How To Find A Sponsor In Aa

Recovering from alcoholism is a lifelong journey that you're going to need support to do well in. One person that tin can help requite you the support that y'all need equally a recovering alcoholic is an AA sponsor. In fact, it's strongly advised that recovering alcoholics go AA sponsors to assist them stay on rail in their recovery.

Y'all should make sure that the AA sponsor that y'all choose is well-equipped to take on the AA sponsor responsibilities. Information technology'south as well of import that AA sponsors are confident in their ability to be AA sponsors. Thus, if someone asks you lot to be an AA sponsor, make sure that you're fix to have on the role. Otherwise, yous should deny the request for you to be an AA sponsor.

Being an AA sponsor is an of import job. That's why we're giving you a guide right here on how to find an AA sponsor. Here, you volition as well learn how to be a expert AA sponsor.

What's an AA Sponsor?

An AA sponsor, or alcoholics anonymous sponsor, is a person that guides you lot through the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-step program. An AA sponsor is likewise a recovering alcoholic. AA sponsors are but so far in their habit recovery journeys that they are stable in their sobriety. AA sponsors also have a big amount of knowledge on the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) 12-pace program.

Essentially, a good alcoholics anonymous sponsor acts as a personal AA mentor. Thus, recovering alcoholics that want AA sponsors are responsible for getting their sponsors on their own.

How to Discover an AA Sponsor

AA members are expected to find their own AA sponsors. To exercise this, AA members must just go up and ask someone to be their AA sponsor. Only brand sure that the person that you ask to exist your AA sponsor is a recovering alcoholic that is stable in sobriety and much further along in his or her habit recovery journey than you are. Below are more tips for how to find an AA sponsor.

Regularly Nourish AA 12-step Meetings

The best tip for how to observe an AA sponsor is to regularly attend AA 12-stride meetings. That's because AA 12-step meetings are the best places to come across other recovering alcoholics.

AA 12-step program meetings are as well swell places to find an AA sponsor because they're open up to new and old recovering alcoholics. Thus, you tin easily find someone that'due south far along in his or her addiction recovery journeying and has already gone through most, if not all, of the 12-steps at an AA 12-pace meeting.

Listen to What Others Say At Your AA 12-step Meetings

Another tip for how to detect an AA sponsor is to listen to others during your AA 12-step meetings. Listening to what others say well-nigh themselves during 12-pace AA meetings tin can help you find an AA sponsor that you're confident is stable in sobriety and far along in his or her addiction recovery journey.

Listening to others at AA 12-step meetings can also assistance you find a person that has similarities to you lot. You might want to notice someone with some physical, mental, emotional, or experiential similarities to you to exist your AA sponsor and so that he or she tin better understand yous and your needs. Just make certain to not find someone that is too similar to you. That's considering having some physical, mental, emotional, and experiential differences betwixt you and your AA sponsor can help your AA sponsor provide you with different perspectives well-nigh your addiction journey.

Pray and Meditate on Your Choice of an AA Sponsor Prior to Picking Ane

A tertiary tip for how to find an AA sponsor is to pray and meditate on your AA sponsor pick. While choosing an AA sponsor is of import, choosing the wrong AA sponsor can negatively affect y'all long-term. Thus, it's important to pray and meditate on your determination. Even if you're non religious, praying and meditating on your decision can help you confidently choose the correct AA sponsor.

Only Practice Information technology

Our fourth and final tip for how to detect an AA sponsor is to just practice information technology. By "exercise it," nosotros hateful, become up and enquire someone to be your AA sponsor. While request someone to be your AA sponsor may seem bad-mannered at first, in one case you do it, you'll be relieved. Every bit long as yous've taken the fourth dimension to heed and pick a fellow recovering alcoholic that is stable in sobriety, thoroughly understands the 12-step process, and is far along in his or her addiction recovery journeying, then yous have nix to lose by asking that person to be your AA sponsor.

What You Should Consider When Choosing an AA Sponsor

At that place are many things that you should consider prior to choosing an AA sponsor. Some of these things are described beneath.

How Far Along in Habit Recovery the Prospective AA Sponsor Is

You should always consider how stable your prospective AA sponsor is in his or her sobriety and how far along your AA sponsor is in his or her habit recovery journey prior to making that person your AA sponsor. To know how to be a good AA sponsor to you, a recovering alcoholic should exist very stable in his or her sobriety and much further along in his or her addiction recovery journey than you are.

Yous should also brand sure that your prospective AA sponsor is very knowledgeable about the AA 12-step program. Otherwise, that person won't be able to guide yous through information technology.

The Availability of Your Prospective AA Sponsor

Another thing that you lot should consider when choosing an AA sponsor is how much fourth dimension that person has available. This is an important factor because AA sponsors must be available to their sponsees in some way at all times. Therefore, brand sure that your prospective AA sponsor doesn't have a ton of AA sponsees already.

As well, make sure that your prospective AA sponsor doesn't take a busy life schedule. That manner he or she can be your AA sponsor.

If The Person Wants to Be an AA Sponsor

Information technology'southward important to as well consider if your prospective AA sponsor even wants to be an AA sponsor. Not everyone that's far forth in addiction recovery and the AA 12-steps like to mentor others. Thus, before choosing an official AA sponsor, brand sure that being an AA sponsor is something that that person wants.

Possible Romantic Attraction Between You and Your AA Sponsor

Yous should also make sure that you're non sexually attracted to your prospective AA sponsor. This is important considering a romantic relationship between an AA sponsor and an AA sponsee complicates things.

The best AA sponsor and sponsee relationships are the ones where the biggest things that they have in mutual are AA and habit recovery. That way AA and addiction recovery are always the focus of the conversation.

Many people choose AA sponsors that are of the aforementioned sexual activity as them. That way, they volition not develop a sexual attraction to their AA sponsors. Alcoholics that are in the LGBT-Q community may want to choose AA sponsors that are a unlike sex to them.

Similarities and Differences Between You and Your Prospective AA Sponsor

You should likewise consider the level of similarities and differences that y'all have with your prospective AA sponsor. You should have enough similarities betwixt your AA sponsor and yous to make it like shooting fish in a barrel for your AA sponsor to understand you. On the flip side, you lot should take plenty differences between your AA sponsor and you so that your AA sponsor tin can provide you with different perspectives well-nigh your addiction.

How Much You Trust Your Prospective AA Sponsor

Another affair that yous should consider when choosing an AA sponsor is how much y'all can trust him or her. If your gut allows you to trust someone with all the other qualities of a good AA sponsor, so he or she is likely a practiced choice of an AA sponsor for you lot.

How to Be a Good AA Sponsor

If someone is request y'all to be his or her AA sponsor, before maxim yes, y'all should make sure that y'all have what it takes to be a good AA sponsor. Below are some ways that y'all can be a good AA sponsor.

Be Even Tempered

To larn how to be a good AA sponsor, you must kickoff learn how to exist even-tempered. Being even-tempered is important as an AA sponsor considering you will be the listening ears to a vulnerable recovering alcoholic.

Take At Least 1 Twelvemonth of Sobriety Under Your Belt

To be a practiced AA sponsor, you must be stable in your own sobriety. Thus, yous should have at to the lowest degree one year of sobriety under your chugalug.

Really Know Your 12-Steps

Practiced AA sponsors have also been attending 12-step AA meetings for quite some time and fully understand the 12-stride programme. By having such extensive knowledge of the AA 12-stride program, you will exist able to guide someone else through the plan.

Have a Desire to Sponsor Someone

If you're not somewhat passionate about something, you're not going to dedicate the time and endeavour to be skillful at information technology. Thus, prior to learning how to be a good AA sponsor, you must have a 18-carat desire to practise and so.

Don't Sponsor People That You're Attracted To

AA sponsors should never enter romantic relationships with their sponsees. Thus, to avoid this from happening, practiced AA sponsors should not allow themselves to be AA sponsors to people that they're sexually attracted to.

Be Available

Good AA sponsors are always available to communicate with their sponsees. Therefore, if y'all don't have much time on your hands, you shouldn't exist an AA sponsor.

Be a Good Listener

Much of what an AA sponsor does is heed to their sponsees. Thus, skillful AA sponsors are good listeners.

Push Your Sponsees

Good AA sponsors are invested in the progress that their sponsees are making in their habit recovery. As a upshot, good AA sponsors oft push their sponsees to gain more perspectives about their journeys with addiction so that they tin can better understand their triggers and learn more than ways to manage their addiction. Some means that proficient AA sponsors push their sponsees are by giving them AA literature to read or making them attend different AA group meetings.

Exercise Non Impose Personal Views on Your Sponsees

While the AA 12-step programme is based on some holistic spiritual values, good AA sponsors know not to take it any farther and push their religious beliefs or personal views on life onto their sponsees. Therefore, if you want to learn how to be a expert AA sponsor, don't strength your personal behavior onto others.

Discovery Institute Is Here to Serve Your Addiction Treatment Needs

Here at Discovery Institute, we know the value of AA sponsors. That's why we encourage the recovering alcoholics that attend our alcohol detox and addiction treatment programs to become 1. We also encourage the recovering addicts of our other drug detox and addiction treatment programs to notice a sponsor or someone that they tin lean on for support while in recovery.

Here at Discovery Constitute, nosotros provide the highest quality clinical care through evidence-based practices. Through such intendance, we help booze and drug addicts overcome their addictions.

To learn more than about Discovery Institute and the detox and addiction treatment programs that we offering, contact u.s. today. Our compassionate treatment specialists are bachelor 24 hours a mean solar day to accept your call.

Dr. Joseph Ranieri D.O. earned his BS in Pharmacy at Temple University School of Pharmacy in 1981 and His Doctorate Degree in Osteopathic Medicine at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1991. He is Board Certified past the American Board of Family unit Medicine and a Diplomate of the American Board of Preventive Medicine Habit Certification. Dr. Ranieri has lectured extensively to physicians, nurses, counselors and laypeople well-nigh the Affliction of Addiction throughout New Jersey and Pennsylvania since 2012.

Source: https://www.discoverynj.org/how-to-find-an-aa-sponsor-and-how-to-be-a-good-aa-sponsor/