you. Close and helpful friendships maydevelop.
Must I formally join one group? Not at all.
If there are other meetings in your area,
you may attend as many as you choose.
Most people seem to find a group in which
they feel the most comfortable, however,
you are free to change groups or attend as
many groups as you wish.
How long do I need to come to meetings?
As long as you want to come. Most people
attend regularly because meetings serve topromote continuous emotional stability.
Many members plan to continue the restof their lives because EA becomes a way oflife and they wish to be helpful tonewcomers by sharing their program.
However, you must answer this questionfor yourself.
Many EA meetings seem to be held inchurch or hospital facilities. Does thatmean the meetings are sponsored bythese institutions? No. Most churches are
empathetic to Twelve Step groups andprovide meeting space at reasonable rents.
Some hospitals consider Twelve Stepgroups a valuable follow up to their own
care, and for that reason make meetingrooms available.
Is EA certain to make me well? There areno guarantees that any Twelve-Step

program can bring permanent recovery. We
can say only that many people have foundrelief and recovery from working the EA
program. Your best guide is to talk with EA
members and get personal testimonies as towhat EA has done for them.
Is EA an ongoing financial commitment?
No. All contributions at meetings arevoluntary, however the organization as awhole is only supported by contributions
and so it is encouraged to support both yourgroup expenses and those of the Int’l Service
Center. There are never any ongoing fees or
charges and buying EA books or literatureis optional.
These questions may help you to decide if EA
could be helpful to you: Do you...
often feel nervous, tense, or bored?
suffer from indigestion or frequent
headaches?
have trouble sleeping or sleep too much?

Help for a
Better Life
What you can expect from an EA meeting.

eat when not hungry or have little interest infood?
feel sad or cry for no apparent reason?
have difficulty making decisions?
feel indifferent about most things?
feel guilty, even when you have no goodreason for it?
P.O. Box 4245
St. Paul, MN 55104-0245© 2008 Emotions Anonymous International —Item #31
EA-approved literature. This pamphlet may be
reproduced for free distribution.

www.emotionsanonymous.org
651-647-9712

Who comes to EA meetings? Meetings areattended by men and women who are
unhappy with their lives, experiencing
emotional problems, and seeking relief.
Will I fit in? Everyone is welcome at EA
meetings. We do not differentiate between
types of emotional problems, nor do wejudge or state that some problems are more
serious than others. No matter what you
are feeling, you will probably find someone
else who has had the same feelings.
All these years I have been trying hard to
get control of myself. If I come to EA, doesthat mean I am emotionally ill? The firststep in recovery is to admit we are
powerless over our emotions. That is not
the same as claiming we are mentally ill.
The very fact that we have felt we are
powerless over our emotions holds out thehope that we can learn to break their holdon us and begin recovery.
If EA members do not give each otheradvice or counseling, how can I expect toget help from a group with members who
may be just as emotionally dysfunctional
as I am? We do not come to EA to havesomeone solve our problems. Instead, wecome to share our experiences with thegroup, and as we share our feelings and see
the non-judgmental understanding of othermembers, we find our problems appear lessenormous. As we hear others share, wecome to find what we are feeling is notunique or irrational, and that others have
had those same feelings. This helps takeaway our fear that we are disturbed beyond
help.
If my emotional problems make it difficult
for me to speak in front of others, how canI benefit from a meeting? Althoughsharing our feelings is a vital part of ourrecovery, we can also gain help fromlistening. We benefit from hearing others
because we learn we are not unique. Thissharing by others creates a bond between
us. In time, those who are too shy or upset
to speak find they will open up and reveal
the feelings which are troubling them.
Will anyone try to force me to speak? No
one should. All members at all meetings arefree to share or not to share, based on theirfeelings at the time. All of us have felt theneed to keep silent at one time or another,and we respect that in others. To makesure you have an opportunity to share, thegroup leader may invite you to do so. A
simple, “I pass,” is understood to mean you
prefer to participate in the meeting silently.
That’s fine.
Is there a group leader? Will they give meadvice? No one should give advice at ourmeetings. One member of the group isresponsible for leading the meeting. This
person is not a counselor or mentor anddoesn’t have any more authority than any
other member. Anyone in the group may
volunteer to be manage the meeting if theywish. It is best if this person changes
periodically.
Sometimes my out-of-control emotions
frighten me. At times, they seem totally
irrational. Will anyone criticize this? Our
EA concepts suggest that members neverjudge or criticize others. Everything you
have felt has probably been felt by someone
in the group, regardless of how irrational
you think it is. In fact, many of us havecome to treasure our EA meetings as a safe
harbor in which to reveal anything and findunderstanding. Another of our concepts
suggests that anything talked about in a
meeting is to stay there and not to berepeated to others who are not at themeeting.
Sharing one’s thoughts is fine, but what if I
feel I need one-on-one contact? Although
the meetings follow a pattern of sharing
without response or cross talk, members
can feel free to have conversations outside
the meetings with other members. Veryoften within the group you will find one ormore members who seem in harmony with