AA, or Alcoholics Anonymous, is one of the world’s foremost alcohol recovery organizations. But due to the secrecy of the organization, most people who haven’t attended a meeting don’t know much about AA works. Here are some things I bet you didn’t know about AA:
1) There are way more AA members than you think
AA is a huge organization. There are “an estimated 2.1 million members worldwide, with 1.3 million of them U.S. residents”. If AA members formed a country, it would outrank Slovenia in population.
2) AA members exist in almost every country
Alcoholism affects humans of all ethnicities and backgrounds. There are even AA chapters in countries where alcohol is banned, like Iran.
3) There’s a form of AA for many other forms of addiction
The following organizations have been inspired by AA, and follow the similar 12-step process:
- CA – Cocaine Anonymous
- CEA – Compulsive Eater Anonymous
- CLA – Clutters Anonymous
- CoDA – Co Dependants Anonymous
- GA – Gamblers Anonymous
- HA – Heroin Anonymous
- NA – Narcotics Anonymous
- OA – Overeaters Anonymous
- SLAA – Sex & Love Addicts Anonymous
4) It has a deep religious basis, but accepts all faiths
AA was founded by William Griffith Wilson, a member of the Oxford Group—a nondenominational Christian group. Much of AA is steeped in religion, but members of all faiths are welcome as long as they acknowledge a creator.
Today, four of the 12 steps in the AA program mention God directly, and the 12th calls for a ‘spiritual awakening as a result of these steps.’
5) Yeah, it’s really anonymous
Anonymous isn’t just part of the name. The only publications of the group are the “Big Book”, which is a book of stories on recovery, and a list of locations and times where meetings are held. Member lists are never written, published, nor discussed. According to AA:
Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
