It’s not an easy thing to admit to having a drinking problem, but it is the first step to getting help.
It’s a truth Sarndra can vouch for as someone who has lived a sober life for more than 20 years.
“Some people don’t like telling people that they’re in recovery, but I don’t really care. I’ve been sober for 24 years,” she told The Profile. “It takes a little bit before you actually admit that you’ve got a problem.”
The Thames Alcoholics Anonymous member wanted to let people know about the new venue for its meetings, and also put out a call for new members.
“There’s a few people that live in Thames that probably still think that we’re [at the old venue].”
The group now meets at 7.30pm on Tuesday evenings at the Thames Community Centre.
“Our little core group’s probably about five or six [people]… and we need more. I just think in a town like Thames, there’s got to be more,” she said.
There’s also another group who meet at 12pm on Mondays at the Thames Baptist Church & Community Ministries.
“It’s usually done by 12.30pm, so it’s a good lunchtime meeting.”
Sarndra said the good thing about the members in her Tuesday group was that there were a few people who had been sober for 20+ years so “there’s really good support”. “That’s the reason we still come back. It’s not that we think we’re going to drink. It’s just that you’re giving back,” she said.
“If us old timers don’t come, all the newbies come in and they’re sitting there with a bunch of people who are like, you know, one, two years sober. But when someone like us comes back and we’re 24 years, 30 years [sober], they’re going, ‘oh, it really does work’,” she said.
Now, Sarndra said her reason for being there wasn’t because she would drink. “We come because – and also we always say – it’s not about picking up a drink now. For me, it’s picking up a think. So it’s for my mental health. Because it’s a good support group.
“I think a lot of people think AA is about not drinking, but it’s actually about your mental health, which generally is around drinking.”
However, for people new on their sober journey, “you need it for not drinking”, she said.
At the end of the day, it’s got to be a decision made by the person. “You don’t come into AA and go ‘yay, come to AA’. It’s generally because you’ve had ultimatums from family or friends,” she said.
“And finally you go, but even coming, you’ve still got to do it for yourself.”
DETAILS: Alcoholics Anonymous: Monday group meets at 12pm at Thames Baptist Church & Community Ministries at 305-307 Mary St. Tuesday’s group meets at 7.30pm at Thames Community Centre at 609 MacKay St.
By DAVIDDA HIKATANGATA
