Proposals to change the GA literature are in place for discussion at this years AGM. The nature of which is to remove the word God & to place a less significant emphasis on the words Higher Power by de-capitalising them are the general jist of the motions.
The purpose of the proposed changes is to attract the explosion of younger gamblers being seen amongst our society. It is felt that the quasi religious wording of some of the 12 steps of recovery may put people off seeking help within the fellowship.
In 8 years of recovery within GA i have never had religion or god preached @ me. Some members believe in God, most do not, its not important, its not the focus of the recovery steps.
I was hoping to get feedback from members on here as to what there preconceptions of GA are. Or if they attended what it was that lead them to leave?
Dan
My perception of GA is that its a spritual organisation.
Hi day@atime
New members that come in to their first meeting can be overwhelmed by the "God" word. I have on occasions seen the odd eyeroll or two.
They are then sent home with literature that talks of "God" and a 'higher power".
Whilst we emphasize that GA is not a religious organisation but a spiritual fellowship, I think some new members go away thinking that we are some religious nut jobs.
That's my 2 bobs worth. 🙂
As an older person I would not be put off at all. If I were looking through younger eyes then maybe I would be fazed. If I personally (at my age) could have attended meetings, I would have done (it has not been possible due to my circumstances).
Maybe younger people prefer one to one counselling nowadays via the likes of Gamcare ? When I was in my twenties it seemed that counselling was not really in vogue. In this day and age it seems to be very much the thing to do for all types of personal problems.
Thanks.
Hi
I attended GA about four times in total before not going back.
I have to say, being non religious when I first started reading the GA literature i did feel slightly uncomfortable about the God part, however knew that it was the meaning of the literature God or no God that was important. But i can see this could put some people off.
The reason i stopped attending GA is because I was the only female among about 20 -30 people and this made me feel far more uncomfortable, quite a few seemed surprised and the first reaction i got when i walked in on day one was that they automatically directed me to the family and friends support group. As cgs whether female or male we all share the same issues and problems, however in this case i felt like i was an alien from another planet. And despite persisting to go after the initial meeting i just could not find myself comfortable despite learning some valuable stories.
Bex
I am the mom of a compulsive gambler. I have been attending Gam Anon for the past year and a bit. We follow the same 12 Steps of Recovery as the gamblers. I am not nor have ever been religious in an formal manner i.e. church. Nor as others have commented have I been overwhelmed by talk of God etc.I have however, recovered my sanity and my son has found recovery. If the reference to a higher power in meetings is the cost for both of our recoveries... so be it as I am forever grateful.
My thoughts are, if as a gambler or friend/family of a gambler you are struggling with gambling and not making any headway with other approaches you would have nothing to lose by trying GA/GamAnon.
Just my opinion...
All good points thankyou.
Women in GA are in a minority it is fair to say. The only way that will ever change is for female only groups to set up. The problem with doing so is that for new meetings to be sanctioned a person needs to have an understanding of the program & some decent clean time behind them. So its chicken & egg really until a strong number of women stick with GA there are no suitable female CGs to open these meetings.
What could GA be doing to make the meetings more female friendly?
I read on line GA has a female top person who can help and support other woman
The National female liasion officer. There' s a link online to contact.
There's at least one group that's female orientated. Sure there's more
It is true all regions have a female liasion officer. I can only speak of my region & there are no female orientated meetings here. Do you know where that one takes place it would be good to get their advice
I have noticed that new female members attach themselves to each other if possible. I think that is understandable. Some also feel uncomfortable when after they've made contact and a couple of members they have 'gelled' with do not attend a meeting. They feel a bit lost.
On one occasion, myself and our senior female member couldn't attend a meeting. The newer female member, who was attending her third meeting later told me that she felt uncomfortable, 'things felt different' because myself and our other female GA member were not present. She had obviously felt a connection between herself and myself and our senior female member, and because we were not there that night, felt different about the meeting.
I hope I made sense with that waffle.
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