Positive Effects of the “Anonymous” Program for Students
Posted by Official Intervention Help | Filed under Official Intervention
While going to college I have seen first hand how a twelve step campus can benefit a person. While not an alcoholic myself, I have drug users in my family, and my group of friends. One of my closest friends joined a anonymous groupon campus ninety days ago and the results have been phenomenal. She has made a commitment to herself, and surrendered her decisions to a higher power and a group of supporters. By doing so, she is able to stay in control one day at a time. The anonymous group for students she is a member of gives her the power to stand tall in difficult situations where her addiction could normally get the better of her. Within ninety days she has increased her metabolism, her energy level, her exercise pattern, and most of all, her happiness. She writes in her journal every night after doing her homework and before going to bed, about the journey she accomplished that day. Every morning before class she calls her sponsor to discuss her plan for the day. The amount of resolve she has to this twelve step program is admirable and makes me wonder what I’m missing out on. I claim no dangerous habits of my own, but is that the truth?
Her newfound way of life has brought me to question my own choices while living on campus. I wonder if I could be happier, healthier, more mentally and physically fit if I figured out what my vices were and found a 12 step program of my own. I decided to do some research. What I found quite shocked me. There is literally a anonymous group at my school for just about everything! From cluttering to overeating! And if there isn’t one, then surely it could be brought up with the campus administration and arranged. I have yet to figure out which program would be right for me. I think sometimes it may be an anger management program, or procrastinators anonymous. If there is a 12 step program for manic depressiveness, that would certainly be my place to be. It makes me wonder though, if a bunch of us manic depressives gather three times a week in the same place, would their cycles align? I can see it now. One day everyone in the room is ready to lay down and die, and then next week we decide to throw a party with a banner that says, “Nothing Can Stop Us!!!!” I don’t know. There are certainly things that I can change, and maybe I need some sort of intervention to find out what needs the most attention. I suppose that if the problem is big enough, it will find me. But until then I continue to learn from from watching this close and dear friend of mine better her life one day at a time.
But as well as making me question my own habits, her new ways have been rubbing off on me Because we are so close her lifestyle has a profound effect on my own and we tend to mirror each other’s habits. In this case, because her lifestyle has changed for the positive and I am entirely supportive, I no longer do anything that contradicts her program’s creed. All said and done, I have an enormous respect for my college for providing anonymous groups for students to help people gain control over the things they do not have the strength to overcome alone. I have seen first hand the positive changes that are possible as a result.
