Is AA for You?

This is A.A. General Service Conference-approved literature
Copyright© 1973, 1998 by A.A. World Services, Inc.
All Right Reserved. Revised and reprinted with permission


Only you can decide whether you want to give A.A. a try—whether you think it can help you.
We who are in A.A. came because we finally gave up trying to control our drinking. We still hated to admit that we could never drink safely. Then we heard from other A.A. members that we were sick. (We thought so for years!) We found out that many people suffered from the same feelings of guilt and loneliness and hopelessness that we did. We found out that we had these feelings because we were sick with alcoholism.

We decided to try to face up to what alcohol had done to us. Here are some of the questions we tried to answer honestly. If we answered YES to four or more questions, we were in deep trouble with our drinking. See how you do. Remember, there is no disgrace in facing up to the fact that you have a problem.



Answer YES or NO to the following questions.

 1)   Have you ever decided to stop drinking for a week or so, but only lasted for a couple of days?
Most of us in A.A. made all kinds of promises to ourselves and to our families. We could not keep them. Then we came to A.A. and A.A. said: "Just try not to drink today." (If you do not drink today, you cannot get drunk today.)
Yes    No


 2)   Do you wish people would mind their own business about your drinking-- stop telling you what to do?
In A.A. we do not tell anyone to do anything. We just talk about our own drinking, the trouble we got into, and how we stopped. We will be glad to help you, if you want us to.
Yes    No


 3)   Have you ever switched from one kind of drink to another in the hope that this would keep you from        getting drunk?
We tried all kinds of ways. We made our drinks weak. Or just drank beer. Or we did not drink cocktails. Or only drank on weekends. You name it, we tried it. But if we drank anything with alcohol in it, we usually got drunk eventually.
Yes    No


 4)   Have you had to have a drink in the morning during the past year?
Do you need a drink to get started, or to stop shaking? This is a pretty sure sign that you are not drinking "socially."
Yes    No


 5)   Do you envy people who can drink without getting into trouble?
At one time or another, most of us have wondered why we were not like most people, who really can take it or leave it.
Yes    No


 6)   Have you had problems connected with drinking during the past year?
Be honest! Doctors say that if you have a problem with alcohol and keep on drinking, it will get worse -- never better. Eventually, you will die, or end up in an institution for the rest of your life. The only hope is to stop drinking.
Yes    No


 7)   Has your drinking caused trouble at home?
Before we came into A.A., most of us said that it was the people or problems at home that made us drink. We could not see that our drinking just made everything worse. It never solved problems anywhere.
Yes    No


 8)   Do you ever try to get "extra" drinks at a party because you do not get enough?
Most of us used to have a "few" before we started out if we thought it was going to be that kind of party. And if drinks were not served fast enough, we would go some place else to get more.
Yes    No


 9)  Do you tell yourself you can stop drinking any time you want to, even though you keep getting drunk        when you don't mean to?
Yes    No


 10)   Have you missed days of work because of drinking?
Many of us admit now that we "called in sick" lots of times when the truth was that we were hung-over or on a drunk.
Yes    No


 11)   Do you have "blackouts"?
A "blackout" is when there are drinking hours or days we cannot remember. When we came into A.A., we found out that this is a pretty sure sign of alcoholic drinking.
Yes    No


 12)   Have you ever felt that your life would be better if you did not drink?
Many of us started to drink because drinking made life seem better, at least for a while. By the time we got into A.A., we felt trapped. We were drinking to live and living to drink. We were sick and tired of being sick and tired.
Yes    No





Did you answer YES four times or more? If so, you are probably in trouble with alcohol.
Why do we say this? Because thousands of people in A.A. have said so for many years. They found out the truth about themselves — the hard way.


A.A. does not promise to solve your life's problems. But we can show you how we are learning to live without booze "one day at a time." We stay away from that "first drink." If there is no first one, there cannot be a tenth one. And when we got rid of booze, we found that life became much more manageable.
But again, only you can decide whether you think A.A. is for you. Try to keep an open mind on the subject. If the answer is YES, we will be glad to show you how we stopped drinking ourselves. Just call us.
Look for Alcoholics Anonymous in your local telephone directory - often in the 'useful numbers' section. If there is no A.A. service close to you write or phone the General Service for Great Britain at this address.

Alcoholics Anonymous
General Service Office
PO Box 1
10 Toft Green
York YO1 7ND
Tel: 01904-644026

Alcoholics Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism.

The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. A.A. is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety.


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