Attending meetings helps with feelings of loneliness and isolation. They understand us because many of them have gone through similar experiences and feelings. Meetings are the best way to share our experience, strength, and hope. We also hear and share a little of what our lives were like before recovery. In part so the newcomer may relate better to us, but also so we don't lose sight of the difficulties and pain that chemical dependency once caused in our lives.
Meetings are a source of believable hope.
We can hear how other recovering people stay clean and sober and how they deal with difficult issues in recovery. Meetings give us a safe place to voice our concerns and feelings about recovery. We can ask and listen for advice on how other people have endured their cravings without drinking or using again. We can constructively fill those voids of time that we once spent with our drinking and drugging friends. Meeting are the best place to develop a supportive network of recovering friends.