I attended an open meeting with my father and my aunt, who is a recovering alcoholic, on Sunday July 17, at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts. As we walked through the door, we were greeted by another participant. I felt comfortable at the meeting because I was with family members who had been to AA meetings before.

I thought the behavioral techniques, such as taking recovery one day at a time, learning coping mechanisms to deal with events that may trigger the need for alcohol or drugs and the need to attend regular meetings, all seemed very effective. Although I have known from a very young age that many people in my family have struggled with alcoholism, the experience just reinforced that I have to be extra careful when consuming alcohol because of my family history, along with my own personal health problems.

Because I have been aware of these problems with certain family members from a young age, I have an understanding of consequences that can come from abuse of alcohol and drugs. However, at the meeting, I was impressed with how much the speakers were willing to open up and “bare their souls” to a roomful of relative strangers with a common bond, the desire to get and stay sober.

I think I was especially surprised by the similarity of the techniques given in the meeting and the techniques I have used for the past five or six years to deal with depression and anxiety. I would absolutely recommend and attend another AA meeting with friends or family members. I think attending fosters empathy, strength and respect among participants, addict or not.