a healthy dish to share. When it was time to eat and we were talking amongst ourselves, I shared some things about myself as well as how proud I was of my uncle and his dedication since his surgery. I also got some good recipes from people because they had some REALLY good dishes there! I really enjoyed the metting.
I visited The Harford Belair Community Mental Health Center, Inc.- an outpatient psychiatric and mental health clinic located at 4308 Harford Road, Baltimore MD. 21214 on November 25, 2014. I called the clinic a day before I went there to book an appointment for the following day. The Front Desk Staff that attended to me directed my call to Patient Care Director’s phone where I left a message When I got there the following day, I could not meet the Patients Care Director or Clinical Director . I told the staff I met my mission to the clinic. She gave me a copy of the clinic brochure. I could not attend a therapy session but was asked to book an appointment for two weeks. The mission of the clinic is to provide the highest quality psychiatric and mental health services to all persons in the community who are in need of these services and their clients range from adolescents to adults of all ages. The hours of operation are from 8am to 7pm. And accept various Insurance cards. I intend to go back there and observe their operation soon.
Attending the Bariatric Support group at St. Agnes some of the stories I could really relate to. One story I could relate is when one of the clients was experiencing lack of support and sabatoge from her family who are ll obese well most of them. I can remember when I worked as a CNA at Levindale and a young lady was admitted due to complications from bariatric surgery. Her mom use to bring her huge meals every sunday and supplied her with a stock of snacks and food for her just in case she becomes hungry in the middle of the night. So I found this very disturbing not only because I feel that family should support you when you are trying to do better for yourself in any aspect of your life and because I had become very close with the patient at levindale and I truly could relate to how she felt. I also was considering having gastric bypass at one time and actually went to the initial information meeting. I hope that if I do decide to have the surgery my family supports me and not try to sabatoge my success.
I recently volunteered at a homeless shelter called Sarah’s Hope that caters to abused mothers and their children, and was fortunate to observe a group therapy session. I was very disheartened while hearing of these women’s experiences. A lot of them were in mutual but abusive relationships, and only one of the fifteen or so women had been legally married to their partner.
Most of the abuse that the women endured was emotional abuse, and not so much physical as I had initially assumed. Also, a lot of the children did endure as well, which was a major reason that many of the mothers decided to seek help.
What I found to be interesting was that most of the women were utterly dependent on their significant others, and would at times defend their abusive actions. Almost as the though it was the woman or child that would provoke their spouse. Something else of significance was hearing of the process that they used to get away from their significant others. The mothers had important items packed in a bag, ready for an opportunity to get away just as I’d heard lectured in class.
This is part of the reason the facility doesn't allow visitors, and all workers and volunteers complete a background check and have to be cleared to be there. The building is also somewhat camouflaged with the surrounding buildings, and not labeled. This is all geared to protect the anonymity of the residents. And as most homeless facilities, there is a strict daily regiment and curfew that most residents didn't like. But all in all, this facility provides a safe environment for their residents for unto six months, enough time for the women to be able to get jobs and to hopefully be well on their feet.
I went to the Kings Health Systems, Baltimore with two of my class mate today and had the opportunity of speaking with the program director, Mr. Jody Grodnitzky. Based on the requirement of this support group experience, we requested for an opportunity to observe proceedings in one of their sessions but we were declined this opportunity on the basis of the need to adhere to HIPAA regulations and maintain privacy and confidentiality of the clients. We however had an interview session with MR. Jody Grodnitzky and during the interview; we were informed that Kings Health System is an OMHC outpatient mental health clinic that has no affiliations with any group or organization. According to Mr. Grodnitzky, his organization does not provide services for individuals with private health insurance but only those with medical assistance. Though Kings Health System is an outpatient clinic, it however provides home services for clients through therapists and psychiatrists that it employes. The organization has on board a nurse practitioner who is also a qualified therapist, and two levels of professionals based on their certification and educational qualification. Level one professional include licensed clinical professional counsellor (LCPC) and licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Level two professionals are made up of staff with graduate qualifications and include licensed graduate social worker (LGSW) and licensed graduate professional counsellor (LGPC). A psychiatrist is also in the employment of the organization.
Kings Health System provide services for individuals with different kinds of mental health problems but it does not provide services for substance abuse clients or those with alcohol problems. Individuals with substance abuse or alcohol problems are referred to specialists for treatment. The organization is reimbursed for its services through the state and what this means is that it does not collect money from clients but is paid directly by the state for services it renders. An average session that it offers is between 100 and 150 per year, depending on how well an individual client is able to make progress towards recovery. The organization operates from Monday to Saturday between the hours of 9 am an d 6 pm. It however operates from 9 am to 8 pm on Thursday. The organization’s mission is to provide culturally sensitive , high quality mental health services to children, adolescents, adults and their families in order to empower healthy people in a strong community
I attended a Bariatric support group at St Agnes Hospital in the auditorium. There were men as well women who had gastric bypass surgery. When I first arrived the tables and chairs were all spaced apart , but then as a team they brought them together. It was a long line of tables with chairs on both sides. This made the environment very personable. Though I was observing, I could really identify with the things that they were saying. A lot of them talked about how hard it is to continue on their weight loss journeys after losing the loved one and the lack of support from their families. I did not share, but when the main discussion was over, I talked to some of the group participants who were seated around me. The participants also had a holiday potluck of their favorite healthy meals. It was nice to talk to them and share recipes. i did observe and saw that even though there was a full smorgasbord, they barely had any food on their plates. This made me admire them for their self- control.
My support group experience was at bariatric support group at St Agnes Hospital. There were roughly twenty-five people in attendance by the start of the session. The group consisted of both men and women who have had gastric bypass surgery to lose weight. The group members discussed the challenges they have faced as a result of the surgery. The member whose story that resonated the most with me is the young lady who spoke about her mother lack of support in her weight loss journey. Her mother constantly offers her food that she can no longer have and whenever they eat together, she would criticize the portion that she eats by saying “that’s not food, I know your still hungry”. The young lady discussed how it saddens her that her mother, of all people, doesn’t support her in such an important time in her life. Other members discussed the challenge of no longer being able to use food as a coping mechanism or a means of comfort in times of stress. They also had a potluck where each member brings a healthy food choice to share with the group. I think this is an excellent way of sharing new ideas with each other. Attending this support group has definitely opened my eyes to its need. Individuals who are struggling with addiction of any kind need a forum where they can openly and honestly connect with others in similar circumstances because their families and loved ones might not understand their struggles.
Blog Five I went to a bariatric support group for my meeting. When I first arrived, there were only about 4 people there. I noticed healthy snacks to eat like vegetables, fruit, hummus, Triscuits, and some homemade items. The tables were originally all divided and spread across the room. To make the environment more personal and because the party was small, we all moved tables and chairs together to create something like a long dining table. Eventually more people came and we added another table and some chairs. The facilitator started the discussion by telling stories of how the 15th anniversary of her bariatric procedure had just passed. She talked about how her mother gave her a tin of candy her first Christmas and how her father wouldn’t let her mother finish what she did not want because “she needed to eat.” Another story was how a person had surgery and then her mother passed. She was struggling to control the urge to eat and trying to stave off what felt like impending depression. Another woman’s daughter died. Another person shared a story of how her mother (an octogenarian) would not eat if she saw her daughter had lost weight. Another story shared was about how the individual’s family would assume she thought she was better than them, because she elected to get surgery and pursued an active lifestyle. I wrongly assumed I could relate because I do have horrible willpower when it comes to food choices, especially when I’m stressed. The people at the support group showed an extraordinary dedication to changing how they eat, exercise and manage their weight with all of the obstacles they had in their path. Many people dealt with death of family members, the sabotage of family members and situations that tested their strength. I did not speak at this support group because I have never had bariatric surgery or struggled with my weight. I was mainly an observer. I now have a new perspective on the struggles faced by people who chose to get bariatric surgery.
My support group experience was very interesting and informative. I attended the AA meeting hosted by The Mustard Seed which is a group for males and females battling alcohol dependence. The Mustard Seed adheres to a 12 step program and the goal is abstinence from drinking. The members were very entertaining and open about their lives. They immediately spotted me and Crystal, who came with me to the meeting, and I explained to them that I came to see what the meeting was about and she was there to support me. As expected, they called upon one of us to speak and I volunteered to go. I introduced myself and spoke on my past issues with drinking. The members were very welcoming and after the meeting many people approached us to speak to us. I was even invited to an AA meeting more geared to women that had more people around my age group as everyone in the meeting I attended was older in age. The meeting was run in an organized manner. The members were able to exhibit control over the meeting. There was a leader that timed everyone and when one person’s time was up, that person called on someone else to speak. Attending this group emphasized the importance of peer support and how much of an effect it can have regarding encouraging others that whatever battle they are facing, it is possible to overcome and that it is okay to ask for help. The members all viewed each other as one big family and they appreciated each others’ support. Every member that spoke gave thanks for The Mustard Seed and the members there. It was inspiring to see how this program had changed so many peoples’ lives. As a result of their addiction, some have lost various things, from their jobs, homes, and even their families. However, this program gave them hope and a second chance at living life better than they were living before.
My expeirence going to a NA support group was eye opening and made me better able to see the disease of substance abuse impacting the user.
Many people seemed to have a connection, a bond and the common thread was that they were collectively in some spot on the continum of recovery. The language used is purposeful and aligns with the principles of the 12 step program. Everyone had a story and that was quickly evident. Often times I ondered about the stories that were not told, but still it was no doubt that everyone had a story.
To hear how drugs have destoryed people, families, dreams and the lives many seemingly prefered as realsitic. This also allowed me to see the suffering the user continues to deal with as they work along the recovery continum. Many people were simply "average looking people". No race, pay status or gender could avoid the grip of substance abuse.
Seeing more manifestations of the illness makes it someone less trivial and more topical. For instance, it is different to see someone and assume they have a substance abuse problem. But for that person to then tell you their story changes the perception of how we see that person and this disease.
Omg this is so irritating Ive been trying to post this blog but it keeps getting deleted, I guess the computer doesn't want me to share with you guys. Anyway, Last Tuesday, on November 25th at around 8pm I attended a SAA meeting at the Woodside church library in Silver Spring, MD. Although I did not have any certain expectations of how the meeting would go I did have an idea of what content would be discussed. I was totally surprised by the outcome. I originally thought sex addicts mostly have issues with having too much sex or with too many people. However, most of the members weren't even having that much sex at all besides the occasional seeking out of prostitutes. Most of the stories shared described problems with obsessions with porn, masturbation, and fantasy ideations.That was really surprising to me. I did however enjoy hearing about how others felt about attending the meeting, it really seemed to be helping these individuals feel better about themselves, or at least that's what I got from hearing their experiences. Overall I have learned that most sexual addictions stem from not having sex rather than having too much of it and that these disorders usually arise from having difficulty accepting and feeling good about who you are as an individual. Overall, it was a good experience to have to help develop empathy skills, and I enjoyed the experience I have had.
I attened an AA meeting at Sinai Hospital which was an interesting experience. The variety of races and ages groups that were in thee group were a shock to many. They were many young individuals in the group, some where younger than I was. On the other hand there were elderly people who looked as if they did not belong there, from the inside lokking in. The stories they shared were amazing and some I could actually relate to. For example drinking to relieve stress to the point where it becomes an addiction. They talked about how they desired to quit and how they would refrain from drinking. However, by the time the day was over with they had engaged in multiple drinks. They young population was able to commit on their peer pressure and how their environment lead them to drink. Even though drinking for me is not an addiction, I can share that addictions come in many shapes and forms and do not present with prejudice.
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that was held at a location in Pikesville. This meeting was a very intense and eye opening experience. The meeting's environment and leaders seemed very open and non-judgemental. The meeting started with the leader or facilitator welcoming everyone and asking if there were any newcomers and if they would like to speak and share. Once the meeting got started, various people in the meeting walked up to the podium in the front of the room and began to share their experiences or stories about their addiction to alcohol. Many of the stories that were told were very heart wrenching and sad, however, there were a few good stories in which a member discussed a recent time where they had suppressed an urge to drink and was proud at how they handled it. By the end of the meeting, the leader closed it out by saying that he was proud that some members were able to suppress their urges and he was glad they could acknowledge and share that although it was hard it wasn't impossible to not drink. The leader also enforced or reminded the AA members of the 12 steps. Overall, I think the experience that I had was positive and I enjoyed that the people were able to express themselves with no worry and no judgement.
Week five: I decided to attend an AA group meeting at the Baltimore Intergroup Council of Alcoholics Anonymous on Loch Raven Blvd. I didn’t speak because I felt uncomfortable because I really don’t have a problem and to see people who are really messed up from alcohol, I couldn’t see myself lying about something so serious. It really broke my heart to hear some of the member stories; some have lost everybody behind drinking. One man expressed how he never would take a drink in his younger days but as he gotten older and had to deal with the demands from everyday life he began drinking. He said at first he would just drink on weekends but then it progress to everyday. The man said he don’t even know how it gotten out of control. I just cannot believe that a person cannot control their self and just can’t stop. But I do understand how life can get the best of a person sometimes. By me attending that meeting makes me want to work with people with addictions. In my mind I can save the world although I know that that’s not true, but I really wish I could its heart breaking.
I attended one of the Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meetings called the Over the Rainbow on 6 taylor avenue in Essex. The meeting opened at 8:30am with a prayer and closed after about 2hr with prayer again. It is a fellowship of men and women of all tradition and academic backgrounds but have a common purpose of encouraging one another to quit alcohol and other habit that affect health. All member took turned to narrate their life experiences as a drunkard and compared their present quality of life with the life lived as alcoholics. The sharing of their experiences as alcoholic were educative and some emotional as some recalled the sad experiences they encountered and valuables they lost due the poor habit of alcohol abuse. Some members attended in the company of their children and/or grandchildren with the notion that as the young ones hear the past experiences of the elderly as a drunkard, that might be a negative stimuli move them to be alcoholic as they grow up. I thought that this was a smart way to help teach younger people some of the perils of alcohol. This meeting was a learning experience for me.
The support group I was able to attend as a participant-observer was a Women’s health group and the pastor discusses different topics every week. The topic this week just happened to be anger management which was interesting. Boy was I in for a treat. It was interesting to observe how others cope with anger and aggression in their households. The pastor also offered many therapeutic responses such as many of people carry around suppressed anger issues and displace them on others that are less threatening which leads to relationship strife. Overall it was a good experience and I understand the value of support groups. They provide great role modeling behaviors and also being able to learn from others and their mistakes.
You didn't note where the group was but persons do feel more comfortable attending support groups sanction or held at local churches. It de-stigmatizes the experience.
I went to the King Health system at Rogers Avenue hoping for observing support group experience but the program director Mr. Jody Grodnitzky told us that we are not allowed to observe any support group because of patient’s confidentiality. He said that allowing us to observe any support group therapy is against HIPPA rules however we took his interview. King health systems provide high quality and culturally sensitive services to the children, adolescents, adults as well as their families. King health system is an outpatient clinic for all kinds of mental illness. It is very interesting that they also provide home services for the mentally ill patient. According to Mr.Grodnitzky they take medical assistance client and patient will pay nothing. State will pay for the patient. They provide services like medication management, individual treatment plan, case management, parent support and training, school liaison and many more. Some patients are short terms patient and some patient come there since a long time. Even though we were unable to attain group support we had a good conversation with director of King Health system and get to know a lot about the patients and their services. I read the post of other friends which were very interesting experiences they had with the chronic alcoholic patient and they actually get to talk with them. In future if I get chance I will definitely attain alcoholic anonymous group.
I am so sorry you didn't get a chance to attend a support group. like AA. There is value in exposure for nurses who work in mental health. Often times, AA or NA groups are held at the hospital so nurses accompany their patients. Its an eye opener and forces us into the empathetic role as the caregiver.
BLOG #5- Since I am working in Assisted living – Alzheimer’s unit, I want to use this opportunity to attend the Alzheimer’s support group as participant – observer. I found out this support group meet every third Wednesday of each month from 3.30 – 4.30 pm at Administrative Conference Room in Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. It is sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association. This group is intended to support families who are victims of Alzheimer’s and related dementias with their loved ones. The group is free and open to the community and has two facilitators. In the meeting, each member is freely venting their issues. They discussed their frustration in seeing their loved ones losing their ability to perform the every day care. The families were seeking for an opportunity to find support, more understanding of the disease, care giving tips and other helpful information’s. I was sitting with a support group member who is attending the support group faithfully for three years due to her husband being a victim of dementia. She informed me that she benefitted from this group by meeting members that helped her to understand the progressive disease and its effect in the life of the disease victim (her husband) and the caregivers (her families). I understand now that it is not only the patient that needs empathy, the caregivers deserve it too. Finally at the end of the meeting, I observed a relaxed moment in almost every member.
Caregiver strain is real especially for the person taking care of a loved one with dementia. The support group provides a refuge for the person to get support and information.
I went to a drug abuse support group in downtown Baltimore. When I first went I felt awkward because it was a small group of only 8 people. Participants were all either black or white but there was a variety in age. I learned that some participants are there because it is part of their court order. One thing I learned was that drug abuse groups are not just for those addicted to the drug. There were two guys and one lady there from Volunteers of America (a halfway house) and they had to attend because they were addicted to the lifestyle of selling drugs. I kind of got the feeling they looked down on those who were actually addicted to the drug. Part of the discussion was about how participants are integrating in society without the use of drugs. One participant stated that he is occupying his time with positive activities such as church, exercise and school. He also, mentioned that family support has been a huge factor in his lifestyle change. Another participant stated that they appreciated the group because it allowed them to get thoughts off their chest so that they didn’t feel so bottled up. I was surprised that one of the gentlemen declared he felt like the staff were all there only for a paycheck and not really there to help. Over all this was definitely an eye opening experience.
My clinical group was instructed to go out into the community and explore the different resources available to persons struggling with mental illness. I had the opportunity to attend a Bipolar and Depression group on November 28 at 8:30pm. It consisted of about 20 people. They basically talked about how they were feeling that day, goals set for themselves, and how it has been a struggle dealing with their illness. Some were tearful and others were happy. There was talk about the constant change in medications and how difficult it is to find a psychiatrist who really cares. I sympathized with the group because I could not even imagine what it feels to live with the symptoms some of the group members expressed along with not having a connection with the provider. It must be extremely difficult and frustrating.
There is a support group, DRADA, for those who experiencing bipolar and/or depression. I did my internship with this organization. I was wondering if this was the group you attended.
So, I will blog about my experience that led up to me NOT attending a support group. It started with me wanting to attend a sexaholics anonymous group, reason being, I was very uncomfortable about going to an NA or AA type of group because I felt like that was there personal safe place to be as open and honest as they wanted. It is their place to be completely vulnerable and “naked” so to speak. I felt like going in as a patient, hiding the fact that I was a student would be deceiving and intruding on their safe haven. So a sexaholics anonymous class, in my opinion would not be as serious as one of the others, although it is still an addiction I don’t hold it as high as a drug or alcohol addiction, which could just be my ignorance. Anywho, after researching where local SA meetings where I found some general places but no exact addresses, so I called the number to get more information. I ended up getting a long voice recording that wanted me to leave my name and number for a call back. In all honesty I did not want to leave any of my personal information on a voice recording for any type of “anonymous” group, so I dropped that idea. Finally decided on a narcotics anonymous group, found the number for Free State Region to find local NA meetings. The guy on the phone was very friendly and welcoming and found me a meeting within a 5 minute drive from where I live. I didn’t have to give my name or number or anything, I could just walk in. He also told me that the meetings were not only for addicts but non-addicts as well, which made me more comfortable. The meeting was a 6pm in a high rise apartment building, when I got there the landscape looked a little sketchy. I completely forgot that this time of night it would be dark and creepy outside. Anywho walking up to the building there were some rather unsavory characters outside of the complex that made it very uncomfortable to be there. Seeing as though I had to park down the block and it was late and I was alone, I decided for safety reasons not to enter the building. To make a long story short I did not attend the meeting but figured that if I blogged about my experience leading up to not entering the building, maybe that would count for something.
Interesting logic. So the question of safety is always a consideration. I wonder have you thought about what defense mechanism you are unconsciously displaying in your decision making to attend AA or NA. There were other choices that may have been less threatening like Weight Watchers, Active Minds (on campus) or even a bereavement group at a local church. The activity should never put a student in harms way or make you comfortable. I like the fact that you blogged your experiences.and it does count for something.
I visited an outpatient mental health clinic located on Rogers Avenue called King Health system with a few class mates. we were hoping to observe an actual meeting with their patients but we were declined the opportunity to attend any of their meetings due to HIPPA regulations, privacy and the confidentiality of the patients, however, we were able to speak with the program director Mr. Grodnitzky. He provided us with information about their purpose in that community. Their mission is to provide culturally sensitive, high-quality mental health services to children, adolescents, adults and their families…in order to empower healthy people in a strong community. They accept medical assistance clients through the state and they do not accept private insurance of any kind. They accept Medicaid and Medicare clients as well as provide psychiatric home services. They are not a substance abuse clinic but they referral clients with substance abused because they do not possess a license to care for clients with such problems. They provide care to bipolar, ADHD, schizophrenia, and autism clients.
Since two weeks, I have been considering and asking myself which “support group” to attend, then a friend of mind called me on Thursday informing me about an AA meeting. On Friday morning I went to Number 6 Taylor Avenue Essex MD, 21221 at 8:30 am 11/29/2014. When I got there in the morning, I had a lot of things going on in my mind even though I read about this support group; I still have not been in such meeting before. Surprisingly, the meeting started with a prayer after which each individual started giving their testimony. The most imported aspect of this that touched me is that they have this kind of sincere mind that when they talk, I felt like shedding tears. They start by introducing themselves and saying that they were alcoholics. With the way I saw them; they will be able to help more alcoholics to quite. Some people will say since I quite alcohol my life has come back to normal, some said I now have peace in my home. This is really wonderful. However, the meeting only lasted for 2 hours but the 2 hours is full of aspiring information that can change a life. Honestly, I am happy for this psych class because it has really made me witness many things. Not only that I visited the AA group, we had an opportunity in my clinical group to visit other agencies like my sisters’ place and our daily bread. These two agencies also support homeless, disabled and mentally challenged. The AA meeting I attended was really a good experience to me and I also encouraged my fellow class members who are still looking for a place to attend the meeting to check the address above.
Blog about your support group experience as a participant-observer.
Several Coppin students and I went to Kinghouse Systems Inc located on 3502 W Rogers Ave, Baltimore, MD. Our initial thoughts were that we would be able to attend a support group meeting but we were informed that all their sessions are closed to the public. The facility considers all sessions with clients confidential hence their exclusion of outsiders. However, the staff was very helpful in letting us in on the services they offer. Basically, the facility offers psychological services and focuses on the evaluation, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional and behavioral health issues. The facility only accepts Medicaid and Medicare clients but no private insurance. Staff at the facility include licensed social workers, professional counselors and a registered nurse. The therapists sometimes visit clients in their homes to provide services. The facility caters to both adults and children and their disorders range from bipolar disorder to attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, schizophrenia and autism. The facility is open from Monday to Saturday. The facility’s main purpose is to help the members integrate back into community. The clients are scheduled to see a doctor once a month. Contrary to what we had thought, they don’t offer substance abuse treatment but can refer clients with this problem to the relevant facilities. Although, we did not get the privilege of attending a session, I would not say our trip was in vain since the staff was very helpful by offering us the information within their stipulated protocols.
I attended a NA meeting at St. Bernadines church in Edmonson Village. The experience was saddening. To see men and women mentally confused and clouded was horrible. The over all feeling was the desire to stop , but the mental inability to proceed. One man felt the that it was a demon making him "get high". This was depressing
I attended a NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meeting at Saint Bernadine's church located at 3812 Edmondson Ave in Baltimore, MD 21229. Meetings are held every Tuesday evening at 7pm and there is literally an open door to anyone wishing to attend a meeting. The atmosphere was inviting but I still felt a bit out of place and uncomfortable, wondering if people were looking at me thinking about why I was there. The meeting was far larger then I anticipated with close to thirty attendees. I opted not to volunteer because I did not want to lessen the seriousness of the meeting by lying about an addiction. The stories that I heard left me with a true feeling of empathy towards substance abusers and the people closest to them that are impacted. I'm a big cry baby at times so I had to take out my tissue a couple of times because some stories were heart warming and very emotional to hear. I also gained a better understanding on NA meetings and how they can truly be a form of support when battling an addiction. Former drug abusers in recovery are faced with a daily fight to maintain sobriety and weekly NA meeting may be the one resource that keeps them holding on.
I attended Hope Health Systems, Inc. located 6707 Whitestone Rd, Suite 106. Baltimore, MD 21207. My experience as a participant-observer at Hope Health Systems, Inc. was very interesting. I attended a support group that focus on substance abuse treatment. The support group assist ill persons return to their optimal level of functioning in their environment. The stores shared provided insight in identifying factors that influence the abuse and ways to break the cycle of abuse. The experience altered my view of people with an addiction and the guilt that is associated with the drug use. I was encourage to stay drug free and avoid certain substances that was not meant to be ingested by the human body.
I attended an Grief and Loss support Group/Meetup. It is an informal support group organized by one of the members. The purpose of this session was to provide support for each other during the coming holidays when every tend to be sad because their loved ones are no longer with them. I had expected the support group to be sad and depressing, but found that wasn't the case. There was some tears, but mostly it was about remember the joy that person brought to your life. For me especially it was a good experience.
Hello I attended an Alcoholics Annonymous meeting at the Weisman Kaplan House Located at 2325 Maryland Ave. Baltimore, Md on 12/3/14 at 6:45 am. Initially I was surprised at the number of people who showed up in the morning but I soon realized that some of the participants needed to attend the meetings to keep from drinking each day. I was moved by the shame and guilt some of the participants felt because of the impact their addiction has on their friends and families. I couldn't help but feel compassion for the participants that werent able to spend the holidays with their families because of the broken relationships due to their addiction. I can definitely say the meeting just further showed me that substance abuse is definitely a disease and one that is hard to control once started.
The impact of alcoholism impacts so much and cost the individual the loss of freedom, relationships and employment. AA helps to keep the person on track if they keep coming back and work the 12 step program.
Week #5: Blog about your support group experience as a participant-observer. How has this experience supported empathic behaviors in you?
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous support group in Washington, DC. The first thing I noticed was how welcomed I was made to feel as someone they perceived as "a new comer." I could tell that if I were indeed a person who was struggling to maintain sobriety, that the atmosphere of the environment would have encouraged me to want to continue to attend. One thing that struck me was how real the struggle to abstain from alcohol really is for the individuals that were there in the group. The way they seemed to celebrate small victories caused me to immediately feel empathy for each of the members sitting around me. Though there was no way I could know any particular person’s religious affiliation, it was clear that they were depending on strength and help that was beyond them to abstain each day. Some moments were emotional because not everyone could share that same level of victory as others; some seemed to struggle with tears as they shared with the group. The more I stayed, the more I realized that remaining clean from alcohol really was a daily battle for some. The blend of emotions present in the room caused me to feel empathy that there are people struggling with challenges I could never have imagined. It was definitely an impactful experience for me.
The principles of AA are founded on the belief that one need to call on a higher power greater than oneself to sustain from alcohol during the 1930's and continues today.
Hello to All! I attended the an AA meeting at the Babcock Presbyterian Church 8240 Loch Raven Blvd Towson 21286. The meeting began with the chairperson reading the AA Preamble, then leading a group prayer, it more of a religious AA meeting. Everyone introduced themselves if they were new, I did not cause it was voluntary. Everyone who volunteered shared their stories about their problems with alcohol and how it destroyed their lives. My favorite part of the whole experience was watching everyone wholeheartedly support one another which is a rare thing in this day and age!
I ATTENDED A NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS GROUP SESSION LOCATED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. THE GROUP WAS MAINLY CONSISTED OF MEN, I WAS THE ONLY FEMALE IN ATTENDANCE. I WAS SHOCKED AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE AND HOW WELL BONDED EVERYONE WAS. YOU CAN TELL THAT THEY HAD BUILT A FRIENDSHIP BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS VERY RESPECTFUL OF ONE ANOTHER. THE MEETING WAS WELL ORGANIZED. THE ATTENDEES WERE VERY RESPECTFUL TOWARDS THE MEETING FACILITATOR. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. IT STILL LEAVES ME WONDERING IF PEOPLE CAN COME AND SIT AT THOSE MEETINGS TO GET HELP WITH ADDICTION, WHY ARE THEY STILL ADDICTED? MY OPINION IS THAT THEY NEED MORE ONE ON ONE OR MAYBE INPATIENT BUT THE FACT THAT THEY COME TO THE MEETINGS SHOWS THAT THEY WANT HELP.
The New Psalmist Baptist Church 6020 Marion Dr, Baltimore, MD 21215 Cancer Support Group(Monday Nights 6-8:30)
I attended a cancer support group, weird enough, when I went to this support group it was not with the intentions of writing a blog, however, it worked in my favor. I recently joined new psalmist, the process into becoming a member is to go through a 2 day intensive new member classes, while there we were talking about different ministries and how it would be good to join one or two. So I selected my few and reached out to the appropriate people and was given the date and time. When going there, I had intentions that I was going there to support cancer patients in a hospital or home setting and offer prayer to them and their families, I decided or thought that this would be great opportunity to give back as well as divert my self from my personal battle and focus on someone who has it worst than myself, where as im only on hormonal treatment, as of date and the next person is vomiting from chemotherapy treatment. When arriving, it was a small room full of older people and all women,older, and women of color. Upon the entrance of everyone, it room was filled with about 10 people, including myself. After prayer, everyone began to go around and tell their story, yet that was quite weird to me, then I quickly realized that this was not what i expected, and sooner than later it will be my time to speak. I was not ready nor was i prepared for this experience. It was extremely scary, it was horror stories of surgeries, and complications for many treatments. When my turn came around, I was honest and shared my information, the group members wrote my doctors name down, unsurprisingly 3 of us shared the same physicians at Hopkins, they asked me a thousand question. needless to say i was far from receptive of their concern, I wasnt emotionally ready to face my demons. This was sprung on me, though i knew what I was doing, I wasnt fully aware. I am not one to speak on my own problems but can help others so before speaking I had feedback and questions but when it was my turn i shut down to ultimately I couldnt handle the reality of what was occurring and walked out of the support group. I cried in the car for almost a full hour in the parking lot of the church.But while there i will say the group was very supportive, I just wish that they were not so aggressive while telling their stories. I understand that mishaps may have happened but it is frightful for someone newly diagnosed and still trying to process the information. After the meeting assuming, I received alot of calls from the group members because i did give them my information prior to the start up of the meeting. To this day, they still call me and offer to bring me to and from the hospital, pray with me, and though currently im not ready, I may be soon or suggest it to someone, I just hope that they don't talk about the same things and reintroduce because that can scare others and push away those who really need support. I think they should ease it, and take it day by day, from least to most invasive, so they have time to get to know the person first.
You should share your observations with someone in the group. Often times the reality of cancer is ugly and scary. The stories are to glorify God...its their testimony. Its good that you were able to share.
I attended an AA meeting called "Agape" at Sheppard Pratt Gibson Building. Upon entering the room I quickly noticed I was the only black young adult in the room. The people in this group were predominately middle-aged white men and women. However I was greeted friendly, to my surprise. Four of the members approached me introducing themselves and asking my name, I of course gave an alias. Before the session began, an attendee of the group announced a death of another regular attendee. From the group's reaction of the news, I could see everyone was familiar with one another, I immediately felt uncomfortable. The leader read a passage from a book about the "power of that first drink". He then asked for everyone's reaction; a middle aged woman volunteered, said her name and everyone repeated her name and greeted her, like I have seen on the movies. She told a story about how on her way to the meeting she rode past a strip of bars out Towson and how she felt weak and compelled to break her 2 year sobriety because "no one would know". Fortunately she maintained strength. The next volunteer proclaimed himself an alcoholic and a drug addict. His story was similar to that of the first volunteer. He then called on the next person and it continued like a game of tag. Their stories were so raw and honest. The bluntness and honesty was refreshing. It was truly a judge-free zone; everyone was supportive and attentive to one another. However, I continued to feel more and more uncomfortable; I do not know if it was more because I did not have a story to tell or if it was because I was invading the privacy of these participants. I genuinely respect the participants for opening up and seeking support in strangers, it is courageous. I could not stay though; my level of discomfort was too overwhelming.
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous group meeting at Sheppard Pratt mental health facility. The group was held in a small room where it looks like they hold Bible study. All the chairs were turned toward the leader of the group. Most of the group participants were white men and women. They were all inviting and friendly. Everyone introduced themselves to me. It also seemed as though every one knew one another already. The leader of the group started by reading from a book related to alcohol addiction and he also discussed how alcoholics drink without a reason. After that he asked us for our thoughts concerning what he just read. People talked voluntarily and a few people told there story. One guy talked about about how he has been sober for a month and when he got into a big arument with his brother, it made him want to drink really bad. He said instead of drinking , he came to the aa meeting. My experience at the meeting was eye opening. I have a new respect for addicts, especially the ones who can go to group meetings and express their personal stories like they're doing. Though I chose not to participate, I did gain empathy and better understanding for alcohol addicts.
I attended an AA meeting at the Weisman House off of Maryland Ave, in Baltimore. I was very interesting. I was able to catch a Morning meeting (6:45 am). It was extremely crowded-with some standing and others sharing chairs. There were billboards posted on the walls with each billboard having ten steps each on why the need to be there, and why you need to continue to attend. There were staff people who sat at the front of the room, my guess is that they were there to listen to the people's problems at why they were there. I assume that they were doctors or social workers, but they never really shared there thoughts with the audience. Most people who came for help were well-spoken. There were two gentlemen who took most of the time as they needed to vent; it was really interesting to hear what they had to say. One of the two gentleman talked about how he almost lost his family because of drinking and that he only wanted one drink. Well as he went on, he said that it was never about one drink; one drink turned into four drinks and before you know it youre wasted and drinking and driving. He talked about 15 minutes and all of it was interesting. he spoke of how important god is and the need for support and the AA meetings. Not being able to fight the battle alone and the support of the community is there; using it is the best thing you can do for yourself and family. The other gentleman also talked about his family but he went more in-dept about the need to attend the meetings. He also vented about finding new friends and leaving the old ones behind. The new friends is where the new life is and the life that he is trying to escape is where his old friends and the problem with drinking. These two gentlemen talked about 15 minutes each and there was not a dull moment. I really enjoyed my stay and it was very informative. I love it and would like to do it again
Florence Amaikwu Week Five Blog Support Group Experience
I attended a substance use disorder treatment group located at Manor Reflections 13 C street Suite C laurel MD as a participant-observer. They meet every Monday and Wednesday 6pm to 8:30pm. This was a group meeting for individuals who were recovering from alcohol and other illegal substances. They were about 10 members in attendance. They all began the group by introducing themselves and the reason they were there. They all stated their personal goal. The majority of their goals was to maintain their sobriety. They discussed their personal stories. They also stated the drug they were using and alcohol. How long they have maintained their sobriety. Some of them were given referrals by the group leader. They were very supportive to each other with the stories they shared among themselves. I was touched to hear them when they stated what drove them into drugs or abusing alcohol .Majority of the reasons resulted from loss of a loved one and loss of employment. What they experience could have happened to anyone but what makes the difference is the coping mechanism that one decides to use at any challenging time in life. I learned so much from the support Group. The meeting ended by 8:30pm.
Week five Blogger 5 The support group experience that l was a participant observer was the Alcoholic Anonymous group at Clifton T. Perkins hospital, held every Wednesday by 7 pm. I made an appointment with the hospital through my sister that work with the facility a week before my visit. I arrived at the hospital, introduce myself and told the security officer at the desk my purpose of visiting. It was a very nice big hospital and l was led by the officer to their multi-purpose room. I was introduce to the AA executive members and to the patient as well. This AA group according to one of their executive member was organized to help people that was Alcoholic addict to maintain abstinence from drinking Alcohol even after their discharged from the hospital. Everybody in the room seat down and the patient voluntarily shared the experience on what makes them to start drinking Alcohol, what has help them in the past to stop drinking Alcohol and why they do not want to go back to alcohol addiction after their discharge from the hospital. As l listen to everyone’s life story regarding their alcohol addict, and how it has influence their life negatively, l was touch deeply. I wish that the younger generation will have the opportunity to listen to this patient and know that they don’t need alcohol as a stress reliever. They AA executive concluded by saying “Alcohol do not take away your stress but it takes away your money,” because the influence of Alcohol makes you feel good at that moment by shutting down your brain from thinking about the problem but when the influence is gone then what?. Your problems are still there waiting for you to take good initiatives, one step at a time and get them solved.
Week five Blogger 5 The support group experience that l was a participant observer was the Alcoholic Anonymous group at Clifton T. Perkins hospital, held every Wednesday by 7 pm. I made an appointment with the hospital through my sister that work with the facility a week before my visit. I arrived at the hospital, introduce myself and told the security officer at the desk my purpose of visiting. It was a very nice big hospital and l was led by the officer to their multi-purpose room. I was introduce to the AA executive members and to the patient as well. This AA group according to one of their executive member was organized to help people that was Alcoholic addict to maintain abstinence from drinking Alcohol even after their discharged from the hospital. Everybody in the room seat down and the patient voluntarily shared the experience on what makes them to start drinking Alcohol, what has help them in the past to stop drinking Alcohol and why they do not want to go back to alcohol addiction after their discharge from the hospital. As l listen to everyone’s life story regarding their alcohol addict, and how it has influence their life negatively, l was touch deeply. I wish that the younger generation will have the opportunity to listen to this patient and know that they don’t need alcohol as a stress reliever. They AA executive concluded by saying “Alcohol do not take away your stress but it takes away your money,” because the influence of Alcohol makes you feel good at that moment by shutting down your brain from thinking about the problem but when the influence is gone then what?. Your problems are still there waiting for you to take good initiatives, one step at a time and get them solved.
I attended a group therapy at Medstar Union Memorial Hospital, the session is guided by a psychologist, a social worker and a charge nurse. They were about 8-10 members in attendance. They all began the group by introducing themselves and the reason they were there. Each member lay their concern about the unit, medications and how they are being treated by nurses. The dynamics of the group therapy is like a mirror of those in the society in general, and learning how to interact with the other members. There is a great deal of interaction and discussion going back and forth among the members of the group. The psychologist has to re-orient them back to the group therapy when they are confronting each other. At the end of the discussion, the psychologist asks if anyone has any question. The group enlighten me on various aspect of how to deal with individuals with mental illness. I found the group therapy to be very informative and interesting. I left with nonjudgmental mind and recognition of mental health supportive system. The coordinator of the support group uses therapeutic communication, by showing empathy with the clients.
Today, I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting at Laurel Recovery, located at 368 Main Street in Laurel, MD. The meeting was at 8 a.m. and was an open meeting, meaning anyone could attend. The first thing I noticed about the location was that it is nondescript and I actually went past it. The front door had a small printed piece of paper with a list of all the meeting days and times on it. When you walk in, there are stairs that take you to the second floor where the meeting is held. When I first arrived, there was the facilitator, Margaret, and two older men in attendance. I chose to sit in the back so I wouldn’t be in the way. Margaret was very friendly and got up and came to where I was sitting to let me know there was coffee and cookies if I wanted some. Margaret gave the rules of the meeting, which included not texting and leaving the room if you needed to use the phone. The meeting started with one person reading “How It Works”, which was a description of how the chapter of AA is run. Then another person read a condensed version of the “12 Traditions of AA.”
The 8 am meetings on Fridays are Reflection meetings where Margaret reads from a book called AA Daily Reflections. There were copies of the books available for attendees to follow along. The topic of reflection for today was “Thy will, not mine, be done.” The reflection passage talked about how God is truly in control and no matter what you did, it was up to him. Margaret gave her story of how she had these expectations of everyone in her life and when they didn’t meet up to them, she got angry and used that as a reason to drink. She said that expectations of others were setting you up for failure. This was a common theme with all the participants who shared their stories. (At this point, 2 more men and another woman had joined the meeting.) Other people in their lives let them down (due to expectations that some people didn’t even know were placed on them) and this was a reason to drink. Everyone talked about having to pray daily in order to keep their sobriety and living for God instead of themselves.
You could quickly tell that all of the participants had been coming to the meetings for quite some time. They had formed a tight group and everyone was respectful of each other. The meeting ended with everyone forming a circle, holding hands, and reciting the Serenity and Lord’s prayer. Listening to everyone’s story reminded me that you never know what another person is going through. You can’t just look at a person and tell that they are a recovering alcoholic. Overall, it was a good experience.
I attended an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting as an observer at Our Daily Bread, which is a facility run by Catholic Charities in Baltimore. I found it to be really interesting, and I was surprised by how welcoming they were with me. Not everyone shared something, but many people there shared very personal information about their experiences. Some people were there because of alcohol addiction, and some people were there because of addictions to other drugs. I learned that this group sees addiction to one thing as being susceptible to being addicted to other things. So for example one person was there to support his recovery journey from opiate drugs, but he had also quit drinking since attending meetings. One person had only quit drinking very recently, but the other members were so encouraging and supportive. Someone was talking about how he remembered how everything in his life had become a secret when he had been using. Another person was talking about how her negative experiences at work had led her to start using. Many people seemed to have come from extremely difficult backgrounds and had been exposed to drug and alcohol use while growing up. The experience overall was really interesting, and I am so appreciative of how I was accepted. I can see why people get results from this group.
While observing a support group, I was able to see how the group managed to work through an issue to which each individual needed support. The support group that I managed to watch was ran by a college that supported students who have the potential for or have experienced stress. Before the session began the facilitator made sure that each member understood the rules and were respectful of each other. Once the members introduced themselves along with the speaker, they were asked a series of questions. The group consisted mostly of questions that were asked, and each person was able to share their feelings from what was being asked. One thing that stuck out to me was when the speaker said she would be watching each member of the group when one person is sharing to see how each member receives the information. This to me means the speaker cared about the group and is interested in the thoughts of the members. It was great to see the participants open up to the speaker because they picked up on her interest.
The support group experience that l was a participant observer was the Alcoholic Anonymous group. In the beginning the leader introduced herself and gave welcomed everyone. There were only seven people within the group. In exception two I few of the group members the rest were much quit. Before the discussion started everyone had a chance to introduce themselves. Most people were there for alcohol addiction while the rest had drug addiction. Those who sheared spoke openly about their struggle with the addiction they have. I felt like they were sharing their secrets they would never speak openly with anyone outside of the support group. You can tell people get comforted when listening to other people who are going through the same pain as them. The group only initiated the topic and sometimes redirected the conversations but the group members were the one who were mainly talking during the support group. It was a nice experience. I learned that sometimes knowing that others are fighting the same battle you are in can make such a difference in our patients’ life. Now I know why as a mental health nurse I have to recommend my patient to these type of support groups.
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous group in Catonsville Baptist Church which started 12:00pm. The program called Catonsville noon. The group meets every Friday by 12:00pm to talk about their addiction journey and support each other by sharing experiences to remain sober. The leader of the group welcomed me to join them and before the session started, she reminded the members to be respectful of each other and stated the rules. Then, everyone introduced themselves and shared information on the reason they came to the meeting. Some of them were struggling with their addict and are getting therapy and others were sober for a while and they are there to share their experiences to motivate the others. Especially, one gentlemen talked about how his addiction cost him everything he loved like his family, job and friends. He mentioned the most difficult part for him was admitting that he has problem and he is now getting therapy to stay sober and defeat his addiction. Overall most people had stressful background but they were helping and encouraging each other to stay sober and change their way of life. At the end of the program the leader of the group asked everyone to join her in prayers and asked god to help the individuals with their journey of staying sober. Through this experience, I now know how the AA meetings work to help individuals stay sober.
I attended a support group for alcoholics today in Capital Height off exit 15 on 495 belt way. I went there with a friend because i was scared of going there alone that someone might recognized me or something. The meeting is held Fridays from 6:30 pm. We went a little late when they have already started and we introduce ourselves as alcoholics and my friend was quick to say that we were visiting from out of state. What i noticed was that the group was diverse; male, female, whites, blacks etc, the members looked mostly matured and were well dressed , some with suites and the parking lot had nice cars. which i told my friend that these people must have good jobs. But of course we all know not to judge a book from the cover. It was interesting to hear people sharing their personal and intimate life story. One of the story that caught my attention was a man in his late forties who have decided to go find his son whom he said left twenty three years ago when he was just five months old when he started using drugs and drinking alcohol because of the problems and situation he was in with his then wife. He divorced the wife left the child and just paid child support. He mentioned that it was time for him to pick up the pieces and at least take a step first to know his son. It was very moving to me and i went up to him and told him he can do it.
I attended a support group for alcoholics today in Capital Height off exit 15 on 495 belt way. I went there with a friend because i was scared of going there alone that someone might recognized me or something. The meeting is held Fridays from 6:30 pm. We went a little late when they have already started and we introduce ourselves as alcoholics and my friend was quick to say that we were visiting from out of state. What i noticed was that the group was diverse; male, female, whites, blacks etc, the members looked mostly matured and were well dressed , some with suites and the parking lot had nice cars. which i told my friend that these people must have good jobs. But of course we all know not to judge a book from the cover. It was interesting to hear people sharing their personal and intimate life story. One of the story that caught my attention was a man in his late forties who have decided to go find his son whom he said left twenty three years ago when he was just five months old when he started using drugs and drinking alcohol because of the problems and situation he was in with his then wife. He divorced the wife left the child and just paid child support. He mentioned that it was time for him to pick up the pieces and at least take a step first to know his son. It was very moving to me and i went up to him and told him he can do it.
I attended an Alcoholic Anonymous group at Union Memorial Hospital on the Psychiatry Unit. I was sitting with a patient who had a history of alcohol absue and he wanted to attend the group. In total their was about 6 individuals in their activity room. The leaders were both males, one black and the other white. The meeting began with a prayer and each leader introduced themselves and told their stories. I found each one of their stories very interesting because it goes to show you that no matter who you are abusing alocohol can greatly affect your life. One of the leaders said that he does this because telling his story can show other people that it is possible to recover from this addiction. I thought that was very inspiring.
I attended an alcoholic anonymous (AA) group located at 8635 Loch Raven Blvd in Towson. The meeting commenced at exactly 8:30 am where a prayer was said and the meeting lasted for about two hours. I was perplexed seeing the caliber of people that were there. It was a group of men and women, young and old, as well as academicians and public dignitaries but they had a common goal of encouraging, supporting, and motivating one another to attain sobriety.All members took turn to talk about their life experiences and their journey so far.Their testimonials were very encouraging and educative. Some narrated their bad experiences being alcoholics, how they lost great opportunities, wasted their resources, got in to legal troubles, and how it was detrimental to their health. I became so emotional to the point of shedding tears. I will strongly recommend AA group to alcoholics especially to the younger generation. It was really a great experience. I look forward to attending such meeting in the nearest future.
I attended a Grief counseling support group at Catholic Church where I worship. The counseling session was a very emotional experience for me. I felt very empathetic for all of the people there who recently experienced a loss. I was able to release a few “held back” tears myself. I never had the opportunity to grieve for the loss of my father because I was very young when it happened. When he passed, I was only 9 years old and I could not completely express my emotion because I did not understand what it take to lose a love one. I kept my emotions held inside me for a long time, but at I was able to cry out tears because I felt I was part of the grief counseling at that moment. At the grievance counseling session, I learned different ways that other people cope with losses. Some people attended monthly meetings, some have picked up hobbies to fill the void of time spent with their loved one and others are still trying to find something that fulfills that emptiness.
I attended an alcoholic anonymous (AA) group located at Journey of Faith church on Liberty road in Baltimore, MD, 21144. The meeting started at 8pm with a brief introduction by the officiating person. Then, we all prayed and he read the introductory note of what AA group is all about and the 12 steps. He asked if anyone is new and I introduced myself as a new member. They all welcomed me and encouraged me to be coming to meeting. There were few people that attended the meeting which comprised of both men and women. Everyone took turns to talk about their experiences as alcoholics especially the effects it had on their family, relationships, jobs and health problems. the essence of these testimonies is for people to learn from them and be encouraged to stop drinking and remain sober. I am really privileged and happy to have attended the meeting and felt so emotional for the people that lost many things in life because of being alcoholics. The meeting ended by 9.06pm and we said a short prayer. They all encouraged me to be coming as a new member not knowing I was in disguise. I also promised to be coming.
The group meeting I attended was alcoholics anonymous at 701 S. Charles St. Christ Lutheran Church, South Baltimore 21230, 8PM Monday night. It was a slow start at first, as not everyone wanted to share. The “group leader” (no true leader as this was completely anonymous) shared a few of her own stories to start it off after she introduced herself as “Sally” and asked if anyone was new it appeared no one was or no one was ready to say they were. She said she saw one new face in the room I assumed she meant me, but I did not speak up. The Group leader then asked if anyone had any stories of growth to share, which people definitely had and this made the meeting pick up a bit. Someone spoke of lost friendships due to changes they have made for their life, someone else mentioned new coping mechanisms she had chosen to employ and how they have had a much better impact on her life. She was exercising when she was upset and said she feels better about herself and has more energy than she did when she was drinking, and had saved money also. There were a few more people that talked about how this change. The room was cold and massive for the amount of people that attended. I’m not sure if that is a good thing but it made it harder to hear things. There was some emotion in the room but no tears were shed. I wish I would have attended a drug addiction program group therapy to see if the participants had a similar interaction pattern. I went to this location based on convenience for me. I think attending in different community would have given me a much different experience.
I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous group which meets at Central Christian Assembly on Saturdays at 12pm. I’ve never attended a support group before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It started with a welcome from the group leader and what the session was about. He then opened the floor to others who wanted to speak. Some spoke about their experiences and what they had gone through. How their addiction affected them and their families and friends. Others talked about the goals they are trying to reach and the struggles they have to overcome their addiction. There were some members who were more outgoing and easily spoke about their addiction. There were only a few that were like me and did not speak at all. The group leader did an excellent job facilitating the group. He didn’t monopolize the meeting, but instead encouraged others to talk and comment. It was very interesting and very inspiring. They all supported one another and encouraged each other to overcome their addiction.
I have never attended a support group myself, however, i have observed them numerous times on my favorite TV show, Law & Order SVU. One was a support group for previously convicted sex offenders. The session was held by a leader, assuming she was some type of psychologist or clinician. The group was about 6-8 males who sat in a circle facing each other. The men would take turns telling each other about how their previous sex offenses have effected their lives and the lives of their families. The leader of the group would ask leading questions, and always ask the men "How does that make you feel?" One man, who was the suspect in the shows investigation, was telling the group his personal story of how he was 15 years old and fantasized about his 6 year old sister. The purpose of the group was to help convicted sex offenders assimilate back into the community and to control their sexual urges in order to be a productive members of society. The group leader was quiet for the most part and let the group members speak. At the end of the session, she gave them a instructions to write their feelings down in their journals and then dismissed the members until the following week.
I attended a support group last Thursday for adolescents with anger and behavioral issues. The group took place at an Step by Step of Maryland Psychiatric and Behavioral Rehabilitation Facility. The group leader was Ms. Rebecca. The leader opened up the section by introducing the topic and encouraging the teenagers to speak about coping with anger and the issues at home. The section took about two hours from 6pm to 8pm. The groups are hold the second and last Thursday of every month where they discuss diverse topics and coping strategies. Some of the members of the group did not want to speak, but where paying attention to the discussion and taking notes. After the group section was over the teenagers enjoyed some refreshments and some pizza until each teen counselor said it was time to go. There were approximately 8 teens during the section.
I attended the Alcohol Anonymous at GBMC and it was very interesting. Every one introduce themselves as Hello, my name is ________, I am an alcoholic. Regardless of whether you have been sober for years or not. I think it don't make those who are actually having problem to be pointed out. It feels like a supportive environment where you can relate to others just like your self. Individuals share their stories, what have help them, and encouraging words to one another. I would definitely recommend AA to any one seeking help for alcohol addiction.
I attended CHADD (Children and Adult with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) support group meeting which is located at 9833 Greenside Drive Cockeysville, MD 21030. I schedule for the meeting through my Aunt who is a friend to one of the receptionist. The meeting is on monthly based to support adults, parents, caregivers, spouses and other significant. The meeting begins 9am prompt and there were about 23 members who attended the meeting. The meeting began by a brief introduction from the speaker. The speaker topic was about Organizational Strategies to improve the life of children with ADHD. He stated the successful programs for children with ADHD which include classroom accommodations, behavioral interventions and academic instructions to be success in class. The speaker identify how to integrate this three components and provides suggestions for practices that can help children with ADHD in a classroom settings. The meeting was very educative. Some members who attended share their children ADHD experience in school settings. The parent who have concerned about their children were given referral based on their individual concerns. I learnt a lot from the meeting. The meeting ended at noon.
I attended a Narcotic Anonymous for persons with HIV at JHH. Because is was before Thanksgiving the meeting was centered around what they were thankful for. The energy in the room was beautiful and the participants were all encouraging on another. Many shared stories some were happy, and some were sad. One important thing that I learned was to live for today. Many of the participants follow this rule of life to help them take their recovery and health diagnosis one day at time.
I attended an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting in Cherry Hill. Cherry Hill is where I was raised so I wanted to go through to see what my community was going through. There were a lot of individuals there between the ages 50-70. It was interesting to me that most of the participants were middle age and older adult. They were involved in the meeting for a while and many of them knew each other. They seem to have a close relationship and the group was ran by a lady that was free from alcohol for 2 years. They shared their progress and experiences. Some stories were sad and I never knew how something that happened so long ago can still have a major impact on individuals. This was a great experience and I did learn that most people don't think they are alcoholics and the first part of getting help is accepting.
I attended an AA meeting at St. Anthony’s Church. This meeting was open to the community so I wasn’t required to participate but it was welcomed. The meeting started with announcements and the reciting of the 12 steps/traditions. There was a main speaker in the beginning, who talked openly about his journey. Later it turned into open discussion where people were able to open up about their stories. They might have revealed that they were an alcoholic, recovering or showing support to a friend or family member. I found it very interesting how easy it was for people to be so vulnerable and it spoke volumes about how supportive these meetings can be.
I attended an AA meeting at Garison Blvd Firehouse last Saturday. The meeting was very different from what I was expecting but it definitely seemed like it was therapeutic for everyone that was there When I entered into the group I felt very weird but I just sat down and intended to observe. The first thing I realized was that the meeting was very religious based, which the group seemed to have enjoyed. People were able to introduce themselves and tell their stories. It was easy to tell the people who had been coming for a long time because they seemed to be a lot more comfortable and they had some established friendships. There was a speaker there that gave her experience with being an alcoholic. Her story was very sad but it seemed to have been a similar story to many of the people that were at the group. After attending the AA meeting it really opened my eyes to the journey that many people take that leads to alcoholism and nobody chooses to be an alcoholic. Unfortunately, some people turn to alcohol to deal with pain and it becomes an illness.
I attended an AA meeting at Garison Blvd Firehouse last Saturday. The meeting was very different from what I was expecting but it definitely seemed like it was therapeutic for everyone that was there When I entered into the group I felt very weird but I just sat down and intended to observe. The first thing I realized was that the meeting was very religious based, which the group seemed to have enjoyed. People were able to introduce themselves and tell their stories. It was easy to tell the people who had been coming for a long time because they seemed to be a lot more comfortable and they had some established friendships. There was a speaker there that gave her experience with being an alcoholic. Her story was very sad but it seemed to have been a similar story to many of the people that were at the group. After attending the AA meeting it really opened my eyes to the journey that many people take that leads to alcoholism and nobody chooses to be an alcoholic. Unfortunately, some people turn to alcohol to deal with pain and it becomes an illness.
I attended a NA meeting at the McKim center in East Baltimore. I was nervous to attend the meeting at first but when I arrived I found it quite interesting. Everyone sat around and spoke about their addiction and how they began their addiction. I brought a friend with me and she also participated just to get insight and an understanding. My overall experience was a good one at the meeting and I would attend one again for more education and knowledge as to why and how people become addicted to drugs.
I attended a NA meeting at the McKim center in East Baltimore. I was nervous to attend the meeting at first but when I arrived I found it quite interesting. Everyone sat around and spoke about their addiction and how they began their addiction. I brought a friend with me and she also participated just to get insight and an understanding. My overall experience was a good one at the meeting and I would attend one again for more education and knowledge as to why and how people become addicted to drugs.
I attended a drug addiction group meeting. I really felt out of place becasue the drug of choice I decided to say I am addictted to was not as bad as the other persons in the meeting. I said I am addicited to marijuana, the other people were addicted to crack, heroin, meth, and alcohol. All of these people had been to a rehab center already but they continued to attend support groups to maintain sobriety. It was very interesting listening to the diffrent stories about what lead them to using drugs. I believe that they could tell that I was a fake because of the way they looked at me after I shared my story.They still were supportive. One story that had my attention was this guy he looked about my age, he had been on crack since he was fifteen. He abruply lost his mother in a car accident on her way to pick him up from school, and he never knew his dad so he had to live with his 70 year old grandmother. Which he admitted that she could not control him so he did as he pleased and got caught up with the wrong crowd. He explained how the experience was when he first got high, he thought it was the greatest feeling he ever felt. He decided to seek help after his grandmother passed away from diabetes. His story hit home because I would have known him if we went to the same school and I cannot image any of my friends strung out on drugs. I do not know anyone personally who has been addicited to drugs. It was just sad, but I am proud that these people have decided to get help and making efforts to stay clean.It was a great experience to see into the lives of other people and how they were so open with something that can be so hard to talk about.
ReplyDeleteI attended a Grief counseling support group at United Baptist Church located at 1615 E. Eager Street in East Baltimore. The counseling session was a very emotional experience for me. I felt very empathetic for all of the people there who recently experienced a loss. I was able to release a few “held back” tears myself. I never had the opportunity to grieve for the loss of my aunt who passed away this past August. When she passed, I was at school at the medication exam review and I received several telephone calls and text messages. I excused myself, went outside to release a few of my mixed emotions. I returned to the review, because I did not want to miss any important information. All week, I kept my emotions held inside because I wanted to focus on studying for the medication exam. I used the defense mechanism “Suppression”. Ironically, the funeral and the medication exam were scheduled for the same day. I had a plan to go to school, take and PASS the exam, then make it to the second half of the funeral. The medication exam did not start on time; therefore, I MISSED my aunt’s funeral. This was very upsetting for me; however, I did make it to the repast to finally spend time with my family. I was able to suppress my feelings and gained motivation because I was at my aunt’s house the day that I passed the medication exam for the summer semester in May. This is how I was able to stay focused.
ReplyDeleteAt the grievance counseling session, I learned different ways that other people cope with losses. Some people attended monthly meetings, some have picked up hobbies to fill the void of time spent with their loved one and others are still trying to find something that fulfills that emptiness. There are various types of losses and I was surprised to see that not everyone was there for the loss of a loved one. Some were there for loss of positions at work, status and items and property. The story that will always remain in my mind is the story of a young mother, who lost her mother, daughter, son and nephew in a car accident in November, 2009. Her mother was driving and her son, daughter and nephew was in the back and her Uncle was in the passenger seat. A drunk driver was driving recklessly behind them and crashed into the back of her mother’s Mercedes, killing her, her two grandchildren and great nephew. Apparently she looked in the rear view mirror and saw the pickup truck coming down the hill at a rapid, reckless speed. Her mother’s last words were “JESUS” (per the Uncle). Her Uncle was in a coma for twenty-one days. When he regained consciousness, his family had already been buried. This was a very tragic experience for this family. Currently the mother is experiencing “complicated grief” because she has not been able to return to work or do things that she used to enjoy doing. She has not cleaned her mother’s room or removed any of her belongings. Her son and daughter shared a room and she has not touched any of their items and refuses to allow anyone to come in and do it for her. She will not change the message on the answering machine which is her mother’s voice. She stated that her uncle committed suicide last November on the one year anniversary of the accident.
This session was very emotional and informative. I had the opportunity to release the feelings that I suppressed for the past few months. When I walked away from the session, I had a greater appreciation for the small things in life.
Harriet Ndele
ReplyDeleteNursing 405 Sect. 002 C13
Support Group Experience
October 6, 2011
I attended the HIV Support Group at 1221 Caraway Court, Largo MD 20772 on October 1st, 2011. The meeting started at 2:30pm in the afternoon with about 25 HIV patients participants. Before the meeting started one of the participants volunteer to give the opening prayer. The turn out of the support group was quite impressive, a lot of the HIV patient’s came with their family members. There were three speakers at the meeting, Andrew Cain who is a case manager and volunteer at P.G Hospital was the main speaker. I told Mr. Andrew Cain that I am a nursing student at Coppin State University and I want to be an observer in the meeting. He agrees and then welcomes everyone in the room. Below are the summaries that I gathered from the meeting.
Starting HIV medications can be a very overwhelming process for many people, especially for the younger (under 25) and newly diagnosed populations. Taking a pill every day is a subtle reminder that you are HIV positive and that can discourage some people from sticking to their regimen due to depression or fear of others finding out.
A few things to keep in mind: First, those pills are going to preserve your immune system from being assaulted by HIV, and ultimately cause you to have fewer complications from living with HIV. In addition, getting your viral load undetectable makes you less likely to transmit the virus to sex partners. Another big concern for people adjusting to medications is the side effects from the meds. The key thing with side effects is that they’re your body's response to now having this medication in its system every day; once your body adjusts to the medications (sometime between two and four weeks), most of your side effects will subside.
Just keep sticking to your regimen and give it some time. If you are having trouble remembering when to take your pills or if you took your pills, try using a pill tray -- that way you will always know if you took your meds or not by simply looking at the tray.
Remember to stay in communication with your health care provider or care manager if you have any problems with adherence or side effects.
Even as an observer, I also learned a lot of things about HIV management from the meeting which is vital to me as a future nurse because I will be educating clients like this in the future. There were some snacks after the meeting and almost all the attendees were pleased. Overall the meeting was interactive because the HIV patient’s were asking questions about their conditions, and the speakers readily answered their questions. There where handouts given to the patients and their family members to take home which includes phone numbers and other HIV support services.
I attended the “Caregiver Connections” Support Group meeting, which took place on Tuesday October 4, 2011. This support group is meant for family, and friends of adult patients at Lombardi Cancer center in Georgetown University Hospital. It was a hard decision for me to attend this meeting because my mind was preoccupied with the fact that these members in the meeting must be going through difficult time having a loved one at the center that is suffering from cancer. The meeting started around 5:10 pm, it was made up of about 30 members. At the beginning of the meeting, we all introduced ourselves and we also mentioned who we are taking care of and how they are related to us; when I got up I had adapt by telling a lie that I am taking care of my younger sister (I don’t have any younger sister) who is suffering from breast cancer.
ReplyDeleteAfter the introduction, the main speaker who is a social worker at George University hospital, thanked everyone for coming and praised us all for the good job we are doing in caring for our loved one. He talked about the significance of cancer care giving to the patient and the family as a whole; the consequences of the care giving which he categorized them under: physical, emotional, financial, and social health of the cancer care givers. He emphasized that care givers have to provide proper care to themselves and that no care giver should allow anxiety and or depression to affect his or her health because if the caregiver is not healthy, he or she would not be able to provide appropriate care to the adult cancer patient.
Another speaker talked about the benefits of cancer care giver support group. He said a group like this helps relief stresses that are associated with caring for a cancer patient because of the highly demanding nature of the care from cleaning, administering medication, making doctor’s appointments, cooking, providing, comfort and making sure the patient has everything he or she needs. Also in a support group like this people share their experiences which help others in providing care as well. After this speaker finished, everyone was given the opportunity to ask question, after the questions and answer sessions, members shared their experiences and how the patients are doing. One of the members came and taught relaxation techniques for stress management and some aerobic exercises. The meeting lasted for about an hour twenty minutes; next meeting was schedule to take place on Tuesday November 1, 2011. This was a great experience for me because it was my first support group I have ever attended I found myself transforming from being an observer to being a real care giver during the course of the meeting.
I attended an eating disorder support group on October 12, 2011. It was hosted at Sheppard Pratt main campus. The population was mostly young, white females. I was surprised they all looked healthy. The group started out with an opening question of what we liked or disliked about the month of October. I think it was supposed to get the group to open up and share; however, there was a lot of silence throughout the meeting. The conductor of the meeting was a substitute for the regular conductor. She did not have any guidance questions to direct the group. She asked the general question of who wanted to share anything new that was happening with the group. Slowly, individuals began to share different things about coping with an eating disorder. Other members in turn readily shared advice about topics such as staying motivated during recovery, how to deal with emotions that were triggers for becoming symptomatic, and how to share the mental aspect of the illness with family and friends. There were also support persons there sharing their experience of how to best communicate with them as a support person. Over all, I thought the information that was shared was good. The group seemed very supportive of each other and shared some good tips that could possibly be used in areas other than coping with an eating disorder.
ReplyDeleteI went to an AA meeting at Sinai which was a great experience. I was shocked at the different age groups that were at the meeting. They were on the tenth step which include taking control over their lives and their addiction. Some people drank because they were angry and to cope with problems. An elderly lady shared her story that when your young and start to drink the problem gets worse with age. So the fact that younger people were in their was a good sign because they could tackle their addictions early. Their was this young girl in the meeting who stated that she was facing two years of jail time and her younger sister died at 15 with the disease. They talked about how it was never ending cycle of being sober and drunk sober and drunk.Waking up saying I am not taking another drink but then end up drunk. The definition of insanity...doing the same thing over and over again and expecting the same results.
ReplyDeleteI attending an AA meeting at Sheppard Pratt in Towson. It was interested at first how the people stated their names introduced themselves as alcoholics and shared their story based on the 10th step that was being discussed in the meeting that day. I found it interested because it was just as I had seen support groups on tv. However, what I didn't get from tv shows is that these are actual people suffering with alcohol abuse issue. The group varied in age from young to old, male and female; the vast majority of the group I attended was white. The most important statement that I remember from the meeting that I feel will stick with me forever is "most people who are alcoholics use some other forms of drugs as well". The people in the meeting talked about how they initially started out drinking socially, then over time it turned into weekly then daily, then they started experimenting with other drugs. They also talked about some of the bad decisions that they made while under the influence of alcohol, and waking up in the morning wondering how they got home, how did they crash their car, what did they hit. That's when the group became really sad to me.
ReplyDeleteI decided to attend a narcotics anonymous meeting. The group was called the Courage to Change it was held in a church in North east Baltimore. I attended this type of meeting for many reasons. The main one is I have numerous members of my family that have been addicted to drugs. Some have been clean for years and some are not clean. Drug addiction has always been something that I don't quite understand. There was one lady whose story stood out the most for me. She was raised by her mother and father, her father was a minister so she always had a relationship with God. She said growing up she was sheltered and she was made to go to church all the time. When she became of age and went to college she met a man who introduced her to drugs. So we know what happened after that. The reason this story stands out for me is, because she is the person you would least expect to get addicted to drugs. Also I have a daughter that I think is a little sheltered and I'm really not interested in exposing her to a lot of things that i was growing up. Sometimes I don't know if that is a good or bad thing, because of stories like hers. Going to this meeting helped me gain a better understanding of the addiction and it also help me to deal with the negative feelings I have towards my family members that have not gotten cleaned up. The stories I heard helped me realize how blessed I am, because it is only by the grace of God that I haven't taken that path. I would never say that I would never do drugs, but having seen so many of my family members lose everything and not be able to accomplish goals in life is always in the forefront of my mind. It saddens me when I see people that have no desire to do better for themselves, but I guess that's all apart of the addiction.
ReplyDeleteI attended a support group for eating disorders on 10/12/11 at Shepard Pratt Hospital. The group was very good. It seemed as if the same people were coming every week because they reflected on past sessions. These young ladies were already in treatment and were there just to keep themselves strong. The only thing I did not like was the leader of the group. She was substituting for someone else and she was not helpful at all in my opinion. She let silence linger too long and did not really try to keep the group on track. This group really gave me a sense of the mindset of a person with an eating disorder and how it is something that they constantly struggle with. Some had family support, some did not. They all shared their coping mechanisms with each other and how they stay motivated to pursue higher levels of treatment. I would recommend this group to anyone who has this problem because it is a great way to get support from others who understand what you are going through.
ReplyDeleteI attended an Alcoholics Anonymous Meeting at Sheppard Pratt in the Towson area. I was a little apprehensive about going because I went to an early morning session and I was unsure of what or who to expect. To my surprise, when I got there the room was over crowded and I had to stand up during the meeting! Thankfully one of the gentleman got me a seat. The clients that were there included mostly Caucasion men and women of all ages. Some were professionally dressed and even stated that they would be on their way to work after this meeting.
ReplyDeleteI came in during the reading of the 12 steps. Afterwards the floor was open to anyone who wanted to share their story or experience. Surprisingly, people were fairly comfortable sharing information and offering advice and encouragement. There were a couple of people who were celebrating their sobriety anniversary. Although I did not actively participate in discussions, the group made everyone welcome. I was even invited to an AA gathering they were having the next week… :~)
I attended a narcotics anonymus meeting at Johns Hopkins hospital. The meeting was held by people that were recovering addicts. When You came in, various people were given parts of a speech to read. Before you spoke, you had to say Hi my name is ( fill in the blank). Then everybody says Hi (your name). Then you would continue with your speech. The whole speech basically said that you were an addict looking for help, be strong, do give up, and take one step at a time because you can do it even though at times you want to give up. After everybody said their part of the speech, there was a geust speaker who told his story about his addiction. He had said that he was addicted for 53 years of his life and that day he was 10 months clean. He stated that he started sniffing glue at the age of twelve and by fifteen years of age, he was shooting dope into his body. His reason for starting drugs was that he wanted to be cool like the othr neighborhood boys. He said that he regretted it because it ruined his life. The sad part was that his younger brother wanted to be just like him and he over dosed on drugs and died. The speaker said he is getting his life together and ironically, he has been accepted to Coppin. He will be attending next Fall. Other people also spoke at the meeting and told their story and how they were or already have gotten their life together. In the end the participants were stating how long ther were clean and evverybody clapped and encouraged one another for being there. They the all started chanting " Keep coming back! Keep coming back! keep coming back!" In the end, we all formed a prayer cicle and prayed for a well recovery from addiction. It was a nice experience for me. The people did not try to sugar coat their stories. They told their life as it was and their feelings. It was a good meeting. I would attend again because it's good to support them in their efforts of recovery because they don't feel alone when someone is there especially going through the same thing.
ReplyDeleteI decided that I would attend a gamblers support group. I often attend either AA or Gamblers anonymous once or twice a month. I prefer the location in Towson because I spent a lot of time with a ‘Runing partner’ (a person who you share a friendship with due to a common addiction) of mine at this location. I develop a taste for both gambling and ETOH when I was in my teens. I’ve been sober and free from gambling for over a decades but the meetings to me, are like an old pair of worn leather shoes, that just feel so right when you have them on. Not to my surprise I found my self surrounded by friendly yet humble individuals. As to be expected due to the hardship of the ecomomy the place was filled with people who have lost marriages and homes…etc; even more depressing are the number of women who are starting to attend these meetings. I first attended a Gambler support group back in the late 90’s and the population consisted of mostly older males ( retired men and men with ETOH addiction) and 2 females (out of a group of about twenty).
ReplyDeleteThis group consisted of middle age women, elderly men and a couple who appeared to be in their twenties. I introduce myself as a student who has not had any activities within the last 5 years (strict abstinences from any type of gambling). I announce that I didn’t have a story to share but I wanted to sit and listen to what the support group had to say and take part in the activities that they were going to offer for their service.
I found the group therapy to be very relaxing and informative. After several minutes had passed I learned that the group meeting was a ‘step-based programs’ and not a ‘Open’ support group meeting. The members were made up of individuals who were lottery players, online gamblers, and casino players.
The programs goals was aimed at ‘healing addiction, creating financial health, and improving mental wellness,’ through the use of a 12-step program adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous (AA-meeting). The meeting was held in a Towson church; after the two leaders of the group spoke and reherse the 12 steps, they offered drinks and food which was made by the attendies. Although I haven’t stepped foot in a church since I enrolled in Coppins Nursing Program because of weekend commitments at Johns Hopkins I must say that I walked away from the group meeting with a comforting feeling of union with not just gamblers who were dealing with finacial hardship, depression, ETOH abuse, and other delimas but people who committed to living a better life. The feeling wasn’t spiritual at all but more like a fellowship or bond between ordinary people from various walks of life.
I attended an NA group meeting at JHH. It began by everyone introducing themselves, followed by a welcome to everyone. Then various persons read statements specific to addiction. Once the reading was completed, people where given key chains to acknowledge their years in recovery. Finally, people began to share their experiences of how they became an addict, what they did to maintain their addiction, how it affected the people who cared about them, what and who they loss while going through the addiction, and how they reached the point of wanting to overcome the addiction. It was profound to me how people were willing to share their experiences very openly. Many of them acknowledged how they knew each other during the time of their addiction and what that person was like then as opposed to now. So many of them had some of the same experiences to share in terms of what they did to maintain their addictions. A few shared how they had loss everything and everyone they cared about because it was more important to them to maintian that high. One gentlemen spent a great bit of his life getting high and now he is in his 50's and he has decided he doesn't want to get high anymore. One of the ladies admitted that she had an urge to get high as she sat in the meeting, and they applauded her for admitting it because they remembered what it was like when they first attended the meetings. It was very interesting and enlightning at the same time. You just really don't know what it is like for someone who has to deal with this type of addiction. I was sitting there feeling sorry for these people. I also remember thinking,thank GOD I my life went in a different direction. I enjoyed having this opportunity becuase it gave me a chance to get to know their experiences. I think that if I am faced with having to care for an addict, I will have a different perspective on what life is like for them.
ReplyDeleteThe support group that I went to was a sex addicts anonymous held at Baltimore Hope and Recovery, 5603 N. Charles Street. My thought before I arrived is that there were going to be some creepy looking males who just think about sex sex sex all day. As I arrived, there were a few white males who greeted us at the door and directed us to the group. This time, I discovered that this was a catholic church. Instead of being all old men, it was a mixture of young and old white men, also a young African-american woman. She seemed very excited to see other African-american women at the meeting. The first was to introduce yourself, and admit that you were a sex aholic, now I just introduced myself, I did now claim being a sex acholic! There were different pledges and rules that were read by the members, and everyone was very friendly. A couple of the males, I remember seeing on the sex offenders wed site, so this was pretty interesting. One of the guys was telling his 1st step story to the group and what he wishes to gain from coming to the support group. After his speech, we went around the room to make comments and offer encouragement to him. At this time, I felt compel to offer him some encouragement to hang in there and to move forward. At the end, we all formed a circle, and the serenity prayer, and said goodbye. We were invited to come back again.
ReplyDeleteI went to NA meeting at John Hopkins. The NA meeting started by everyone introducing themselves, and everyone followed by said “Keep coming back”. They also asked if anyone was there for the first time. There were a few people there for the first time. I didn’t acknowledge myself as being an addict but I did participate in the reading of the inspiration speech. My reading was “Why are we here”. After reading the literature I had a better understand of what my ex-husband was going through in his addiction. I couldn’t understand why he just couldn’t stay clean but the addiction is cunning, and the only way you can stand clean is to attend NA meetings and develop a contract list for when times get hard so you can pick up the phone for help and someone will be there for you. It’s a network of brothers and sisters helping each other no matter what color or ethnicity through their addiction. They acknowledge anyone any that was recovering for as little as 30 days to many years of recover. They were giving a keychain as a gift for their time. There was man there that had been addicted for 53 years of his life. He started when he was very young; he was brought up in a religious household with both parents. He wanted to be accepted by his peers so he did the things they did, they told him it would make him feel good, but didn’t tell him about the bad things it would do to him. Finally, he decided it was more to life then getting high and by the court order he had to attend NA meetings so he gave it a chance it’s been 10 months and he’s been clean and very happy about it. He didn’t not sugar coat his story but told the straight truth. It was a very good experience and I have a different view of addiction now. The one important thing I took from the meeting was each person must make a choice to be free from addiction and it’s a one day at a time sobriety.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting around where I live. It was held at a church. I went with someone who actually has an addiction to alcohol so I was there for her support and for my observing experience for class. It was a good experience. I have seen it firsthand how it affects people and seeing people talk about their struggles gave me a more in-depth view into the subject at hand. The meeting had about 30 participants; more middle aged people than people my age. The leader I felt was adequate. Everyone who wanted to discuss whatever they wanted got a chance. I felt going in that I would feel uncomfortable because of how I feel about alcohol abuse being that my grandfather died in motorcycle accident with a drunk truck driver running in to him and other issues relating to alcohol abuse. However, I realize that with support groups one is able to discuss things out with other people in the same situation and not be judged. So I walked out with a new feeling of people who are going through this addiction. I was there not to judge but to observe and learn. I am glad I got this experience and I know my friend benefitted from going as well as she has been to previos AA meetings years ago but fell off the wagon and going back to this AA made her realize she needs to go back to the meetings.
ReplyDeleteI attended a NA meeting. It was not the first that I have been to but it was the first time I have been as an observer. I found it to be quite captivating just listening to these people spill out about what drugs did to their lives. Everyone who spoke seemed to have lot in common. They all did what they called shameful and hurtful things to themselves and the people they love for the use of drugs. they talked about how drugs too over their lives, their inability to function as normal adults. A lot of them lost jobs, friends, housing, children, and their health for the sake of using drugs. Some even discussed the effects of detox treatment on their lives and how hard staying clean is now. I felt very uncomfortable at first because I thought I was gonna have to speak and I was the youngest person there. It was a small group of about 15 with a equal amount of women and men. Listening to some of the things people did and sold for drugs was somewhat shocking for me. There were arts of this meeting that really was emotionally and made me see addiction and group therapy in a new light.
ReplyDeleteI attended a SAA meeting at a church in towson. My initial thoughts were of nervousness because I didn't know what to expect as far as how far people would go in terms of sharing their experiences as a sex addict. I was thinking all kinds of thoughts like "omg, what if they are perverts or pedophiles or something" and "i need to wear loose fitting clothing to this meeting". Really nervous to say the least, but I felt like I needed to attend to pull me out of my box with the narrow thinking I had involving sex addiction. I learned from the meeting that sex addiction may not necessarily involve having sex with random people. I learned that sexual addiction can range from constant thoughts of sex, to constant looking at porn to wanting to have sex all the time. I just wonder where do people draw the line between liking sex alot and sex addiction? Because I hear lots of people say they really enjoy sex, but are they considered to addicts?? I guess its considered an addiction when it starts to interrupt your daily living. I chose not to participate, instead, I preferred to just listen. I preferred to just listen because some of the stories you may hear may lend an explanation to why some people become obsessed with sex. Some people may have been a victim of sexual abuse as a child, which may or may not cause them to become addicted; some people may have witnessed sexual acts on tv or in their homes as child which may have stirred their curiosity. We may never really know what causes one to be addicted to sex, but based on the stories I heard at the meeting, most of those individual had a fascination stemming from childhood, but they didn't go too much into detail with what they saw as a child. Overall, the meeting was informative and interesting, left with much less judgments than I had before about sex addicts.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting on November 25, 2011 located in towson. Prior to attending this group I have only attended one support group. I was kind of okay going into the meeting but nervous at the same time. At the begining of the meeting the class started to say the serenity prayer. At the begining of the class we learned about what the program consist of what the 12 steps/principles are, each member of the group introduced themselves and explained what caused them to seek assistance. Some mentioned that it was the stress of their job, divorce, loss and new onset of disability that led them to drink excessively. Many of them admitted that they have weak coping mechanisms. They used liquor to console them instead of turning to their loved ones. Admitting to themselves that they had a problem was kind of hard to do. Being able to admit you have a problem is the first step in being a recovered alcoholic. During the meeting there was a guest speaker who spoke about his past life as an alcoholic. He stated that he use to lie, cheat and steal to get that high, his mindset was whatever it take. His story was so interested that I have chosen not to participate but just to listen to the different stories being told. I decided not to be judgemental because you really don't know what a person is going through or has gone through. All you can do is lend an ear and a shoulder and that is what I have done at the meeting. I will definitely go to another support group.
ReplyDeleteBLOG #5 Support Group Experience
ReplyDeleteThe AA meeting is the support group that I experience as a participant-observer. The meeting took place at Gaudenzia at Owings Mills, Maryland. This was a group meeting for individuals who were recovering from alcohol and other illegal substances. The group meetings took place on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, so I attended the meeting on Friday 12-02--11. The attendance rate depends on the level of recovery. The goal was to maintain sobriety, and the purpose was to help the individual stay sober, and refrain from alcohol and other illegal substances. The meeting started at 7:00pm with introduction from the group members. Everyone in the group then took turns to relate their stories, their drug of choice, alcohol of choice, their length of sobriety, and the coping mechanism being used. At the end, I think the meeting was functional and productive. The group was concerned about helping each other to stay sober. Members of the group who needed other help and assistance in their recovery program were given references. The meeting ended at 8:00pm with holding of hands and the pledge by the group members.
I attended an SAA support group which also, was in conjunction with a rape support group at Lutherville, Maryland, on November 28, 2011. Initially, my goal was to go to the SAA which was for people who loved too much sex or maybe addicted to it, but i found myself being drawn to the rape victims support group; maybe because a very good friend from back home got raped by none other than her own buddy. I got to the place at 7pm and the environment was very clean and inviting but i could actually feel the solemn mood of the members and this made me feel a little uncomfortable. The meeting begun by people fellowshiping with hugs and handshakes, wihtout much ado, the ball was set to roll with members sharing their experiences with rape and how they were coping with the aftermath. I was shocked to have found people of all ages and race, and even male victims but the shock of all was a 79year old African American female who had been raped by a familiar stranger a little over four days ago. I use the words a family stranger because the guy was a person the lady used to ride the bus with all the time, so one night after the bus had dropped them off, the guy decided to help with her heavy load. Some few meters away from the stop, the goodsamaritan switched gears and pounced on the poor woman. She recounts that, she laid in the area for quite sometime before being rescued by some passerby's. Since this incidence, she has exempted herself from her usual activities and has also sworn never to go outdoors again. Infact, that day was her first time of coming out since the attack and this was made possible by being accompanied by a male family member. Uncontrollable sobs were heard from within the audience as she recounted the story, this sent chills down my spine. Members who needed further assistance were referred to other reputable programs to help these victims. After the group at 9pm, i went to the lady and offered some encouraging words, that whole night was frightening to me to the extent that when i got to my apartment i stayed in my car for close to 30minutes before going into the apartment. Since hearing this incident, i have desisted from making friends with strangers and being more careful of my so called friends.
ReplyDeleteI attended a support group for people with eating disorders. The support group is held every wednesday evening, but the week of Thanksgiving, the support group was held on a Tuesday evening. The meeting began with everyone introducing themselves. Some people brought family members or friends with them for support. Other people came alone. The support group wasn't really structured for specific discussion topics. There were only women who attended the support group that night. All of the women talked about their previous experiences with the group, so I assumed that they had been there before. I was surprised to see that the women didn't look like they had an eating disorder. They looked healthy. Some of them talked about the goals that they set for themselves. None of their goals were directed towards gaining weight. All of the goals were directed towards them being strong mentally and being physically healthy. I didn't participate in the discussion, but I enjoyed going to the group and hearing about everyone's experiences because it helped me to see another side of what we read in our textbook. The director of the support group was very patient with the participants. She used therapeutic communication by using silence and asking open ended questions. She seemed familiar with many of the participants. There was even one young lady who stated that her family didn't know that she had an eating disorder and she planned on telling them after the meeting. I thought about her when I left and I wondered how things turned out with her family.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting in Washington DC with a family member who was celebrating an anniversary. The meeting lasted an hour. Everyone was very encouarging towards one another and I felt like the support probably keeps alot of them from regressing back to drinking. People spoke about how they bagan drinking and what their triggers were. My family member was celebrating 20 years and two others were celebrating 10 years. I was very enlightened by peoples new found strength . Eventhough I do not drink I think we all could learn from going to these types of meetings to experience the will power and strength of these individuals. I was proud of family member and I will go back and support them again at any time
ReplyDeleteSince I’ve been contemplating Weight Watchers I decided to go for my group requirement and it was a free visit. YAAY!! I attended a my meeting Friday, December 2nd at 1000 in Columbia Maryland .First I want to say everyone was sooooo nice and I understand why you lose more weight with the support group than online. I advised I was there because I was curious and wanted to see Jennifer Hudson. My meeting leader Heather laughed. I weighed in a WHOOPING #$%.... SMH stupid fried chicken Wednesday. There was a presentation on Holiday Eating, which was very informative and depressing. They suggested replacing champagne with sparkling water. REALLY?! I enjoyed it, if it wasn’t so expensive, I would look into joining. I added it up and my $25 gym membership and weekly pole dancing classes is cheaper. I decided to just go by Dollar Tree purchase some measuring cups and watch my portions.
ReplyDeleteI attended a weight watchers support group. When some people think of weight watchers they think of people who are overweight but what I observed when attending the meeting is that there are people of all sizes. When you come in they weigh you on a scale to get your baseline weight. From the baseline weight they calculate a numerical number and that number is a number they use to give you for the number of points you can consume in a day. They use a point system and every food item has a certain number of points that is assigned. For you to lose weight you have to stay within that point value. What I learned is that it is not to your benefit to eat below that number but very close because your body may store fat based on under eating. They also give you a booklet to help you calculate the number of points for each item. What I found out in the meeting is that weight watchers has an application that you can download that gives you points on hand for everything even when your out to eat. They also allow you to have a certain amount of extra points during the week that you can use. I learned in the meeting the extra points are helpful when there is a special engagement that you maybe attending. Some of the people in the meeting said if they know they have something coming up they will cosume things in lower point value so they are able to have the extra points to consume their tasty treats on occasion. In the weight watchers meeting everyone is able to freely express how they feel about the problems or obsticals they may be having. Everyone was able to give tips to the other members in the group on what works best for them which was very helpful to the others in the group. The meetings that are held I feel gives those involved the strength to make it through because they have others to lean on and give them tips and encouragment. I definityly felt the energy in the meeting and it made me feel like it is something I would possibly be involved in because your not alone in your struggle. I really enjoyed the meeting and I was educated at the same time!
ReplyDeleteI went to weight watchers. I figure with all these Jennifer Hudson commercials I want to see what all the hype was and what do they do to help people lost weight. When I went they let me sit in one of their meetings. It was odd to me cause I honestly thought people pay monthly for a initial meeting where they check your weight and then they tell you how many points you can do a day and then you met every month just to stand on a scale an check your weight again to see your progress. I knew they gave you information on how many points different food were. I had no idea weight watchers was a support group. When I sat in the meeting I found out that they have a different topic they talk about every meeting. The meeting I went to was discussing the point system changes they have made to the program allowing people to have more points. It was nice to see that the people who were interacting with each other genuinely cared about people accomplishments no matter how big or how small. In going to this meeting I have realized that maybe I can do something like that, it will help me stay encouraged to lose the weight I want to lose. I use to be a lot smaller then I am but nursing school has packed on some pounds with munching while I study… and let’s just say I study A LOT :)
ReplyDeleteI attended eating disordered support group held at Sheppard Pratt Hospital. The group beginning with introduction, and many of the participants was accompanied with their family members. The group consists of women and young ladies, they all look healthy with no sign of eating disorder. The group continues by asking if anyone has something to share with the group. I was surprise the way many people open up and may contribution to the discussion. Many stated the reason why, and what they think the society is saying about their body image. Some stated that they are unhappy with their body, which make them experience low self-worth. Many were able to state what trigger the disorder, and how to control eating disorders; they also share their coping machanism. In my on view the group seem like they are not first timer base on their discussion, some referred to previous meeting. The group was able to use the families, friends as support system. The group was supportive of each other and they share good information about how to deal with their mental illness, and recognition of their support system. The coordinator of the support group use therapeutic communication, by showing empathy with the participant and not been judgment.
ReplyDeleteI attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting at Johns Hopkins Hospital. This meeting was led by recovering addicts. The meeting started at 7pm and was attended by about 25 persons. It started with introduction of the coordinators and a welcome word form one of the leaders. Hand outs were then given to some attendees to be read in a particular order. Before reading, the reader had to introduce themselves by name then proceed to reading. After the readings were completed, prizes were handed out to those who had been clean for 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, 6 months, 12 months and for someone with the desire to quite using drugs in this order. Each time someone accepted a prize, everyone else clapped for them and asked them to keep coming back. The main speaker was introduced and he took came forward and started telling his story. He was a 57 year old man who told the story of his 40 year old drug using habit. His story seemed to capture everyone’s attention at the meeting drawing support and encouragement especially among those who knew him. After his 30 minute story, many people in the room came up to him and gave him a hug with some words of encouragement. I was particularly interested in the part where he decided to turn his life around and how his life has become since stopped using drugs. He had been clean for 10 months but seemed to have impacted a lot of people already; encouraging his friends to turn their lives around and enrolling in college to get his bachelor’s degree. The meeting came to a close with a prayer in which everyone held hands as a sign of fellowship and encouragement.
ReplyDeleteMy group session was about stress release it was a wonderful experience. We started out by letting everyone introduce themselves and then we explained what stress was and how it can affect people. Then we ask everyone to tell us what they do to release stress whether positive or negative. One client stated he us rap to release stress and even gave the group sample of his talent. Once he did this other patient opened up and we began to have a little talent show. I think this aloud the clients to feel comfortable with the students because people just talking to us about why they was on the psych united and what they need to do to get better. The group was successful because everyone in the group was able to relieve some stress by talking, singing, dancing and even though laughter from our comedian clients.
ReplyDeleteI went to alcoholic anonymous and at I was kind of afraid about telling story because I thought that everyone would be able to tell that I was making it up. Everyone talked about what their week was like without alcohol and only one person had a relapse. However, I believe they are still in denial because they made excuses for it and tried to minimize the event like it was just a casual thing that happened. Some people had come very far and had been alcohol free for years, but they still come to some meetings to have someone to share their feelings with people that will not judge them and understands where they are coming from. I was surprised that everyone makes the statement "My name is... and I'm and alcoholic or I'm a recovering alcoholic". Also, from observing I realized that people can be very functional even while drinking because most people were dressed okay and just did not look like what I thought an alcoholic should look like.
ReplyDeleteBlog #5
ReplyDeleteI attended the support group for drug addicts who are working on cleaning up their act. The group is located on Pennsylvania Ave. on the Westside of Baltimore City. The environment was quite uninviting, scary and very unfamiliar.
I have never heard anything similar to the kinds of stories told by the participants. Their stories range from the one of being lured by a friend one likes most, to another who talked of the need to use drug any time he was to address a large number of people and so many other weird stories. One particular story was very interesting. The participant met a lady whom he liked so much but unfortunately could not express his feelings and he said to himself he must have the lady at all cost. He therefore resorted to what he felt could embolden him in order to win the girl which is drug use. To me these stories are very flimsy and it is a reminder of the fact that many different lives are being lived in our community.
Week 5
ReplyDeleteMulumbwa Chishimba
November 28,2011
I went to an AA meeting at Sinai which was a great experience. I was stunned at the diverse age groups that were at the meeting. They were on the tenth step which includes taking control over their lives and their addiction. It was exactly what I thought it would be, people struggling with alcohol and trying to find solutions to their problems. Most of these people were working class they came in business attires. They all seemed sad and heavy burden, it was then that I realize your smile can say a great deal about your life. Many of the recovering addicts shared their stories of addiction and the many hardships they faced because of this situation. Some talked about the traumas that lead them to abusing alcohol. Many of them spoke spiritually about facing their recovery and knowing that it will take a higher power to see them through. Attending this meeting helped me realize that I should not take life for granted and I should thank GOD for him. I saw that most of these people abused alcohol because of what happened to them, i.e. loss of loved one, loss of job, stress, recession. I thought of myself when I lost my best friend who was my father I would have been in this situation but thank heaven I turned to God every time I felt challenged by life. And I praise him every day for that and for keeping me stronger.
On November 14, 2014, I attended a widows' support group.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest I felt very awkward attending because I have not lost my spouse or significant other. I was told that I did not have to talk when I called the number prior to attending the meeting, making it less awkward. There I was in the midst of the group of about 9 people (one person kept going in and coming back) and I sat there listening to the group, all of which were women. When the meeting started, it seemed that some people were already familiar with one another because they hugged and greeted each other. I sat down and the woman who was leading the discussion asked if you anyone wanted to introduce their self. No one did perhaps because they were regular attendees and I didn't raise my hand.
The women were discussing a novel that they were reading titled ‘Eat, Pray, Love.’ Imagine my surprise when there weren't any sob stories of how much they were missing their departed spouse. These women were channeling their energy into positivity and staying engaged in other activities that bring them joy. Although I have not read the book, the comments that were shared centered mostly on taking charge of one’s life and not being afraid of making decisions in life (whether spontaneous, drastic or otherwise). They also discussed different recipes that they tried from their last meeting and raved about how good it tasted.
When I started to search for the support group that I would attend for this particular blog post, I wanted it to pertain to an issue that many people experience, but one that many people wouldn't want to sit in on. I expected it to be like the group description read, which is: “to learn the stages of the grief process and get help towards growth and recovery,” and in a unique way, they did. They were growing and recovering by sharing similar interests after experiencing a similar devastation. While it may be possible that previous and possibly, future, meetings have a more somber atmosphere, this meeting was one that inspired a silent me.
Week #5: Blog about your support group experience as a participant-observer. How has this experience supported empathic behaviors in you?
ReplyDeleteI went to a sex addiction group meeting near my town, this is an unforgettable experience. Everyone looks normal, well dressed and well put together. When they start talking about their significant ones and valuable stuffs they have lost over the years, I finally understood these people are fighting serious demons in their lives. A very attracted, well-spoken woman was explaining how she will wake up in some strange and scary places, cannot remember how she got there and nobody around her never suspected she was living such dangerous life. One day, she decided to get help because she felt this obsession was taking over her life. As a woman of God since I was raised in a Christian home, I’m asked often, “Is sexual addiction a sin, or is it a disease?” After the meeting I will say the answer is yes. It is both. Undeniably the kinds of behaviors these individuals are engaging in are sinful. The affairs that the married man/woman was involved in, the great promiscuity that anyone was involved in before their marriage, these are unquestionably sin. And they are also part of a disease called addiction. Sometimes people come to a Christian pastor or counselor looking for help with sexual addiction and they get an answer like this: “Pray more, go to church more, read your Bible more. Be more committed. Be more [whatever].” I don’t want to be misunderstood. I believe in the power of prayer. I believe in reading the Bible. I believe in being connected with other Christians and going to church. And I believe in surrendering to Christ. So I’m not minimizing the importance of these things. But I also believe in science and these things in and of themselves will not help with the disease of addiction. Believe me, people who struggle with sexual addictions have prayed. They have tried to surrender their will to God. They have tried to get connected at church. And it has not helped. Putting a kind of spiritual Band-Aid on this problem is not going to be helpful. It is going to be harmful. This experience supported empathic behaviors in me, when I put myself in their position I can see how hopelessness these people feel. The shame that the addicted person feels is overwhelming. During my observation in the group, I have learned sex addiction is a serious and dangerous illness, the client need to be assess as a whole because there is a mental component. There is a relationship component. And there is a spiritual component. All these components need to be addressed if the addicted person is to experience healing.
It sound like you have gained insight into this hidden disorder.
DeleteI visited King Health System Inc. A mental health facility located at 3502 West Rogers Avenue, Baltimore MD 21215. Met with the office administrator Ms. Tessa, who started by stating their mission; which is to provide culturally sensitive, high quality mental health services to children, adolescents, adults, and their families in order to empower healthy people in a strong community. They provide psychiatric evaluation, medication management, psychosocial assessment, individual treatment plan, individual, family, couple, and group therapy, psychiatric rehabilitation program partnership, case management, linkage to community resources, parent support and training, behavior modification, and training, school liaison, specialized evaluation for DSS, DJS, and court ordered assessments.
ReplyDeleteKing health system also strives to be a positive influence within the community, and aid in any way possible to improve the neighborhood. They provide services for ages 6yrs and above with Medicaid, Medicare, or any type medical assistance. Referrals are gotten through social workers, and patients are seen by psychiatrist in the facility. . This facility seem to take care of all mental health cases but not acute situations. I saw a lot of patients there waiting to be seen, some were in the examination rooms with the tech taking their blood pressures, some having their session with the psychiatrist, while the rest were sitting comfortably at the waiting room watching TV and discussing with other patients. I did not notice any acute situation or any kind of disturbance at the place. I felt really bad for the patients because most of them were parents, and I can imagine how I would feel not been there for my kids due to some psych issue that I may be going through. They must have missed out on their children’s lives due to one psych problem or the other. Those wonderful times surely they cannot get back. One of the patient I spoke with told me he has been a patient there for almost 4yrs now; he never thought he would be alive today, but the therapy he has received thus far has helped him to see reason to live.
Parenting when one has a chronic mental illness is difficult for the parent and for the child.
DeleteI have always felt sadness when I hear in the news about another woman that killed the spouse after enduring years of domestic violence and sexual assault. A time comes when the woman flips or snaps and then decides to fight back and then what happens, she ends up in jail for committing a crime. I have wished that she would have had the courage to leave before it came to that. I have a passion for women in such situation and I feel I can relate to their flight. So, I decided for this blog to attend a domestic violence and sexual assault support group where I work.
ReplyDeleteThe group is a 12 week Didactic Group for female survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault who are incarcerated in one of the Baltimore county correctional institute. The group is facilitated by licensed therapists and the aim is to provide education and support group about domestic violence and sexual assault. It is a place and a time for treatment, support, the feeling of “you are not alone in this” and a place and time for expressions of anger, forgiveness and maybe down the line, a reconciliation within one’s self of acceptance of the current situation and the actions that brought one to that place.
Some of the women looked strong and self-assured and it made me wonder what happened. While for some of the women, you could see that they are still scared and looked troubled, with a faraway look in their eyes as if they would want to take it all back, sort of like rewind the times. They all had diverse stories to tell but all with the same theme and all showed the cycle of violence and the constant roller-coaster that they felt while in the relationship with their spouses or boyfriends. I truly believe that more needs to be done to curb domestic violence and sexual assault on women and children. It is sad and depressing to see lives lost for preventable events.
I was unaware of this support group. Sounds like the women draw strength from being members in this supportive environment.
DeleteBlog Week 5
ReplyDeleteI attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. The meeting was located on Druid Hill Lake drive in a community living center. The name of the NA meeting is, “Messages of Recovery”. I attended the meeting during a marathon, which is meeting every hour for an hour. This marathon last for 12pm to 8pm, however I only stayed for one meeting. During holidays I was told the meeting could go for 24 hours. When entering the meeting I did feel out of place but I did try to make myself fit in. They had coffee, tea, and cookies. There were also people selling food and drinks. I sat down and waited for the meeting to start. (There are 5-minute breaks between each hour) When starting the meeting there is a table where the secretary and the speaker sit while everyone else sits around them in an audience style. The meeting began by people volunteering to read the literature, but by reading the literature you had to state your name and say you were an addict. This meeting was a bit crowded so everyone didn’t introduce his or her selves. After several people read the literature, the speaker started to address everyone and began her testimony. She talked about how drugs affected her life and how she overcame addiction. Her story was very touching especially when she talked about how it affected her relationship with her children. I almost wanted to cry because sometimes you don’t realize how fortunate you are and valuable family relationships are. It put a lot of things into perspective. Towards the end of the meeting they did announcements of events and upcoming anniversaries. They also gave away key chains for 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days clean. And they have a keychain for who they call the most important person and that someone who has one day clean, and during that time people who have a lot of years of sobriety come and exchange contact information. Women exchange numbers with women and men exchange numbers with men. This was good thing to me because it helps set up a support system for someone who is just turning their life over. They also passed around a basket to donate money and the money goes towards the literature, key chains, and coffee. And they ended the meeting with a serenity prayer where everyone stand in a circle and state it together. This was a big actually an experience I’m glad I witnessed and is a positive system of support.
Glad you saw the positiveness of mutual support.
DeleteFIFTH BLOG ENTRY
ReplyDeleteBlog about your support group experience as a participant-observer.
During my first blog entry I briefly spoke about one of my family members having the diagnosis of major depressive disorder and bipolar disorder. I wanted to find a support group that would be beneficial to me and some of my family members; a group that would help us gain understanding and develop effective ways to cope with our family member’s mental illness.
My search led me to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). NAMI is an organization dedicated to advocacy, education and support for persons with mental illness, their families, and the wider community. I found that they hold free family support groups every Thursday from 7:00 pm- 8:30pm at Govans Boundary United Methodist Church located at 5210 York rd. Baltimore, MD 21212. The family support groups are for adult family members of individuals living with mental illness. The groups are led by trained facilitators, there is an opportunity for family members to share common issues, and to offer possible solutions and help one another.
When I arrived I signed the sign in sheet and the facilitator went over the ground rules which mostly dealt with being respectful and not interrupting one another. There were eight participants. Some individuals had been attending the group for years while others were new to the group. During introductions each person identified who they were and shared story about how mental illness was showing up in their family.
We discussed the emotions that go along with caring for a family member who has a mental illness and how sometimes we forget about taking care of ourselves because we are so entangled in trying to help them. Although I could relate to mostly everyone in the room I learn that emotions show up in different stages. For example, you can go through many months with your family member where things seem normal. They are taking their medication, making their appointments, communicating effectively and then almost suddenly they fall into crisis. Often times when they are in crisis you find yourself to be in crisis right along with them. We talked about feelings of anger and resentment associated with these times and how we may always feel responsible for our family member’s well-being. We spoke about how our feelings can constantly change depending on the circumstances associated with our family member’s mental illness.
At the end of the meeting we each had to say one thing that we were going to do for ourselves within the upcoming week. I enjoyed this moment in the group because it helped me to realize that even in caring for someone else it is so important to stop for a minute, just long enough to do something caring for yourself.
Nurses need to do more self-care so they do not burn out.
DeleteHello Class,
ReplyDeleteOn Saturday, November 22, 2014 I went to sit in on a Narcotics Anonymous support group meeting in the inner city of Baltimore. On that day they were actually having a "marathon" which means that there would be meetings all day non stop from the morning time and ending at 8pm. I thought that was wonderful because there may have been many people who really needed support who could not make certain times or especially the new comers who needed support throughout their day. The crowd was mixed with black and white, but majority black people at this particular meeting. There were also just as many men than there were females. One guy that shared at the meeting, I distinctly remember because he was so funny and he had over 12years clean from drugs, however he shared his story as if it was just yesterday. The way he delivered his story for an hour time seemed so poetic and comedic at certain times when information got heavy. He started from his childhood sharing how he always wanted to fit in and the neighborhood he grew up in. He shared about his 11 siblings and how he was an excellent student and ended up joining the marines after graduating high school and how he rose to the top of the marines and then how it all came crashing down. Another interesting thing about him that I later learned was how he was now battling with cancer but his spirits were so high and he looked so peaceful and accepting of his life. His story had a great message that some parts of it, even I found myself understanding and relating to about my own personal life and how I view things. The N.A meeting was a great experience and at the closing of the meeting everybody started reciting different things that are routine for closing a meeting, one thing they chanted in unison was the serenity prayer.....I LOVE THAT PRAYER! Then they encouraged the old comers, strayers and new comers to keep coming back to N.A and working on themselves. In that meeting, you could see a lot of support and offering of self to get over this struggle with addiction. I really enjoyed that experience.
Prayers are the foundation of healing.
DeleteToday on November 23, 2014, I attended a Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting. Before arriving, I didn’t know what to expect. I have seen support groups on television but it wasn’t really like that. The group I attended was in Catonsville and it was rather small. The group consisted of about 7 middle aged men. It was very interesting hearing everyone’s story although they weren’t as juicy as I expected. They were all men who had been in the program for longer than 3 months, some even for multiple years. Since there was a newcomer there, they each shared about what made them come into the program. The reasons varied from excessive masturbation, spending copious amount of money on pornography, to procuring prostitutes on the internet. They also discussed the concept of the three circles. The innermost circle are the bad acting out behaviors. The middle circle consists of triggers or risk factors for the bad behaviors. The outermost circle consists of positive behaviors that help prevent the acting out behaviors. I think was the most meaningful I heard at this meeting. It is really focused on self-awareness and taking responsibility for your own actions.
ReplyDeleteWe would hope that self-awareness would lead to one taking responsibilities for one's own action.
DeleteI attended a sex addict anonymous group meeting located in Catonsville at a church. Before going, I expected a large younger population. I thought they would be spilling all of their juicy stories about how much they have sex, and with how many people, and how they got caught, etc. Instead, there were 5 Caucasian men between 40 and 50 years old. One man told a story about how he was a womanizer, and loved being with many different women. His daughter found an ad for a prostitute on his computer one day and told her mom; he almost lost his wife and children to his addiction. His wife agreed to stay with him only if he started attending church, stopped drinking, and started attending the SAA meetings. Another man told a story about how he would download excessive amounts of internet pornography and watch it and masturbate all hours of the night without sleeping. Staying up watching the porn would interfere with his normal day to day activities because he wasn’t sleeping. A lot of what he downloaded was illegal, and he ended up getting into legal troubles; he had to spend a lot of money to pay for the porn and for a lawyer to defend him. He said that experience was very embarrassing and humiliating. Another man stated that he loves to masturbate and he does it multiple times a day and even does it at work. One guy stated that he would masturbate instead of having sex with his wife and that was causing tension in his marriage. He said he experienced high levels of anxiety when not masturbating so he started drinking, and now he feels like he needs help with his alcoholism. Although I was bored and tired of hearing about these men masturbating, I was happy to be there. The men were very nice and welcoming. I told them name was Devonte, and I supplied a fake phone number. I told them how I had sex with women and men just for convenience, and I contracted gonorrhea. They were very understanding and said that I could call them whenever he needed help. They gave a button welcoming me as a new member and congratulated me on taking the first step to recovery. The meeting last a little over an hour, and we closed with a prayer together while holding hands.
ReplyDeleteWas this your MTV moment? Guess it didn't live up to the hype...but its good to have a support organization to deal with form of addiction that can and does destroy the person's life.
DeleteOn November 23rd, I attended a Sex Addict Anonymous (SAA) meeting at Immanuel Church located in Catonsville, MD. To be honest, I was super nervous walking into the meeting, and sitting down in a room with a hand full of middle-age men made me a little tense. However, each member was very welcoming and the atmosphere became open and comfortable. To begin the meeting, we went around the table and read from a pamphlet that discusses why we were attending the meeting, weekly goals and guidelines set by the group, and then introduced each of ourselves and whether we were a “current sex-addict” or “recovering sex-addict.” We then went around the room and shared personal stories and struggles with sex addiction, and how each person copes with their compulsive behaviors ranging from watching pornography to actual sexual behaviors and temptations. I was able to share a fictional story, and was comforted by the words and support of others in the room. What I thought was especially welcoming was the fact that every time someone shared a story, they ended with “thank you for letting me share” and the group responded by saying “thank you for sharing.” At the end of the meeting, chips for sobriety and new-comers were given out, the group gave me a pamphlet to take home to educate me more about the topic, and even though they welcomed me back they also referred other sex addict anonymous groups in the area that they thought would be more comfortable for me, including SAA for women and SAA for young adults.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that their were separate groups for males, females and young adults who experience sexual addiction in the area. Thanks for sharing.
DeleteI really enjoyed my support group experience as a participant-observer. My clinical instructor wanted us to visit a resource support center within the 21215 zip code. This is to make the resource center as close to Zeta senior center as possible. We are going to visit the seniors at the Zeta center next week, so we will share our findings with them and tell them about the resources close to them they can utilize based on what we saw during our visits. I was paired up with a classmate, so we were instructed by our clinical instructor to visit at least two places since we will need to write two separate papers on our individual experiences. First, we visited Dominion resource center in Randallstown. It is a charity organization which offers community residential services, community supported living arrangements, group homes, family and individual support services, alternative living units, support services and respite care at subsidized rates. They accept all age groups from children to seniors. We also visited ABA health services in Baltimore city. It is an outpatient mental health clinic that provide services like counseling, psychological testing, mental health therapy and therapeutic behavioral services. They also serve all age groups except infants. I enjoyed my visit to these facilities, the staffs were really friendly and answered all our questions. They gave us brochures and pamphlets. They were really excited to have students visit them. I am looking forward to sharing my findings with the seniors at the Zeta center next week.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing your resources
DeleteOn November 19, 2014 I attended sexaholics anonymous at 3901 Dillion Street Baltimore MD 21224; this group meets from 7pm to 9pm twice a week. The group is open to the public however they really didn’t like to invite the public unless it’s group members who invite someone to attend. The members truly believe the average person can be very judgment about their illness but, surprisingly they were very cooperative with students. Before attending this meeting I tried to prepare myself both mentally and emotionally, honestly it’s not much one can do to prepare for this event. There is always something that will have an impression on you, specially the first time. For example I thought a professional was going to run the group like at most mental health sittings. To my surprise it was an open group, which means any member was able to speak about their experience or problem at anytime. Other members had the power to address the speaker directly, give advice or critique the speaker’s action or behavior. Whenever one thinks of sexaholics the first image that comes in mind is a strength young male figure. To my astonishment, the group members represented all members of society, gender, racial, religious, and all kind of professionals. I am not sure if giving specific detail of their personal stories maybe a violation of their right so I wouldn’t do that but the stories were just unbelievable. The one thing that I really couldn’t get ready for was the level of respect the group members had for one another. Their level of intelligent when speaking, making logical decision when it came down to doing things they would do to cover their steps or to avoid the law. I would recommend that each and every nursing student takes the opportunity participate in a group sessions in order to appreciate what we read about in textbooks.
ReplyDeletethanks for your comments
DeleteOn Wednesday November 19 I attended an open discussion AA meeting at United Methodist Church. That night they had a guest speaker. At the open meeting they could talk about anything they wanted to. One woman stated that after being forced by her boss to get clean and come to AA she finally got sober on the third attempt because she didn't want to lose her job and at her age it would be difficult to find another job. She stated that she drove drunk all the time but never got stopped by the police or never harmed others or herself and for that she was grateful. The leader of the meeting asked if any new people wanted to speak and introduce themselves. I just sat there. One man stated he had been sober for 14 years but unfortunately due to his drinking and doing drugs his wife left him and he had lost contact with his children for a long time. The speaker told his story of how he had four DUI's. While sitting in the jail cell the last time he dropped to his knees and God to help him. He has been sober for 2 years and now he sponsors someone. They had the Twelve Steps and Traditions hanging up and I didn't know how much they incorporated God into it. Some said that when they finish all the steps they redo steps 10-12. The meeting was an eye opener. You never know what demons someone is battling
ReplyDeleteUnless you have family that are alcoholics, we really don't know the struggles some people are going through.
DeleteThis week I attended an AA meeting with a class mate. Not thinking about, it became very personal for me. When being introduced to a few of the members and hearing their stories, I realized that I had missed an opportunity to take care of one of my friends a few years ago. This one woman was telling her story of how her friends would go out with her and no one ever noticed that she was drinking way too much and went out way too often. She spoke of situations that her friends would let her go off with random guys and no one would ever call her and see if she was ok. Her story was way too familiar. I had a friend who was doing the same things. She was always going out, drinking too much and hooking up with the most random of men. A few times I would take her keys, but I never thought she had a problem. She once hinted at the fact that she thought she had drank too much and she should get help, but I laughed it off. The members all spoke of, so called friends that continued to take them out and they did not know how to say no. One November night I thought I took the keys away from her but I too had been drinking, I got into the car and did not tell her not to drive, she said she was fine and who was I to say that she wasn’t. I woke up to find myself in the muck with a headache and she was still in the car. When she woke up in the hospital her first words to all of us were, “ I told you I have a problem”
ReplyDeleteI then realized that people with a mental illness at times are well aware and just don’t know how to treat the problem. One major way to treat the problem is to identify it and ask for help, but friends are another way that can help. Be a real friend and listen. That is one of the reoccurring themes of the night, “ I wanted help, my friends just did not want to help, they wanted me to join them in their misery”.
What a lesson learned!
DeleteWeek 5 blog
ReplyDeleteMy visit to social groups as a participant observer was very interested and informative. I visited two social groups with my classmate namely Dominion Resource Center and ABA Health Services. Dominion resources center located in Randallstown, Baltimore is a charity organization that provides provide services to the community through the provision of services like, community residential services, community supported living arrangements, group homes, family and individual support services, support services and respite care. They provide these services to all ages at a moderate price. They also provide opportunities for needy individuals like seniors and the mentally impaired & physically disabled people in the community to receive care and support through their programs and services. The second group we visited ABA health services located in Reisterstown road, Baltimore is an outpatient clinic that provides mental health, psychiatric rehabilitation services, therapeutic behavioral services, psychological testing, counseling services, and substance abuse treatment. They provide services for children 5yrs old and above, adult and seniors. We were told that 90% of their clients are on Medicaid, about 8% are on Medicare and only about 2% on private insurance specifically Cigna insurance.
We were received with open arms in both places and they answered all our questions. We saw a few clients at the reception and about 3 clients being attended to by the social worker, psychiatrist and counselors when they gave us a tour at ABA health services. The few clients seen looks cooperative which is an indication that whatever therapy or counseling they are receiving there is working, hence I hope to recommend these agencies to any person that might be in need of any service they offer. We will be visiting Zeta center by our next clinical day and I will definitely recommend these agencies to them during my presentation there.
Week Five
ReplyDeleteThis assignment bought back sad memories for me, my father who was an Alcoholic died (not alcohol related) when I was at the age of fourteen. I remembered my father going to AA meetings and always recited the Serenity Prayer. Therefore, In Memory of my Father, I took this opportunity to visit an Alcoholics Anonymous Support Group in Columbia on one of their Thursday’s meetings Living Sober.
About 20 people were seated in a semi-circle of chairs. One person sat in the middle of the circle. Later I learned that she was the meeting chairperson for that particular day. The meeting began with the chairperson reading the AA Preamble, then leading a group prayer, the Serenity Prayer in which the majority of the people recited. The chairperson asked if there was any newcomers, or first timers, attending the meeting who would like to introduce themselves by their first name. A few raised their hands, I was not one of them, as this was an obvious option and not mandatory for me to do.
This particular meeting I attended was a Step Meeting. The chairperson announced which step they would be discussing from the book which was “The Twelve Steps and Twelve Tradition,” the chairperson then asked if anyone has any experience, strength and hope relating to the step, would like to share. To me this was the most fascinating part of the meeting. Watching people begin to share their experiences with alcohol then relating it to the step was fascinating and familiar since some stories seems to relate in my memories of my father and his experiences with alcohol.
After everyone completed sharing, the chairperson asked if there were any AA-related announcements. Then she announced that it was time for the Lord’s Prayer, and everyone stood in a large circle, holding hands, and recited the prayer. Once the prayer was over, the meeting ended. On my drive home I had some mixed feeling from the meeting, I felt sadness, and happiness , sad that my father had gone through such a terrible disease, and happy that he was not alone, that there were people like him, who support each other 24-7 hours of the day.
Thank you for sharing...this experience may have brought you full circle....Your Dad has a very special daughter
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ReplyDeleteFor This week assignment I decided to attend an SAA (Sex Addiction Anonymous) meeting located in Immanuel united church of christ in catonsville. The meeting started promptly at 7pm and the interesting thing was there where more women than men in attendance and I was floored because I thought being addicted to sex will be more of a male disorder. They where about 15 people total in attendance and because I was new to the group, I was asked to go first... I was not sure of what to say so I quickly said I do not think I am addicted to sex but my husband thinks I need help (Denial) I also asked to be excused from questions and just listen to everyone else. The group was nice enough to understand this was my first visit and continued to the next person. I was able to identify some of the paraphilias as Macochism, sadism and there were about 5 people with really wired fetish. The one that stood out the most was this lady whose fetish is to watch her son and his girlfriend have sex inorder to have and orgasm and has gone as far as videotaping them when she is not home. when she finished I literally threw up in my mouth went to the bathroom and left. I felt bad after I left but that was alot for me to handle. My goal is to gain courage and go back to complete the experience.
Self-awareness...wow....you won't have to go back but what an eyeopener...
DeleteWeek Five Blog
ReplyDeleteFor my group experience, I attended a Narcotics Anonymous meeting. I always wanted to attend one of these meetings because drugs and alcohol have done a lot in my life, and no matter how many classes I take or documentaries I watch, I can never understand why these drugs take such a strong hold over someone’s life. Anyway, I was very nervous going in because I didn’t know what to expect. I got a little more comfortable as the main speaker said a few jokes and every now and then some people who shared their stories made a few jokes. The people there had such sad stories about why they went to drugs. One woman began telling her story about being addicted to heroin for fifteen years. She said she was abused by her stepfather who was an alcoholic. When she was 17, he came home drunk and started to hit her mother. When she came to her mother’s defense, her mother started to defend him. She said that was the worst beating she ever had “not because of the bruises, I was used to that. But because my own mother turned on me, for him”. She continued her story about how she ran away and met a guy who got her started on heroin. They would shoot up in a bathroom or where ever they could. The only thing that mattered was getting the drug and getting high. She had kids that went to live with her sister and her turning point was when her daughter had been abused by a friend of her sister. The woman didn’t protect her daughter because she was getting high on heroin. She went to get clean and relapsed a few times but she’s been sober for ten years now. My heart hurt for her because by the time she got it right, her kids must have already almost been adults themselves. That’s two lives missed out on. That’s where my understanding of addiction goes out the window.
Everyone was pretty welcoming and I realized they were going to expect me to share and I had not quite gotten my story straight. I told them I have a history with cocaine and some of the troubles in my life that lead to it. They were really supportive and I felt so bad that I just lied to them. Everyone was very appreciative to share and be listened to that it made me think if some of them had someone to listen to them would they be at these meetings? At the end we all were leaving a few guys asked me to not turn to cocaine anymore because I was “to pretty to be on that junk”. Which was nice of them, but still awkward for me. The lady whose story I was talking about walked next to me and had my number read from the beginning. She knew I wasn’t using cocaine because I didn’t “look like her” when she was my age. I thanked her for sharing her story and she told me to tell it. I had a really good time because of her.
Addiction is a family issue...there are so many reason to the why...dollar store paper plate theory...no coping strengths
DeleteI had a interesting experience as an observer in the support group I chose. I attended an Alcoholic support group at my friend’s church in Columbia, Church of Christ. It is not exactly called Alcoholic Anonymous; although, according to my friend, it is a support group formed by the church to help members who are struggling with alcohol addiction. The way everything was orchestrated, it looked similar to what I have seen on TV about AA. Members offered to talk about their life experiences, what lead to their addiction, and what they are doing now to change their situation. Individuals that have been sober for years, shared with the group how they achieved abstinence. Like AA, they recommend taking the process one day at a time. Individual in the groups have each other’s phone numbers and they are urged to call someone if they have the desire to drink. They believe in total abstinence.
ReplyDeleteI had a good experience with the group. Initially I was skeptical because I didn’t know what I would say if I was called upon to share my experience with alcohol. I was glad to see that people were not called upon or forced to share their experiences; they actually offered to. I also had a concern that people will recognize that I am not a member of their church and would have a problem with me being there; but they didn’t. However, I must say it was helpful to go with my friend who was celebrating her sobriety.
Overall, it was a fun experience to see someone who made it through alcoholism volunteer to help another person conquer the same problem. I don’t know if it’s because it was a church, but the people were really loving and genuinely caring towards one another.
Last week I played “the undercover boss” and attended an Alcohol Anonymous meeting in an AA chapter I shall not disclose for obvious reasons. The meeting started at 6pm and prior to the commencement of the meeting, I sat there quietly looking at everyone strangely. Some came in looking unkempt, others came in formally dress and well groomed. It wasn’t until after the introduction that I knew that alcoholism is a serious problem that cuts across race, gender and social class. There were Caucasians, blacks, Hispanics, male, female, middle aged and even older folks. There were doctors, lawyers, truck drivers and even a nurse. I was particularly amazed by how organized they were, because prior to actually being in that meeting I had thought given their history, it was going to be chaotic, but I guess I was wrong.
ReplyDeleteTheir secretary started the meeting say “ladies and gentlemen, this is the regular meeting of the …..AA chapter my name is (he stated his name) and I am an alcoholic. Everyone took turns to introduce themselves stating that they were alcoholic. When it got to my turn, I was some kind of hesitant to state that I was an alcoholic, but I didn’t want to blow my cover, so I muttered that part that said I was an alcoholic. However in all sincerity I was impressed by their frank expression and recognition of their problem as well as the desire to do something about it.
After the introduction they said what they call “serenity prayer” during which they ask God to grant them the serenity to accept the things they cannot change, courage to change the thing they can and the wisdom to know the different. Thinking I was a new member the secretary stated that their association is a group of men and women who has the desire to stop drinking and help other alcoholics achieve sobriety. He added that they were self-supporting group through their own contribution. That they are not affiliated with any sect, denomination or political organization and do not support any cause.
Then came the moment I was waiting for, the part where people shared their history and struggle with alcoholism, the daily challenges they face to stay sober as well as some success stories. This came with mixed emotions for me. Sometimes I was sympathetic, at other times I was frustrated and at one point I was really angry to the point I became judgmental. A 45 year old alcoholic shared how he sold his family house in other to keep up with his drinking habit. Some of their stories were both depressing and thought provoking. Many of them have done unreasonable things just to keep their drinking habit. Sometimes I wanted to interject and ask why they could not just give it up, but then I remember the reason why it’s called an addiction. This section was the most exciting tart for me, it was quiet revealing.
The chairperson then addressed the group as well as another speaker who spoke like he has been a motivational speaker for years. Finally they made announcements about the association’s business and passed basket around for member to voluntarily donate. I left this meeting a changed person. First of all my opinion about alcoholism changed. I realized that certain people who have drinking problems are regular people, some of who are making conscious effort to achieve sobriety. I was realized at that point the enormous effect of alcoholism on both the alcoholic and their families. My lesion from that experience is to remain a non-alcoholic.
thanks for sharing
Deletei attended a support group not quite recent. it was on October 13th 2014 at Church of the Redeemer brotherhood on 5603 N Charles street at Melrose. My cousin invited me and i remember thinking "this is not meant for me...i mean what will i say if am called to introduce myself." i almost did not go and as at now, i am very glad i went; it was a great experience. we got to the meeting right on time and immediately i felt the warm welcome with some of the members i guess i was scared in the beginning because i kept thinking.. these people are sex addicts and what if...a bunch of ignorant thoughts but none of those thoughts was ever going to happen. the group consisted mainly of African American males between ages of 30-45 years. it began with the group reciting this poem that basically meant " we are Sex Addicts, we cannot help ourselves, that is why we support ourselves, to fight this addiction..." the words were amazing, yes, i could feel how each person strongly believe they had a chance to be better. the leader called new members to introduce themselves; my cousin introduced herself but i couldnt..am terrible at lying and did not know what i was going to say but good thing is introduction was not a requirement. the floor was open for people to start sharing. almost everyone had something to say. great but mostly sad stories. as i sat there i kept thinking how most of these people became addicts due to being at the right place at the wrong time. most of the stores were heartfelt. and after each story they shared some coping mechanisms that has helped them to slowly weaned from this addiction. a man shared this story that almost made me tear up; he talked about how his uncle frequently raped him during his childhood. and he was scared to tell anyone because he threatened to send him away if he did. "growing up and getting used to that kind of lifestyle.." he said, " made desire sex more than anything." this man's world was crushed at such an early age and looking at him, i kept wondering how he survived. i was so glad i went..it was refreshing feeling the hope in their voices when each person was about to end their story. that meeting lasted for 2 hours and afterwards snacks and drinks were served. the people were soo welcoming. overall it was a great experience and i remember saying i was going to visit often....hopefully soon.
ReplyDeleteI went to an AA meeting at Sinai hospital last week which was a great experience for me. I was surprised to see different age groups that were at the meeting. They were on the tenth step which include taking control over their lives and their addiction. Some people drank because they were angry and to cope with problems. But the interesting thing is that younger people were in the group which I believe will enable them to tackle their addictions early and make changes. They talked about how there is never a ending cycle of being sober and drunk sober. They narrated that it is very hard to say no to drinking. Many people wake up and say they would not drink anymore but they end up getting drunk at the end of the day.
ReplyDeleteI actually attended two different meetings. One was with my stepdad and that was an NA meeting and the other was an AA meeting. My stepdad has been a recovering attic for over 15 years now and i am very proud of him. He was happy that i tagged along with him to his meeting. When i got to the meeting it was so many people in there that i actually knew me when i was a little child. My mom is also a recovering attic but she does not attend any meetings she has been clean for over 21 years now. But as i sat there an observed i heard some very touching stories that made me think back to when my mom was getting high. One lady said she ended up in the icu so mamy times because the drugs she was taking was overpowering her body along with her asthma the two did not mix. Another guy aslo stated that he would leave his kids in the house all alone just to go and cop drugs. The remarkable turn around for these people is very heartwarming because i can relate to alot of their stories it really touched me. At the AA meeting i felt right at home. I wouldnt call myself an alcoholic but i have had a near death experince and i have totally had a new outlook on life. It was alot of young people in there and they were very supportive to me i admited i had a problem and things had to be done before it got out of control. They welcomed me with open arms i must say i may attend the group a little bit more often if i feel myself getting out of hand but nursing school hasd me busy so i barely see a drink. Both of these meetings definatly was great experiences. alot of people at the AA meting drank to cope with there problems i do that alot also but i realized drinking does not solve the problem but yet i continued to drink. One girl said she lost her sister becasue she was drinking and her sister was the passenger she stated it was was the worse day of her life and now her family resents her for it she is trying to do other things to distract her from going back to drinking. I pray that these meetings are very helpful to all of the participants and myself. I was so emotionally involved
ReplyDeleteOn Monday November 24 I had the opportunity to attend the depression and bipolar support group. Since my clinical group will be teaching at the Zeta House and doing depression screenings we instructed to attend support groups where we could grab resources to teach the elderly clients about resources in their area with the main focus being depression. The support group I attended was very small and intimate. It was maybe 8 or 9 people including myself. All were people suffering with bipolar and depression but mostly depression. Everyone pretty much took turns listening to one another share their current issues they are facing at the time. As a listener in the group I realized that support groups seemed to be therapeutic for those suffering and it almost looked like a relief for those I watched participating in sharing their troubles. This was a great experience for me and gave me a insight on the additional problems those mentally ill face on a daily basis.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting here in Baltimore. I really appreciate an opportunity like this to observe AA meeting and hear people voice out their challenges and experiences with alcoholism. I learnt a lot from the meeting. The members of this meeting were mainly whites and few blacks. I really admire their sincerity and words of encouragement to one another to continue attending the meeting because it yields positive results. Everyone introduced themselves as alcoholics and I also introduced myself as a new member. Everyone shared their touching stories of the journey through sobriety. Some of the people that attended were sent by the court to attend such meeting to help them overcome their alcoholic addiction. The members get help by sharing their experiences and encouraging one another. The coordinator or secretary asked people to share their stories or experiences. A man shared how he expressed love to his neighbor’s family this thanksgiving period after living in the neighborhood for 39years. Another man shared how alcohol addiction messed his career (businessman), family (4th marriage) and valuable assets (car accidents) up. Another man share how alcoholism broke his family and controlled his life. He though that there was no problem with him and blamed the problem on other people but when he read a book on AA and how people benefitted from it, he decided to give it a try. Currently, he is so happy that he took that step to get rid of his addiction and live a clean life. He also announced that his family has reunited and everything looks good. The coordinator/secretary also shared her story of alcoholism that nearly broke her marriage and also led to medical concerns. Her doctor advised her to stop the alcohol addiction and recommended AA meeting and she started since 2years now. She is so happy to be a member of this group and wish to celebrate her 2years of sobriety come December 21st, 2014. The passed an offering pan around and some people voluntarily donated money. At the closing, the coordinator made some announcements and they shared a prayer encouraging everyone to continue coming. I realized that the AA meeting has really helped a lot of people and the members are happy attending meetings. At the end I left happily because I was able to witness and hear how people work hard to achieve sobriety. I was so glad that I am not an alcoholic and will never be because it does not pay but can only lead to destruction.
ReplyDeleteI had the pleasure of attending a sex addicts support group. I have to admit I was extremely nervous in the beginning. I didn't know what to expect and feared they would see I was merely a student and not an addict. After everyone introduced themselves people began to share their stories. I declined to share and was extremely surprised at how open and comfortable some people were in sharing their battle with addiction. I never looked at sex as a life altering addiction but it is. Some people have lost jobs, relationships and friends because of their addiction. I am glad I was able to experience this group. It gave me a new outlook on mental health and addiction. The group was a very warm, inviting and nonjudgemental environment and the participants shared openly. I could tell those who shared were appreciative of the fact that there were others present understood their struggle with their addiction. Support groups are very therapeutic and allows individuals the opportunity to share their journey in a positive way. These groups help individuals cope with their addictions no matter what it is!
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting at the Annapolis Area Intergroup in Annapolis. This group consist of group or representative from each AA group in the central, western and southern Anne Arundel County in Maryland. During the opening of the meeting every one introduce themselves and indicate their purpose and challenges. Truthfully I have to be honest to the group and introduce myself as a student which of cause the group members are willing for to hear their problems and challenges. Most of the members were sent there by the court mostly for DUI. 80% of the group are men mostly African Americans and Latino’s. Most group member accept their responsibilities for what they did and the challenges to make a better change. But one think that strike me a few members are there for the second time with the same problem. I wander why some people could not take the opportunity of second chance and make a great difference in their life. Most of their stories were remorseful and regretful. During the meeting I learn that addiction is really a psychological problem, Alcohol addiction is just like cigarette or sex addiction. Is very difficult to distinguish between this three because they have the same potential graven and urge. Addiction recover goes a long way, the individual will need family support, emotional and psychological support. The meeting at the Red house is held every third Tuesday of the calendar month at the 7th floor.
ReplyDeleteI went to an AA meeting on Monday November 24, 2014, called the Mustard Seed in Baltimore. It was interesting to see and hear how they introduced themselves when someone went to the podium to speak and when they stepped down from the podium after. What I have seen in movies and TV shows at that moment was deemed true, “Hi my name is Rose.” “Hello Rose welcome.” After, “Thank you for letting me share.” “Thanks for sharing.” The thing is TV doesn’t show you how inspiring and heart felt, and even heart breaking these individuals stories are. There was one older gentleman who shared his story and told us how he had the big house with the white picket fence, wife, children, and even a dog. Now although he is in recovery, he has lost everything and only very recently was able to pay rent for an apartment in what he said, “the hood.” It was very inspiring to know that everyone who was in that room keeps coming back because they all in some way, shape, or form stated that they need one another. They need to continue to hear the continuation of one another’s story to know that they are not alone, that things can and do get better. One thing that I found very interesting was the fact that even though many of the people in that room were fully recovered, they still introduced themselves as alcoholics and that that was another reason why they would continue to come back. “I will keep coming back,” was a statement said by all the individuals that spoke. One of the women that spoke stated that being sober and drunk was a never ending, and you cannot do the same things and expect different results. Everyone that spoke said that many people say that a person who constantly drinks has a “drinking problem,” when in fact that is a symptom. Many of their actual problems dealt with loss of family/jobs, anger, depression (not knowing how to use positive coping mechanisms), etc. It was sad hearing that many of them lost the connection with their family/loved ones not because they drank, but because they blamed everyone else for their drinking (never ranking themselves high on the accountability ladder). Stories about how they ended up in the hospital because of outrageous fights, car accidents, etc. were all so eye opening. Here I am thinking that nursing school is one of the hardest situations that anyone can be involved in and there are people who are practically fighting to regain their lives. “What the hell was I thinking?” was what I was thinking listening and watching as those who spoke poured their hearts out. My reality will forever be changed after one meeting.
ReplyDeleteAfter attending an AA meeting in my county, nearly in my neighborhood I realized that many people I have seen before were there. Some have worked on my car, I see them in the grocery store, and just doing day to day activities. I was stunned, these people go to AA meetings every Sunday evening. I was "Stacy, and I am an Alcoholic." I put on my best actress role, and tried to play the part but once we went around the room talking about personal experiences, I tensed up and kept quiet. I listened to stories from people younger than me, and some way older than me. It was eye opening. I kept thinking in my head questions like; Does anyone else know your secret? Do you work? Do you have children? One woman talked about drinking and doing drugs since she was 13, she was only 19 now. I felt bad when she told me about her sexual encounters, she couldn't even remember after it happened. I thought where were her parents? Poor kid. Before we began the stories, the group leaders talked about a "no judgment zone." Trying not to judge, was nearly impossible. This was all a new experience, I just taking it all in... trying my hardest not to judge. At the end of the meeting we gave a donation to the group for the coffee and cookies they provided. A woman stood up and was the "chip giver." She passed out chips to reward people for being sober for a certain amount of time. She started with a year (no one stood up)...11...9...8...7 months (1 person stood up to receive a chip)...6...5..4..3..2.. 30 days... 7 days...24 hours. Many people still have a long way to go. Out of 30 people, two stood up to being sober. Definitely an awesome experience. Glad I had the opportunity to do it.
ReplyDeleteI have a long history of alcoholism in my family. Both my grandmother and grandfather have 30 plus years of sobriety from alcohol. Both of my aunts are recovering alcoholics. So I decided to go with one of my aunts to her regular AA home group on Monday nights. I found it uncomfortable at first not knowing anyone but my aunt and not wanting to seem out of place. The speaker for that evening was 20 years sober and told their experience and the ups and downs of living life as an alcoholic. She was very open and funny at times. She had been asked to share by one of the regular members of the group. There were more young people there than I imagined, as well as, some older adults. Some shared than they are addicted to more than one drug and attend a variety of meets such as AA and NA to help keep them sober. Some feel that God is their higher power and that’s what helps them get through. Some of the slogans I heard a lot of were: “Let go and let God”, “Keep coming back it works if you works it”, and “One day at a time”.
ReplyDeleteI attended a bariatric support group this evening at St. Agnes Hospital. My uncle recently got bariatric surgery in August and goes to the meeting on the first and third mondays of the month so this monday, I went with him. I even invited a couple of my classmates who attended also. I thought the meeting was nice. I did not feel uncomfortable, possibly because I did not feel like I had to "pretend" to be anyone. I simply stated that I was ther with my uncle for support. Oddly, they noticed that our faces were not familiar, but did not even ask who we were until we started mingling amongst ourselves. At the meeting, they talked about coping with eating during the holidays since most families have many traditions for the holidays that involve lots of food. Many people shared their challenges during thanksgiving and they also shared things that they are looking forward to during christmas to lighten the mood a little. I really enjoyed myself because I felt that the people were nice and welcoming and that they honestly have some of the same problems that I have with food and eating :) I did not share during the group, but this meeting was also a holiday party/potluck so everyone bought a healthy dish to share. When it was time to eat and we were talking amongst ourselves, I shared some things about myself as well as how proud I was of my uncle and his dedication since his surgery. I also got some good recipes from people because they had some REALLY good dishes there! I really enjoyed the metting.
ReplyDeleteI visited The Harford Belair Community Mental Health Center, Inc.- an outpatient psychiatric and mental health clinic located at 4308 Harford Road, Baltimore MD. 21214 on November 25, 2014. I called the clinic a day before I went there to book an appointment for the following day. The Front Desk Staff that attended to me directed my call to Patient Care Director’s phone where I left a message
ReplyDeleteWhen I got there the following day, I could not meet the Patients Care Director or Clinical Director . I told the staff I met my mission to the clinic. She gave me a copy of the clinic brochure. I could not attend a therapy session but was asked to book an appointment for two weeks.
The mission of the clinic is to provide the highest quality psychiatric and mental health services to all persons in the community who are in need of these services and their clients range from adolescents to adults of all ages. The hours of operation are from 8am to 7pm. And accept various Insurance cards. I intend to go back there and observe their operation soon.
Attending the Bariatric Support group at St. Agnes some of the stories I could really relate to. One story I could relate is when one of the clients was experiencing lack of support and sabatoge from her family who are ll obese well most of them. I can remember when I worked as a CNA at Levindale and a young lady was admitted due to complications from bariatric surgery. Her mom use to bring her huge meals every sunday and supplied her with a stock of snacks and food for her just in case she becomes hungry in the middle of the night. So I found this very disturbing not only because I feel that family should support you when you are trying to do better for yourself in any aspect of your life and because I had become very close with the patient at levindale and I truly could relate to how she felt. I also was considering having gastric bypass at one time and actually went to the initial information meeting. I hope that if I do decide to have the surgery my family supports me and not try to sabatoge my success.
ReplyDeleteI recently volunteered at a homeless shelter called Sarah’s Hope that caters to abused mothers and their children, and was fortunate to observe a group therapy session. I was very disheartened while hearing of these women’s experiences. A lot of them were in mutual but abusive relationships, and only one of the fifteen or so women had been legally married to their partner.
ReplyDeleteMost of the abuse that the women endured was emotional abuse, and not so much physical as I had initially assumed. Also, a lot of the children did endure as well, which was a major reason that many of the mothers decided to seek help.
What I found to be interesting was that most of the women were utterly dependent on their significant others, and would at times defend their abusive actions. Almost as the though it was the woman or child that would provoke their spouse. Something else of significance was hearing of the process that they used to get away from their significant others. The mothers had important items packed in a bag, ready for an opportunity to get away just as I’d heard lectured in class.
This is part of the reason the facility doesn't allow visitors, and all workers and volunteers complete a background check and have to be cleared to be there. The building is also somewhat camouflaged with the surrounding buildings, and not labeled. This is all geared to protect the anonymity of the residents. And as most homeless facilities, there is a strict daily regiment and curfew that most residents didn't like. But all in all, this facility provides a safe environment for their residents for unto six months, enough time for the women to be able to get jobs and to hopefully be well on their feet.
ReplyDeleteI went to the Kings Health Systems, Baltimore with two of my class mate today and had the opportunity of speaking with the program director, Mr. Jody Grodnitzky. Based on the requirement of this support group experience, we requested for an opportunity to observe proceedings in one of their sessions but we were declined this opportunity on the basis of the need to adhere to HIPAA regulations and maintain privacy and confidentiality of the clients. We however had an interview session with MR. Jody Grodnitzky and during the interview; we were informed that Kings Health System is an OMHC outpatient mental health clinic that has no affiliations with any group or organization. According to Mr. Grodnitzky, his organization does not provide services for individuals with private health insurance but only those with medical assistance. Though Kings Health System is an outpatient clinic, it however provides home services for clients through therapists and psychiatrists that it employes. The organization has on board a nurse practitioner who is also a qualified therapist, and two levels of professionals based on their certification and educational qualification. Level one professional include licensed clinical professional counsellor (LCPC) and licensed clinical social worker (LCSW). Level two professionals are made up of staff with graduate qualifications and include licensed graduate social worker (LGSW) and licensed graduate professional counsellor (LGPC). A psychiatrist is also in the employment of the organization.
Kings Health System provide services for individuals with different kinds of mental health problems but it does not provide services for substance abuse clients or those with alcohol problems. Individuals with substance abuse or alcohol problems are referred to specialists for treatment. The organization is reimbursed for its services through the state and what this means is that it does not collect money from clients but is paid directly by the state for services it renders. An average session that it offers is between 100 and 150 per year, depending on how well an individual client is able to make progress towards recovery. The organization operates from Monday to Saturday between the hours of 9 am an d 6 pm. It however operates from 9 am to 8 pm on Thursday. The organization’s mission is to provide culturally sensitive , high quality mental health services to children, adolescents, adults and their families in order to empower healthy people in a strong community
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ReplyDeleteI attended a Bariatric support group at St Agnes Hospital in the auditorium. There were men as well women who had gastric bypass surgery. When I first arrived the tables and chairs were all spaced apart , but then as a team they brought them together. It was a long line of tables with chairs on both sides. This made the environment very personable. Though I was observing, I could really identify with the things that they were saying. A lot of them talked about how hard it is to continue on their weight loss journeys after losing the loved one and the lack of support from their families. I did not share, but when the main discussion was over, I talked to some of the group participants who were seated around me. The participants also had a holiday potluck of their favorite healthy meals. It was nice to talk to them and share recipes. i did observe and saw that even though there was a full smorgasbord, they barely had any food on their plates. This made me admire them for their self- control.
ReplyDeleteLifestyle changes require support
DeleteMy support group experience was at bariatric support group at St Agnes Hospital. There were roughly twenty-five people in attendance by the start of the session. The group consisted of both men and women who have had gastric bypass surgery to lose weight. The group members discussed the challenges they have faced as a result of the surgery. The member whose story that resonated the most with me is the young lady who spoke about her mother lack of support in her weight loss journey. Her mother constantly offers her food that she can no longer have and whenever they eat together, she would criticize the portion that she eats by saying “that’s not food, I know your still hungry”. The young lady discussed how it saddens her that her mother, of all people, doesn’t support her in such an important time in her life. Other members discussed the challenge of no longer being able to use food as a coping mechanism or a means of comfort in times of stress. They also had a potluck where each member brings a healthy food choice to share with the group. I think this is an excellent way of sharing new ideas with each other. Attending this support group has definitely opened my eyes to its need. Individuals who are struggling with addiction of any kind need a forum where they can openly and honestly connect with others in similar circumstances because their families and loved ones might not understand their struggles.
ReplyDeleteBlog Five
ReplyDeleteI went to a bariatric support group for my meeting. When I first arrived, there were only about 4 people there. I noticed healthy snacks to eat like vegetables, fruit, hummus, Triscuits, and some homemade items. The tables were originally all divided and spread across the room. To make the environment more personal and because the party was small, we all moved tables and chairs together to create something like a long dining table. Eventually more people came and we added another table and some chairs. The facilitator started the discussion by telling stories of how the 15th anniversary of her bariatric procedure had just passed. She talked about how her mother gave her a tin of candy her first Christmas and how her father wouldn’t let her mother finish what she did not want because “she needed to eat.” Another story was how a person had surgery and then her mother passed. She was struggling to control the urge to eat and trying to stave off what felt like impending depression. Another woman’s daughter died. Another person shared a story of how her mother (an octogenarian) would not eat if she saw her daughter had lost weight. Another story shared was about how the individual’s family would assume she thought she was better than them, because she elected to get surgery and pursued an active lifestyle. I wrongly assumed I could relate because I do have horrible willpower when it comes to food choices, especially when I’m stressed. The people at the support group showed an extraordinary dedication to changing how they eat, exercise and manage their weight with all of the obstacles they had in their path. Many people dealt with death of family members, the sabotage of family members and situations that tested their strength. I did not speak at this support group because I have never had bariatric surgery or struggled with my weight. I was mainly an observer. I now have a new perspective on the struggles faced by people who chose to get bariatric surgery.
My support group experience was very interesting and informative. I attended the AA meeting hosted by The Mustard Seed which is a group for males and females battling alcohol dependence. The Mustard Seed adheres to a 12 step program and the goal is abstinence from drinking. The members were very entertaining and open about their lives. They immediately spotted me and Crystal, who came with me to the meeting, and I explained to them that I came to see what the meeting was about and she was there to support me. As expected, they called upon one of us to speak and I volunteered to go. I introduced myself and spoke on my past issues with drinking. The members were very welcoming and after the meeting many people approached us to speak to us. I was even invited to an AA meeting more geared to women that had more people around my age group as everyone in the meeting I attended was older in age. The meeting was run in an organized manner. The members were able to exhibit control over the meeting. There was a leader that timed everyone and when one person’s time was up, that person called on someone else to speak. Attending this group emphasized the importance of peer support and how much of an effect it can have regarding encouraging others that whatever battle they are facing, it is possible to overcome and that it is okay to ask for help. The members all viewed each other as one big family and they appreciated each others’ support. Every member that spoke gave thanks for The Mustard Seed and the members there. It was inspiring to see how this program had changed so many peoples’ lives. As a result of their addiction, some have lost various things, from their jobs, homes, and even their families. However, this program gave them hope and a second chance at living life better than they were living before.
ReplyDeleteMy expeirence going to a NA support group was eye opening and made me better able to see the disease of substance abuse impacting the user.
ReplyDeleteMany people seemed to have a connection, a bond and the common thread was that they were collectively in some spot on the continum of recovery. The language used is purposeful and aligns with the principles of the 12 step program. Everyone had a story and that was quickly evident. Often times I ondered about the stories that were not told, but still it was no doubt that everyone had a story.
To hear how drugs have destoryed people, families, dreams and the lives many seemingly prefered as realsitic. This also allowed me to see the suffering the user continues to deal with as they work along the recovery continum. Many people were simply "average looking people". No race, pay status or gender could avoid the grip of substance abuse.
Seeing more manifestations of the illness makes it someone less trivial and more topical. For instance, it is different to see someone and assume they have a substance abuse problem. But for that person to then tell you their story changes the perception of how we see that person and this disease.
Omg this is so irritating Ive been trying to post this blog but it keeps getting deleted, I guess the computer doesn't want me to share with you guys. Anyway, Last Tuesday, on November 25th at around 8pm I attended a SAA meeting at the Woodside church library in Silver Spring, MD. Although I did not have any certain expectations of how the meeting would go I did have an idea of what content would be discussed. I was totally surprised by the outcome. I originally thought sex addicts mostly have issues with having too much sex or with too many people. However, most of the members weren't even having that much sex at all besides the occasional seeking out of prostitutes. Most of the stories shared described problems with obsessions with porn, masturbation, and fantasy ideations.That was really surprising to me. I did however enjoy hearing about how others felt about attending the meeting, it really seemed to be helping these individuals feel better about themselves, or at least that's what I got from hearing their experiences. Overall I have learned that most sexual addictions stem from not having sex rather than having too much of it and that these disorders usually arise from having difficulty accepting and feeling good about who you are as an individual. Overall, it was a good experience to have to help develop empathy skills, and I enjoyed the experience I have had.
ReplyDeleteI attened an AA meeting at Sinai Hospital which was an interesting experience. The variety of races and ages groups that were in thee group were a shock to many. They were many young individuals in the group, some where younger than I was. On the other hand there were elderly people who looked as if they did not belong there, from the inside lokking in. The stories they shared were amazing and some I could actually relate to. For example drinking to relieve stress to the point where it becomes an addiction. They talked about how they desired to quit and how they would refrain from drinking. However, by the time the day was over with they had engaged in multiple drinks. They young population was able to commit on their peer pressure and how their environment lead them to drink.
ReplyDeleteEven though drinking for me is not an addiction, I can share that addictions come in many shapes and forms and do not present with prejudice.
Everyone is looking for symptom relief...some find it in the bottle...but that has its own stressors
DeleteI attended an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that was held at a location in Pikesville. This meeting was a very intense and eye opening experience. The meeting's environment and leaders seemed very open and non-judgemental. The meeting started with the leader or facilitator welcoming everyone and asking if there were any newcomers and if they would like to speak and share. Once the meeting got started, various people in the meeting walked up to the podium in the front of the room and began to share their experiences or stories about their addiction to alcohol. Many of the stories that were told were very heart wrenching and sad, however, there were a few good stories in which a member discussed a recent time where they had suppressed an urge to drink and was proud at how they handled it. By the end of the meeting, the leader closed it out by saying that he was proud that some members were able to suppress their urges and he was glad they could acknowledge and share that although it was hard it wasn't impossible to not drink. The leader also enforced or reminded the AA members of the 12 steps. Overall, I think the experience that I had was positive and I enjoyed that the people were able to express themselves with no worry and no judgement.
ReplyDeleteIts a no judgement zone, we are all in this together philosophy that makes AA so vital to recovery.
DeleteWeek five:
ReplyDeleteI decided to attend an AA group meeting at the Baltimore Intergroup Council of Alcoholics Anonymous on Loch Raven Blvd. I didn’t speak because I felt uncomfortable because I really don’t have a problem and to see people who are really messed up from alcohol, I couldn’t see myself lying about something so serious. It really broke my heart to hear some of the member stories; some have lost everybody behind drinking. One man expressed how he never would take a drink in his younger days but as he gotten older and had to deal with the demands from everyday life he began drinking. He said at first he would just drink on weekends but then it progress to everyday. The man said he don’t even know how it gotten out of control. I just cannot believe that a person cannot control their self and just can’t stop. But I do understand how life can get the best of a person sometimes. By me attending that meeting makes me want to work with people with addictions. In my mind I can save the world although I know that that’s not true, but I really wish I could its heart breaking.
Loneliness can cause people to drink.
DeleteI attended one of the Alcoholic Anonymous (AA) meetings called the Over the Rainbow on 6 taylor avenue in Essex. The meeting opened at 8:30am with a prayer and closed after about 2hr with prayer again. It is a fellowship of men and women of all tradition and academic backgrounds but have a common purpose of encouraging one another to quit alcohol and other habit that affect health. All member took turned to narrate their life experiences as a drunkard and compared their present quality of life with the life lived as alcoholics. The sharing of their experiences as alcoholic were educative and some emotional as some recalled the sad experiences they encountered and valuables they lost due the poor habit of alcohol abuse. Some members attended in the company of their children and/or grandchildren with the notion that as the young ones hear the past experiences of the elderly as a drunkard, that might be a negative stimuli move them to be alcoholic as they grow up. I thought that this was a smart way to help teach younger people some of the perils of alcohol. This meeting was a learning experience for me.
ReplyDeleteThe sharing is so valuable
DeleteThe support group I was able to attend as a participant-observer
ReplyDeletewas a Women’s health group and the pastor discusses different topics every week. The topic this week just happened to be anger management which was interesting. Boy was I in for a treat. It was interesting to observe how others cope with anger and aggression in their households. The pastor also offered many therapeutic responses such as many of people carry around suppressed anger issues and displace them on others that are less threatening which leads to relationship strife. Overall it was a good experience and I understand the value of support groups. They provide great role modeling behaviors and also being able to learn from others and their mistakes.
You didn't note where the group was but persons do feel more comfortable attending support groups sanction or held at local churches. It de-stigmatizes the experience.
DeleteI went to the King Health system at Rogers Avenue hoping for observing support group experience but the program director Mr. Jody Grodnitzky told us that we are not allowed to observe any support group because of patient’s confidentiality. He said that allowing us to observe any support group therapy is against HIPPA rules however we took his interview. King health systems provide high quality and culturally sensitive services to the children, adolescents, adults as well as their families. King health system is an outpatient clinic for all kinds of mental illness. It is very interesting that they also provide home services for the mentally ill patient. According to Mr.Grodnitzky they take medical assistance client and patient will pay nothing. State will pay for the patient. They provide services like medication management, individual treatment plan, case management, parent support and training, school liaison and many more. Some patients are short terms patient and some patient come there since a long time. Even though we were unable to attain group support we had a good conversation with director of King Health system and get to know a lot about the patients and their services. I read the post of other friends which were very interesting experiences they had with the chronic alcoholic patient and they actually get to talk with them. In future if I get chance I will definitely attain alcoholic anonymous group.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry you didn't get a chance to attend a support group. like AA. There is value in exposure for nurses who work in mental health. Often times, AA or NA groups are held at the hospital so nurses accompany their patients. Its an eye opener and forces us into the empathetic role as the caregiver.
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ReplyDeleteSince I am working in Assisted living – Alzheimer’s unit, I want to use this opportunity to attend the Alzheimer’s support group as participant – observer. I found out this support group meet every third Wednesday of each month from 3.30 – 4.30 pm at Administrative Conference Room in Brooke Grove Rehabilitation and Nursing Center. It is sponsored by the Alzheimer’s Association. This group is intended to support families who are victims of Alzheimer’s and related dementias with their loved ones. The group is free and open to the community and has two facilitators. In the meeting, each member is freely venting their issues. They discussed their frustration in seeing their loved ones losing their ability to perform the every day care. The families were seeking for an opportunity to find support, more understanding of the disease, care giving tips and other helpful information’s. I was sitting with a support group member who is attending the support group faithfully for three years due to her husband being a victim of dementia. She informed me that she benefitted from this group by meeting members that helped her to understand the progressive disease and its effect in the life of the disease victim (her husband) and the caregivers (her families). I understand now that it is not only the patient that needs empathy, the caregivers deserve it too. Finally at the end of the meeting, I observed a relaxed moment in almost every member.
Caregiver strain is real especially for the person taking care of a loved one with dementia. The support group provides a refuge for the person to get support and information.
DeleteI went to a drug abuse support group in downtown Baltimore. When I first went I felt awkward because it was a small group of only 8 people. Participants were all either black or white but there was a variety in age. I learned that some participants are there because it is part of their court order. One thing I learned was that drug abuse groups are not just for those addicted to the drug. There were two guys and one lady there from Volunteers of America (a halfway house) and they had to attend because they were addicted to the lifestyle of selling drugs. I kind of got the feeling they looked down on those who were actually addicted to the drug. Part of the discussion was about how participants are integrating in society without the use of drugs. One participant stated that he is occupying his time with positive activities such as church, exercise and school. He also, mentioned that family support has been a huge factor in his lifestyle change. Another participant stated that they appreciated the group because it allowed them to get thoughts off their chest so that they didn’t feel so bottled up. I was surprised that one of the gentlemen declared he felt like the staff were all there only for a paycheck and not really there to help. Over all this was definitely an eye opening experience.
ReplyDeleteGee, the money from selling drugs can be powerful, I am sure.
DeleteMy clinical group was instructed to go out into the community and explore the different resources available to persons struggling with mental illness. I had the opportunity to attend a Bipolar and Depression group on November 28 at 8:30pm. It consisted of about 20 people. They basically talked about how they were feeling that day, goals set for themselves, and how it has been a struggle dealing with their illness. Some were tearful and others were happy. There was talk about the constant change in medications and how difficult it is to find a psychiatrist who really cares. I sympathized with the group because I could not even imagine what it feels to live with the symptoms some of the group members expressed along with not having a connection with the provider. It must be extremely difficult and frustrating.
ReplyDeleteThere is a support group, DRADA, for those who experiencing bipolar and/or depression. I did my internship with this organization. I was wondering if this was the group you attended.
DeleteSo, I will blog about my experience that led up to me NOT attending a support group. It started with me wanting to attend a sexaholics anonymous group, reason being, I was very uncomfortable about going to an NA or AA type of group because I felt like that was there personal safe place to be as open and honest as they wanted. It is their place to be completely vulnerable and “naked” so to speak. I felt like going in as a patient, hiding the fact that I was a student would be deceiving and intruding on their safe haven. So a sexaholics anonymous class, in my opinion would not be as serious as one of the others, although it is still an addiction I don’t hold it as high as a drug or alcohol addiction, which could just be my ignorance. Anywho, after researching where local SA meetings where I found some general places but no exact addresses, so I called the number to get more information. I ended up getting a long voice recording that wanted me to leave my name and number for a call back. In all honesty I did not want to leave any of my personal information on a voice recording for any type of “anonymous” group, so I dropped that idea.
ReplyDeleteFinally decided on a narcotics anonymous group, found the number for Free State Region to find local NA meetings. The guy on the phone was very friendly and welcoming and found me a meeting within a 5 minute drive from where I live. I didn’t have to give my name or number or anything, I could just walk in. He also told me that the meetings were not only for addicts but non-addicts as well, which made me more comfortable.
The meeting was a 6pm in a high rise apartment building, when I got there the landscape looked a little sketchy. I completely forgot that this time of night it would be dark and creepy outside. Anywho walking up to the building there were some rather unsavory characters outside of the complex that made it very uncomfortable to be there. Seeing as though I had to park down the block and it was late and I was alone, I decided for safety reasons not to enter the building.
To make a long story short I did not attend the meeting but figured that if I blogged about my experience leading up to not entering the building, maybe that would count for something.
Interesting logic. So the question of safety is always a consideration. I wonder have you thought about what defense mechanism you are unconsciously displaying in your decision making to attend AA or NA. There were other choices that may have been less threatening like Weight Watchers, Active Minds (on campus) or even a bereavement group at a local church. The activity should never put a student in harms way or make you comfortable. I like the fact that you blogged your experiences.and it does count for something.
DeleteI visited an outpatient mental health clinic located on Rogers Avenue called King Health system with a few class mates. we were hoping to observe an actual meeting with their patients but we were declined the opportunity to attend any of their meetings due to HIPPA regulations, privacy and the confidentiality of the patients, however, we were able to speak with the program director Mr. Grodnitzky. He provided us with information about their purpose in that community. Their mission is to provide culturally sensitive, high-quality mental health services to children, adolescents, adults and their families…in order to empower healthy people in a strong community. They accept medical assistance clients through the state and they do not accept private insurance of any kind. They accept Medicaid and Medicare clients as well as provide psychiatric home services. They are not a substance abuse clinic but they referral clients with substance abused because they do not possess a license to care for clients with such problems. They provide care to bipolar, ADHD, schizophrenia, and autism clients.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this valuable agency
DeleteSince two weeks, I have been considering and asking myself which “support group” to attend, then a friend of mind called me on Thursday informing me about an AA meeting. On Friday morning I went to Number 6 Taylor Avenue Essex MD, 21221 at 8:30 am 11/29/2014. When I got there in the morning, I had a lot of things going on in my mind even though I read about this support group; I still have not been in such meeting before. Surprisingly, the meeting started with a prayer after which each individual started giving their testimony. The most imported aspect of this that touched me is that they have this kind of sincere mind that when they talk, I felt like shedding tears. They start by introducing themselves and saying that they were alcoholics. With the way I saw them; they will be able to help more alcoholics to quite. Some people will say since I quite alcohol my life has come back to normal, some said I now have peace in my home. This is really wonderful. However, the meeting only lasted for 2 hours but the 2 hours is full of aspiring information that can change a life. Honestly, I am happy for this psych class because it has really made me witness many things. Not only that I visited the AA group, we had an opportunity in my clinical group to visit other agencies like my sisters’ place and our daily bread. These two agencies also support homeless, disabled and mentally challenged. The AA meeting I attended was really a good experience to me and I also encouraged my fellow class members who are still looking for a place to attend the meeting to check the address above.
ReplyDeletePeople are raw and pour out their hearts, their test is their testimony
DeleteBlog about your support group experience as a participant-observer.
ReplyDeleteSeveral Coppin students and I went to Kinghouse Systems Inc located on 3502 W Rogers Ave, Baltimore, MD. Our initial thoughts were that we would be able to attend a support group meeting but we were informed that all their sessions are closed to the public. The facility considers all sessions with clients confidential hence their exclusion of outsiders. However, the staff was very helpful in letting us in on the services they offer. Basically, the facility offers psychological services and focuses on the evaluation, prevention, diagnosis and treatment of mental, emotional and behavioral health issues. The facility only accepts Medicaid and Medicare clients but no private insurance. Staff at the facility include licensed social workers, professional counselors and a registered nurse. The therapists sometimes visit clients in their homes to provide services. The facility caters to both adults and children and their disorders range from bipolar disorder to attention deficit hyperactivity disorders, schizophrenia and autism. The facility is open from Monday to Saturday. The facility’s main purpose is to help the members integrate back into community. The clients are scheduled to see a doctor once a month. Contrary to what we had thought, they don’t offer substance abuse treatment but can refer clients with this problem to the relevant facilities.
Although, we did not get the privilege of attending a session, I would not say our trip was in vain since the staff was very helpful by offering us the information within their stipulated protocols.
I attended a NA meeting at St. Bernadines church in Edmonson Village. The experience was saddening. To see men and women mentally confused and clouded was horrible. The over all feeling was the desire to stop , but the mental inability to proceed. One man felt the that it was a demon making him "get high". This was depressing
ReplyDeleteSo you felt sympathetic not empathetic...what would have happen to make you feel differently?
DeleteI attended a NA (Narcotics Anonymous) meeting at Saint Bernadine's church located at 3812 Edmondson Ave in Baltimore, MD 21229. Meetings are held every Tuesday evening at 7pm and there is literally an open door to anyone wishing to attend a meeting. The atmosphere was inviting but I still felt a bit out of place and uncomfortable, wondering if people were looking at me thinking about why I was there. The meeting was far larger then I anticipated with close to thirty attendees. I opted not to volunteer because I did not want to lessen the seriousness of the meeting by lying about an addiction. The stories that I heard left me with a true feeling of empathy towards substance abusers and the people closest to them that are impacted. I'm a big cry baby at times so I had to take out my tissue a couple of times because some stories were heart warming and very emotional to hear. I also gained a better understanding on NA meetings and how they can truly be a form of support when battling an addiction. Former drug abusers in recovery are faced with a daily fight to maintain sobriety and weekly NA meeting may be the one resource that keeps them holding on.
ReplyDeleteI attended Hope Health Systems, Inc. located 6707 Whitestone Rd, Suite 106. Baltimore, MD 21207. My experience as a participant-observer at Hope Health Systems, Inc. was very interesting. I attended a support group that focus on substance abuse treatment. The support group assist ill persons return to their optimal level of functioning in their environment. The stores shared provided insight in identifying factors that influence the abuse and ways to break the cycle of abuse. The experience altered my view of people with an addiction and the guilt that is associated with the drug use. I was encourage to stay drug free and avoid certain substances that was not meant to be ingested by the human body.
ReplyDeleteI attended an Grief and Loss support Group/Meetup. It is an informal support group organized by one of the members. The purpose of this session was to provide support for each other during the coming holidays when every tend to be sad because their loved ones are no longer with them. I had expected the support group to be sad and depressing, but found that wasn't the case. There was some tears, but mostly it was about remember the joy that person brought to your life. For me especially it was a good experience.
ReplyDeleteHello I attended an Alcoholics Annonymous meeting at the Weisman Kaplan House Located at 2325 Maryland Ave. Baltimore, Md on 12/3/14 at 6:45 am. Initially I was surprised at the number of people who showed up in the morning but I soon realized that some of the participants needed to attend the meetings to keep from drinking each day. I was moved by the shame and guilt some of the participants felt because of the impact their addiction has on their friends and families. I couldn't help but feel compassion for the participants that werent able to spend the holidays with their families because of the broken relationships due to their addiction. I can definitely say the meeting just further showed me that substance abuse is definitely a disease and one that is hard to control once started.
ReplyDeleteThe impact of alcoholism impacts so much and cost the individual the loss of freedom, relationships and employment. AA helps to keep the person on track if they keep coming back and work the 12 step program.
DeleteWeek #5: Blog about your support group experience as a participant-observer. How has this experience supported empathic behaviors in you?
ReplyDeleteI attended an Alcoholics Anonymous support group in Washington, DC. The first thing I noticed was how welcomed I was made to feel as someone they perceived as "a new comer." I could tell that if I were indeed a person who was struggling to maintain sobriety, that the atmosphere of the environment would have encouraged me to want to continue to attend. One thing that struck me was how real the struggle to abstain from alcohol really is for the individuals that were there in the group. The way they seemed to celebrate small victories caused me to immediately feel empathy for each of the members sitting around me. Though there was no way I could know any particular person’s religious affiliation, it was clear that they were depending on strength and help that was beyond them to abstain each day. Some moments were emotional because not everyone could share that same level of victory as others; some seemed to struggle with tears as they shared with the group. The more I stayed, the more I realized that remaining clean from alcohol really was a daily battle for some. The blend of emotions present in the room caused me to feel empathy that there are people struggling with challenges I could never have imagined. It was definitely an impactful experience for me.
The principles of AA are founded on the belief that one need to call on a higher power greater than oneself to sustain from alcohol during the 1930's and continues today.
DeleteHello to All! I attended the an AA meeting at the Babcock Presbyterian Church
ReplyDelete8240 Loch Raven Blvd
Towson 21286.
The meeting began with the chairperson reading the AA Preamble, then leading a group prayer, it more of a religious AA meeting. Everyone introduced themselves if they were new, I did not cause it was voluntary. Everyone who volunteered shared their stories about their problems with alcohol and how it destroyed their lives. My favorite part of the whole experience was watching everyone wholeheartedly support one another which is a rare thing in this day and age!
Thanks for sharing....Support is a good thing.!
DeleteI ATTENDED A NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS GROUP SESSION LOCATED IN MY NEIGHBORHOOD. THE GROUP WAS MAINLY CONSISTED OF MEN, I WAS THE ONLY FEMALE IN ATTENDANCE. I WAS SHOCKED AT THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE WHO WERE THERE AND HOW WELL BONDED EVERYONE WAS. YOU CAN TELL THAT THEY HAD BUILT A FRIENDSHIP BECAUSE EVERYONE WAS VERY RESPECTFUL OF ONE ANOTHER. THE MEETING WAS WELL ORGANIZED. THE ATTENDEES WERE VERY RESPECTFUL TOWARDS THE MEETING FACILITATOR. IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. IT STILL LEAVES ME WONDERING IF PEOPLE CAN COME AND SIT AT THOSE MEETINGS TO GET HELP WITH ADDICTION, WHY ARE THEY STILL ADDICTED? MY OPINION IS THAT THEY NEED MORE ONE ON ONE OR MAYBE INPATIENT BUT THE FACT THAT THEY COME TO THE MEETINGS SHOWS THAT THEY WANT HELP.
ReplyDeleteNo one starts out wanting to be an addict. Life happens. Poor decision making, denial or peer pressure forces its ugliness on the individual.
DeleteThe New Psalmist Baptist Church
ReplyDelete6020 Marion Dr, Baltimore, MD 21215
Cancer Support Group(Monday Nights 6-8:30)
I attended a cancer support group, weird enough, when I went to this support group it was not with the intentions of writing a blog, however, it worked in my favor. I recently joined new psalmist, the process into becoming a member is to go through a 2 day intensive new member classes, while there we were talking about different ministries and how it would be good to join one or two. So I selected my few and reached out to the appropriate people and was given the date and time. When going there, I had intentions that I was going there to support cancer patients in a hospital or home setting and offer prayer to them and their families, I decided or thought that this would be great opportunity to give back as well as divert my self from my personal battle and focus on someone who has it worst than myself, where as im only on hormonal treatment, as of date and the next person is vomiting from chemotherapy treatment. When arriving, it was a small room full of older people and all women,older, and women of color. Upon the entrance of everyone, it room was filled with about 10 people, including myself. After prayer, everyone began to go around and tell their story, yet that was quite weird to me, then I quickly realized that this was not what i expected, and sooner than later it will be my time to speak. I was not ready nor was i prepared for this experience. It was extremely scary, it was horror stories of surgeries, and complications for many treatments. When my turn came around, I was honest and shared my information, the group members wrote my doctors name down, unsurprisingly 3 of us shared the same physicians at Hopkins, they asked me a thousand question. needless to say i was far from receptive of their concern, I wasnt emotionally ready to face my demons. This was sprung on me, though i knew what I was doing, I wasnt fully aware. I am not one to speak on my own problems but can help others so before speaking I had feedback and questions but when it was my turn i shut down to ultimately I couldnt handle the reality of what was occurring and walked out of the support group. I cried in the car for almost a full hour in the parking lot of the church.But while there i will say the group was very supportive, I just wish that they were not so aggressive while telling their stories. I understand that mishaps may have happened but it is frightful for someone newly diagnosed and still trying to process the information. After the meeting assuming, I received alot of calls from the group members because i did give them my information prior to the start up of the meeting. To this day, they still call me and offer to bring me to and from the hospital, pray with me, and though currently im not ready, I may be soon or suggest it to someone, I just hope that they don't talk about the same things and reintroduce because that can scare others and push away those who really need support. I think they should ease it, and take it day by day, from least to most invasive, so they have time to get to know the person first.
You should share your observations with someone in the group. Often times the reality of cancer is ugly and scary. The stories are to glorify God...its their testimony. Its good that you were able to share.
DeleteI attended an AA meeting called "Agape" at Sheppard Pratt Gibson Building. Upon entering the room I quickly noticed I was the only black young adult in the room. The people in this group were predominately middle-aged white men and women. However I was greeted friendly, to my surprise. Four of the members approached me introducing themselves and asking my name, I of course gave an alias. Before the session began, an attendee of the group announced a death of another regular attendee. From the group's reaction of the news, I could see everyone was familiar with one another, I immediately felt uncomfortable. The leader read a passage from a book about the "power of that first drink". He then asked for everyone's reaction; a middle aged woman volunteered, said her name and everyone repeated her name and greeted her, like I have seen on the movies. She told a story about how on her way to the meeting she rode past a strip of bars out Towson and how she felt weak and compelled to break her 2 year sobriety because "no one would know". Fortunately she maintained strength. The next volunteer proclaimed himself an alcoholic and a drug addict. His story was similar to that of the first volunteer. He then called on the next person and it continued like a game of tag. Their stories were so raw and honest. The bluntness and honesty was refreshing. It was truly a judge-free zone; everyone was supportive and attentive to one another. However, I continued to feel more and more uncomfortable; I do not know if it was more because I did not have a story to tell or if it was because I was invading the privacy of these participants. I genuinely respect the participants for opening up and seeking support in strangers, it is courageous. I could not stay though; my level of discomfort was too overwhelming.
ReplyDeleteI attended an Alcoholics Anonymous group meeting at Sheppard Pratt mental health facility. The group was held in a small room where it looks like they hold Bible study. All the chairs were turned toward the leader of the group. Most of the group participants were white men and women. They were all inviting and friendly. Everyone introduced themselves to me. It also seemed as though every one knew one another already. The leader of the group started by reading from a book related to alcohol addiction and he also discussed how alcoholics drink without a reason. After that he asked us for our thoughts concerning what he just read. People talked voluntarily and a few people told there story. One guy talked about about how he has been sober for a month and when he got into a big arument with his brother, it made him want to drink really bad. He said instead of drinking , he came to the aa meeting. My experience at the meeting was eye opening. I have a new respect for addicts, especially the ones who can go to group meetings and express their personal stories like they're doing. Though I chose not to participate, I did gain empathy and better understanding for alcohol addicts.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting at the Weisman House off of Maryland Ave, in Baltimore. I was very interesting. I was able to catch a Morning meeting (6:45 am). It was extremely crowded-with some standing and others sharing chairs. There were billboards posted on the walls with each billboard having ten steps each on why the need to be there, and why you need to continue to attend. There were staff people who sat at the front of the room, my guess is that they were there to listen to the people's problems at why they were there. I assume that they were doctors or social workers, but they never really shared there thoughts with the audience.
ReplyDeleteMost people who came for help were well-spoken. There were two gentlemen who took most of the time as they needed to vent; it was really interesting to hear what they had to say.
One of the two gentleman talked about how he almost lost his family because of drinking and that he only wanted one drink. Well as he went on, he said that it was never about one drink; one drink turned into four drinks and before you know it youre wasted and drinking and driving. He talked about 15 minutes and all of it was interesting. he spoke of how important god is and the need for support and the AA meetings. Not being able to fight the battle alone and the support of the community is there; using it is the best thing you can do for yourself and family. The other gentleman also talked about his family but he went more in-dept about the need to attend the meetings. He also vented about finding new friends and leaving the old ones behind. The new friends is where the new life is and the life that he is trying to escape is where his old friends and the problem with drinking. These two gentlemen talked about 15 minutes each and there was not a dull moment.
I really enjoyed my stay and it was very informative. I love it and would like to do it again
Blog closed
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ReplyDeleteFlorence Amaikwu
ReplyDeleteWeek Five Blog
Support Group Experience
I attended a substance use disorder treatment group located at Manor Reflections 13 C street Suite C laurel MD as a participant-observer. They meet every Monday and Wednesday 6pm to 8:30pm. This was a group meeting for individuals who were recovering from alcohol and other illegal substances. They were about 10 members in attendance. They all began the group by introducing themselves and the reason they were there. They all stated their personal goal. The majority of their goals was to maintain their sobriety. They discussed their personal stories. They also stated the drug they were using and alcohol. How long they have maintained their sobriety. Some of them were given referrals by the group leader. They were very supportive to each other with the stories they shared among themselves. I was touched to hear them when they stated what drove them into drugs or abusing alcohol .Majority of the reasons resulted from loss of a loved one and loss of employment. What they experience could have happened to anyone but what makes the difference is the coping mechanism that one decides to use at any challenging time in life. I learned so much from the support Group. The meeting ended by 8:30pm.
Week five Blogger 5
ReplyDeleteThe support group experience that l was a participant observer was the Alcoholic Anonymous group at Clifton T. Perkins hospital, held every Wednesday by 7 pm. I made an appointment with the hospital through my sister that work with the facility a week before my visit. I arrived at the hospital, introduce myself and told the security officer at the desk my purpose of visiting. It was a very nice big hospital and l was led by the officer to their multi-purpose room. I was introduce to the AA executive members and to the patient as well. This AA group according to one of their executive member was organized to help people that was Alcoholic addict to maintain abstinence from drinking Alcohol even after their discharged from the hospital. Everybody in the room seat down and the patient voluntarily shared the experience on what makes them to start drinking Alcohol, what has help them in the past to stop drinking Alcohol and why they do not want to go back to alcohol addiction after their discharge from the hospital. As l listen to everyone’s life story regarding their alcohol addict, and how it has influence their life negatively, l was touch deeply. I wish that the younger generation will have the opportunity to listen to this patient and know that they don’t need alcohol as a stress reliever. They AA executive concluded by saying “Alcohol do not take away your stress but it takes away your money,” because the influence of Alcohol makes you feel good at that moment by shutting down your brain from thinking about the problem but when the influence is gone then what?. Your problems are still there waiting for you to take good initiatives, one step at a time and get them solved.
Week five Blogger 5
ReplyDeleteThe support group experience that l was a participant observer was the Alcoholic Anonymous group at Clifton T. Perkins hospital, held every Wednesday by 7 pm. I made an appointment with the hospital through my sister that work with the facility a week before my visit. I arrived at the hospital, introduce myself and told the security officer at the desk my purpose of visiting. It was a very nice big hospital and l was led by the officer to their multi-purpose room. I was introduce to the AA executive members and to the patient as well. This AA group according to one of their executive member was organized to help people that was Alcoholic addict to maintain abstinence from drinking Alcohol even after their discharged from the hospital. Everybody in the room seat down and the patient voluntarily shared the experience on what makes them to start drinking Alcohol, what has help them in the past to stop drinking Alcohol and why they do not want to go back to alcohol addiction after their discharge from the hospital. As l listen to everyone’s life story regarding their alcohol addict, and how it has influence their life negatively, l was touch deeply. I wish that the younger generation will have the opportunity to listen to this patient and know that they don’t need alcohol as a stress reliever. They AA executive concluded by saying “Alcohol do not take away your stress but it takes away your money,” because the influence of Alcohol makes you feel good at that moment by shutting down your brain from thinking about the problem but when the influence is gone then what?. Your problems are still there waiting for you to take good initiatives, one step at a time and get them solved.
I attended a group therapy at Medstar Union Memorial Hospital, the session is guided by a psychologist, a social worker and a charge nurse. They were about 8-10 members in attendance. They all began the group by introducing themselves and the reason they were there. Each member lay their concern about the unit, medications and how they are being treated by nurses. The dynamics of the group therapy is like a mirror of those in the society in general, and learning how to interact with the other members. There is a great deal of interaction and discussion going back and forth among the members of the group. The psychologist has to re-orient them back to the group therapy when they are confronting each other. At the end of the discussion, the psychologist asks if anyone has any question. The group enlighten me on various aspect of how to deal with individuals with mental illness. I found the group therapy to be very informative and interesting. I left with nonjudgmental mind and recognition of mental health supportive system. The coordinator of the support group uses therapeutic communication, by showing empathy with the clients.
ReplyDeleteToday, I attended an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting at Laurel Recovery, located at 368 Main Street in Laurel, MD. The meeting was at 8 a.m. and was an open meeting, meaning anyone could attend. The first thing I noticed about the location was that it is nondescript and I actually went past it. The front door had a small printed piece of paper with a list of all the meeting days and times on it. When you walk in, there are stairs that take you to the second floor where the meeting is held. When I first arrived, there was the facilitator, Margaret, and two older men in attendance. I chose to sit in the back so I wouldn’t be in the way. Margaret was very friendly and got up and came to where I was sitting to let me know there was coffee and cookies if I wanted some. Margaret gave the rules of the meeting, which included not texting and leaving the room if you needed to use the phone. The meeting started with one person reading “How It Works”, which was a description of how the chapter of AA is run. Then another person read a condensed version of the “12 Traditions of AA.”
ReplyDeleteThe 8 am meetings on Fridays are Reflection meetings where Margaret reads from a book called AA Daily Reflections. There were copies of the books available for attendees to follow along. The topic of reflection for today was “Thy will, not mine, be done.” The reflection passage talked about how God is truly in control and no matter what you did, it was up to him. Margaret gave her story of how she had these expectations of everyone in her life and when they didn’t meet up to them, she got angry and used that as a reason to drink. She said that expectations of others were setting you up for failure. This was a common theme with all the participants who shared their stories. (At this point, 2 more men and another woman had joined the meeting.) Other people in their lives let them down (due to expectations that some people didn’t even know were placed on them) and this was a reason to drink. Everyone talked about having to pray daily in order to keep their sobriety and living for God instead of themselves.
You could quickly tell that all of the participants had been coming to the meetings for quite some time. They had formed a tight group and everyone was respectful of each other. The meeting ended with everyone forming a circle, holding hands, and reciting the Serenity and Lord’s prayer. Listening to everyone’s story reminded me that you never know what another person is going through. You can’t just look at a person and tell that they are a recovering alcoholic. Overall, it was a good experience.
I attended an open Alcoholics Anonymous meeting as an observer at Our Daily Bread, which is a facility run by Catholic Charities in Baltimore. I found it to be really interesting, and I was surprised by how welcoming they were with me. Not everyone shared something, but many people there shared very personal information about their experiences. Some people were there because of alcohol addiction, and some people were there because of addictions to other drugs. I learned that this group sees addiction to one thing as being susceptible to being addicted to other things. So for example one person was there to support his recovery journey from opiate drugs, but he had also quit drinking since attending meetings. One person had only quit drinking very recently, but the other members were so encouraging and supportive. Someone was talking about how he remembered how everything in his life had become a secret when he had been using. Another person was talking about how her negative experiences at work had led her to start using. Many people seemed to have come from extremely difficult backgrounds and had been exposed to drug and alcohol use while growing up. The experience overall was really interesting, and I am so appreciative of how I was accepted. I can see why people get results from this group.
ReplyDeleteWhile observing a support group, I was able to see how the group managed to work through an issue to which each individual needed support. The support group that I managed to watch was ran by a college that supported students who have the potential for or have experienced stress. Before the session began the facilitator made sure that each member understood the rules and were respectful of each other. Once the members introduced themselves along with the speaker, they were asked a series of questions. The group consisted mostly of questions that were asked, and each person was able to share their feelings from what was being asked. One thing that stuck out to me was when the speaker said she would be watching each member of the group when one person is sharing to see how each member receives the information. This to me means the speaker cared about the group and is interested in the thoughts of the members. It was great to see the participants open up to the speaker because they picked up on her interest.
ReplyDeleteThe support group experience that l was a participant observer was the Alcoholic Anonymous group. In the beginning the leader introduced herself and gave welcomed everyone. There were only seven people within the group. In exception two I few of the group members the rest were much quit. Before the discussion started everyone had a chance to introduce themselves. Most people were there for alcohol addiction while the rest had drug addiction. Those who sheared spoke openly about their struggle with the addiction they have. I felt like they were sharing their secrets they would never speak openly with anyone outside of the support group. You can tell people get comforted when listening to other people who are going through the same pain as them. The group only initiated the topic and sometimes redirected the conversations but the group members were the one who were mainly talking during the support group. It was a nice experience. I learned that sometimes knowing that others are fighting the same battle you are in can make such a difference in our patients’ life. Now I know why as a mental health nurse I have to recommend my patient to these type of support groups.
ReplyDeleteI attended an Alcoholics Anonymous group in Catonsville Baptist Church which started 12:00pm. The program called Catonsville noon. The group meets every Friday by 12:00pm to talk about their addiction journey and support each other by sharing experiences to remain sober. The leader of the group welcomed me to join them and before the session started, she reminded the members to be respectful of each other and stated the rules. Then, everyone introduced themselves and shared information on the reason they came to the meeting. Some of them were struggling with their addict and are getting therapy and others were sober for a while and they are there to share their experiences to motivate the others. Especially, one gentlemen talked about how his addiction cost him everything he loved like his family, job and friends. He mentioned the most difficult part for him was admitting that he has problem and he is now getting therapy to stay sober and defeat his addiction. Overall most people had stressful background but they were helping and encouraging each other to stay sober and change their way of life. At the end of the program the leader of the group asked everyone to join her in prayers and asked god to help the individuals with their journey of staying sober. Through this experience, I now know how the AA meetings work to help individuals stay sober.
ReplyDeleteI attended a support group for alcoholics today in Capital Height off exit 15 on 495 belt way. I went there with a friend because i was scared of going there alone that someone might recognized me or something. The meeting is held Fridays from 6:30 pm. We went a little late when they have already started and we introduce ourselves as alcoholics and my friend was quick to say that we were visiting from out of state. What i noticed was that the group was diverse; male, female, whites, blacks etc, the members looked mostly matured and were well dressed , some with suites and the parking lot had nice cars. which i told my friend that these people must have good jobs. But of course we all know not to judge a book from the cover. It was interesting to hear people sharing their personal and intimate life story. One of the story that caught my attention was a man in his late forties who have decided to go find his son whom he said left twenty three years ago when he was just five months old when he started using drugs and drinking alcohol because of the problems and situation he was in with his then wife. He divorced the wife left the child and just paid child support. He mentioned that it was time for him to pick up the pieces and at least take a step first to know his son. It was very moving to me and i went up to him and told him he can do it.
ReplyDeleteI attended a support group for alcoholics today in Capital Height off exit 15 on 495 belt way. I went there with a friend because i was scared of going there alone that someone might recognized me or something. The meeting is held Fridays from 6:30 pm. We went a little late when they have already started and we introduce ourselves as alcoholics and my friend was quick to say that we were visiting from out of state. What i noticed was that the group was diverse; male, female, whites, blacks etc, the members looked mostly matured and were well dressed , some with suites and the parking lot had nice cars. which i told my friend that these people must have good jobs. But of course we all know not to judge a book from the cover. It was interesting to hear people sharing their personal and intimate life story. One of the story that caught my attention was a man in his late forties who have decided to go find his son whom he said left twenty three years ago when he was just five months old when he started using drugs and drinking alcohol because of the problems and situation he was in with his then wife. He divorced the wife left the child and just paid child support. He mentioned that it was time for him to pick up the pieces and at least take a step first to know his son. It was very moving to me and i went up to him and told him he can do it.
ReplyDeleteI attended an Alcoholic Anonymous group at Union Memorial Hospital on the Psychiatry Unit. I was sitting with a patient who had a history of alcohol absue and he wanted to attend the group. In total their was about 6 individuals in their activity room. The leaders were both males, one black and the other white. The meeting began with a prayer and each leader introduced themselves and told their stories. I found each one of their stories very interesting because it goes to show you that no matter who you are abusing alocohol can greatly affect your life. One of the leaders said that he does this because telling his story can show other people that it is possible to recover from this addiction. I thought that was very inspiring.
ReplyDeleteI attended an alcoholic anonymous (AA) group located at 8635 Loch Raven Blvd in Towson. The meeting commenced at exactly 8:30 am where a prayer was said and the meeting lasted for about two hours. I was perplexed seeing the caliber of people that were there. It was a group of men and women, young and old, as well as academicians and public dignitaries but they had a common goal of encouraging, supporting, and motivating one another to attain sobriety.All members took turn to talk about their life experiences and their journey so far.Their testimonials were very encouraging and educative. Some narrated their bad experiences being alcoholics, how they lost great opportunities, wasted their resources, got in to legal troubles, and how it was detrimental to their health. I became so emotional to the point of shedding tears. I will strongly recommend AA group to alcoholics especially to the younger generation. It was really a great experience. I look forward to attending such meeting in the nearest future.
ReplyDeleteI attended a Grief counseling support group at Catholic Church where I worship. The counseling session was a very emotional experience for me. I felt very empathetic for all of the people there who recently experienced a loss. I was able to release a few “held back” tears myself. I never had the opportunity to grieve for the loss of my father because I was very young when it happened. When he passed, I was only 9 years old and I could not completely express my emotion because I did not understand what it take to lose a love one. I kept my emotions held inside me for a long time, but at I was able to cry out tears because I felt I was part of the grief counseling at that moment. At the grievance counseling session, I learned different ways that other people cope with losses. Some people attended monthly meetings, some have picked up hobbies to fill the void of time spent with their loved one and others are still trying to find something that fulfills that emptiness.
ReplyDeleteI attended an alcoholic anonymous (AA) group located at Journey of Faith church on Liberty road in Baltimore, MD, 21144. The meeting started at 8pm with a brief introduction by the officiating person. Then, we all prayed and he read the introductory note of what AA group is all about and the 12 steps. He asked if anyone is new and I introduced myself as a new member. They all welcomed me and encouraged me to be coming to meeting. There were few people that attended the meeting which comprised of both men and women. Everyone took turns to talk about their experiences as alcoholics especially the effects it had on their family, relationships, jobs and health problems. the essence of these testimonies is for people to learn from them and be encouraged to stop drinking and remain sober. I am really privileged and happy to have attended the meeting and felt so emotional for the people that lost many things in life because of being alcoholics. The meeting ended by 9.06pm and we said a short prayer. They all encouraged me to be coming as a new member not knowing I was in disguise. I also promised to be coming.
ReplyDeleteThe group meeting I attended was alcoholics anonymous at 701 S. Charles St. Christ Lutheran Church, South Baltimore 21230, 8PM Monday night. It was a slow start at first, as not everyone wanted to share. The “group leader” (no true leader as this was completely anonymous) shared a few of her own stories to start it off after she introduced herself as “Sally” and asked if anyone was new it appeared no one was or no one was ready to say they were. She said she saw one new face in the room I assumed she meant me, but I did not speak up. The Group leader then asked if anyone had any stories of growth to share, which people definitely had and this made the meeting pick up a bit. Someone spoke of lost friendships due to changes they have made for their life, someone else mentioned new coping mechanisms she had chosen to employ and how they have had a much better impact on her life. She was exercising when she was upset and said she feels better about herself and has more energy than she did when she was drinking, and had saved money also. There were a few more people that talked about how this change. The room was cold and massive for the amount of people that attended. I’m not sure if that is a good thing but it made it harder to hear things. There was some emotion in the room but no tears were shed. I wish I would have attended a drug addiction program group therapy to see if the participants had a similar interaction pattern. I went to this location based on convenience for me. I think attending in different community would have given me a much different experience.
ReplyDeleteI attended an Alcoholics Anonymous group which meets at Central Christian Assembly on Saturdays at 12pm. I’ve never attended a support group before so I wasn’t sure what to expect. It started with a welcome from the group leader and what the session was about. He then opened the floor to others who wanted to speak. Some spoke about their experiences and what they had gone through. How their addiction affected them and their families and friends. Others talked about the goals they are trying to reach and the struggles they have to overcome their addiction. There were some members who were more outgoing and easily spoke about their addiction. There were only a few that were like me and did not speak at all. The group leader did an excellent job facilitating the group. He didn’t monopolize the meeting, but instead encouraged others to talk and comment. It was very interesting and very inspiring. They all supported one another and encouraged each other to overcome their addiction.
ReplyDeleteI have never attended a support group myself, however, i have observed them numerous times on my favorite TV show, Law & Order SVU. One was a support group for previously convicted sex offenders. The session was held by a leader, assuming she was some type of psychologist or clinician. The group was about 6-8 males who sat in a circle facing each other. The men would take turns telling each other about how their previous sex offenses have effected their lives and the lives of their families. The leader of the group would ask leading questions, and always ask the men "How does that make you feel?" One man, who was the suspect in the shows investigation, was telling the group his personal story of how he was 15 years old and fantasized about his 6 year old sister. The purpose of the group was to help convicted sex offenders assimilate back into the community and to control their sexual urges in order to be a productive members of society. The group leader was quiet for the most part and let the group members speak. At the end of the session, she gave them a instructions to write their feelings down in their journals and then dismissed the members until the following week.
ReplyDeleteI attended a support group last Thursday for adolescents with anger and behavioral issues. The group took place at an Step by Step of Maryland Psychiatric and Behavioral Rehabilitation Facility. The group leader was Ms. Rebecca. The leader opened up the section by introducing the topic and encouraging the teenagers to speak about coping with anger and the issues at home. The section took about two hours from 6pm to 8pm. The groups are hold the second and last Thursday of every month where they discuss diverse topics and coping strategies. Some of the members of the group did not want to speak, but where paying attention to the discussion and taking notes. After the group section was over the teenagers enjoyed some refreshments and some pizza until each teen counselor said it was time to go. There were approximately 8 teens during the section.
ReplyDeleteI attended the Alcohol Anonymous at GBMC and it was very interesting. Every one introduce themselves as Hello, my name is ________, I am an alcoholic. Regardless of whether you have been sober for years or not. I think it don't make those who are actually having problem to be pointed out. It feels like a supportive environment where you can relate to others just like your self. Individuals share their stories, what have help them, and encouraging words to one another. I would definitely recommend AA to any one seeking help for alcohol addiction.
ReplyDeleteI attended CHADD (Children and Adult with Attention Deficit/ Hyperactivity Disorder) support group meeting which is located at 9833 Greenside Drive Cockeysville, MD 21030. I schedule for the meeting through my Aunt who is a friend to one of the receptionist. The meeting is on monthly based to support adults, parents, caregivers, spouses and other significant. The meeting begins 9am prompt and there were about 23 members who attended the meeting. The meeting began by a brief introduction from the speaker. The speaker topic was about Organizational Strategies to improve the life of children with ADHD. He stated the successful programs for children with ADHD which include classroom accommodations, behavioral interventions and academic instructions to be success in class. The speaker identify how to integrate this three components and provides suggestions for practices that can help children with ADHD in a classroom settings. The meeting was very educative. Some members who attended share their children ADHD experience in school settings. The parent who have concerned about their children were given referral based on their individual concerns. I learnt a lot from the meeting. The meeting ended at noon.
ReplyDeleteI attended a Narcotic Anonymous for persons with HIV at JHH. Because is was before Thanksgiving the meeting was centered around what they were thankful for. The energy in the room was beautiful and the participants were all encouraging on another. Many shared stories some were happy, and some were sad. One important thing that I learned was to live for today. Many of the participants follow this rule of life to help them take their recovery and health diagnosis one day at time.
ReplyDeleteI attended an Alcoholic Anonymous meeting in Cherry Hill. Cherry Hill is where I was raised so I wanted to go through to see what my community was going through. There were a lot of individuals there between the ages 50-70. It was interesting to me that most of the participants were middle age and older adult. They were involved in the meeting for a while and many of them knew each other. They seem to have a close relationship and the group was ran by a lady that was free from alcohol for 2 years. They shared their progress and experiences. Some stories were sad and I never knew how something that happened so long ago can still have a major impact on individuals. This was a great experience and I did learn that most people don't think they are alcoholics and the first part of getting help is accepting.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting at St. Anthony’s Church. This meeting was open to the community so I wasn’t required to participate but it was welcomed. The meeting started with announcements and the reciting of the 12 steps/traditions. There was a main speaker in the beginning, who talked openly about his journey. Later it turned into open discussion where people were able to open up about their stories. They might have revealed that they were an alcoholic, recovering or showing support to a friend or family member. I found it very interesting how easy it was for people to be so vulnerable and it spoke volumes about how supportive these meetings can be.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting at Garison Blvd Firehouse last Saturday. The meeting was very different from what I was expecting but it definitely seemed like it was therapeutic for everyone that was there When I entered into the group I felt very weird but I just sat down and intended to observe. The first thing I realized was that the meeting was very religious based, which the group seemed to have enjoyed. People were able to introduce themselves and tell their stories. It was easy to tell the people who had been coming for a long time because they seemed to be a lot more comfortable and they had some established friendships. There was a speaker there that gave her experience with being an alcoholic. Her story was very sad but it seemed to have been a similar story to many of the people that were at the group. After attending the AA meeting it really opened my eyes to the journey that many people take that leads to alcoholism and nobody chooses to be an alcoholic. Unfortunately, some people turn to alcohol to deal with pain and it becomes an illness.
ReplyDeleteI attended an AA meeting at Garison Blvd Firehouse last Saturday. The meeting was very different from what I was expecting but it definitely seemed like it was therapeutic for everyone that was there When I entered into the group I felt very weird but I just sat down and intended to observe. The first thing I realized was that the meeting was very religious based, which the group seemed to have enjoyed. People were able to introduce themselves and tell their stories. It was easy to tell the people who had been coming for a long time because they seemed to be a lot more comfortable and they had some established friendships. There was a speaker there that gave her experience with being an alcoholic. Her story was very sad but it seemed to have been a similar story to many of the people that were at the group. After attending the AA meeting it really opened my eyes to the journey that many people take that leads to alcoholism and nobody chooses to be an alcoholic. Unfortunately, some people turn to alcohol to deal with pain and it becomes an illness.
ReplyDeleteI attended a NA meeting at the McKim center in East Baltimore. I was nervous to attend the meeting at first but when I arrived I found it quite interesting. Everyone sat around and spoke about their addiction and how they began their addiction. I brought a friend with me and she also participated just to get insight and an understanding. My overall experience was a good one at the meeting and I would attend one again for more education and knowledge as to why and how people become addicted to drugs.
ReplyDeleteI attended a NA meeting at the McKim center in East Baltimore. I was nervous to attend the meeting at first but when I arrived I found it quite interesting. Everyone sat around and spoke about their addiction and how they began their addiction. I brought a friend with me and she also participated just to get insight and an understanding. My overall experience was a good one at the meeting and I would attend one again for more education and knowledge as to why and how people become addicted to drugs.
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