As of: March 12, 2024, 1:11 p.m
By: Ines Goku
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If alcohol consumption becomes an addiction, those affected can find support in Alcoholics Anonymous.
The Tölzer Thursday group is 40 years old.
The AA is like a self-service shop from which you can take what you need.
Olaf, dry alcoholic © dpa
The Tölz group of Alcoholics Anonymous is celebrating its 40th anniversary.
Anyone who wants to stop drinking is welcome in the group.
Bad Tölz – Alcoholism is an illness that those affected find difficult to overcome and with which they struggle throughout their lives.
They find support in the Alcoholics Anonymous groups, or AA for short.
These are people who have admitted to themselves that alcohol has become a problem for them and are helping each other get and stay sober.
Anyone who has a genuine and personal desire to stop drinking is welcome in the group.
The groups exist worldwide, and various meetings also take place in Bad Tölz.
There the participants receive help to help themselves.
Alcoholics Anonymous: Everyone is equal
The so-called Thursday group, which has been taking place in the Holy Family parish hall for many years, is celebrating its 40th anniversary in March.
Those affected can come together there every week and talk about their situation – if they want to.
“There is only real recovery if you absolve yourself,” says Olaf, who has been going to group meetings for 35 years and has been a dry alcoholic for 35 years.
His colleague Günther also knows how important the AA is: “The understanding in the group is much greater because you don't have to explain yourself.
Everyone knows how you feel from their own experience.”
At the meetings there is no judgment or distinction, everyone is equal, regardless of gender, age, profession or social status. What is said is not communicated to the outside world.
There are also valuable practical tips on how to reduce the “drinking pressure” or how to clearly refuse the offered glass.
“It doesn’t have to be right for everyone, but it’s good to know things like that,” explains Olaf.
“The AA is like a self-service store from which you can take what you need.”
The first meeting of the Thursday group took place in March 1984
The first meeting of the Thursday group took place in March 1984.
A few years earlier, another group had already been founded.
Today there are three groups on three different days of the week, as well as open meetings in which relatives and friends of alcoholics can also take part.
“You learn a lot just by listening to other stories,” says Günther.
Even after four months of inpatient withdrawal, he “fought tooth and nail” against calling himself an alcoholic.
It was only the group's regular visits that opened his eyes.
“So many things that the others said seemed familiar to me,” he remembers.
“And at some point I realized: I’m the same way.” That’s when his new, dry life began.
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Olaf, on the other hand, says that when he stopped drinking, a big hole opened up that he had to fill.
Suddenly he had a lot of time.
“And then you suddenly discover completely unimagined potential within yourself. What you have learned about alcoholism can also be applied to the rest of your life.”
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New members are welcome – no registration required
The two men, who of course have different names in real life, are happy when affected people find their way into the group.
By the way, there is always the opportunity to take part in meetings on site, even when you are on vacation or on business trips.
Nobody has to register.
Regardless of whether it is a public holiday or a vacation, the meetings take place every week
At the moment there are about six people who meet on Thursdays.
Anyone who has recognized that they need help is welcome.
A celebration of the 40th anniversary is planned for the fall – in the form of an official information event.
The exact date is yet to be announced.
(ig)
Further information
The AA groups meet on Tuesdays at 8 p.m. in the Franzmühle, on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. in the nursing school of the Asklepios City Clinic and on Thursdays at 7 p.m. in the Holy Family Parish Hall.
An open meeting also takes place there every second Thursday of the month, to which relatives and friends of those affected can also come.
There is additional information on the homepage www.anonyme-lokaliker.de.
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