Life after Rehab: Al-Anon Meetings in Fort Myers

Find Al-Anon Meetings in Fort Myers

Completing a comprehensive rehab treatment program is a significant achievement. Yet, it’s important to remember that problem-drinking behaviors don’t just affect the drinker. They also impact the people around them, including family and friends. WhiteSands’ highly-rated Fort Myers rehab center is dedicated to providing helpful resources like this list of Al-Anon meetings in Fort Myers Fl.

When it’s time to return to life after rehab, you’ll have access to a range of recovery tools, resources, and support networks to help keep you motivated to stay sober. These include information about various AA group meetings in Fort Myers near home for the recovering person to attend.

You’ll also learn about associated group meetings, such as Al-Anon, that focus on providing support and education for friends and family members of people in recovery.

Throughout your rehab treatment program, the recovering person would have engaged in various counseling sessions in private, one-on-one settings with an addiction treatment counselor. They would also have begun attending group support meetings. While group meetings such as AA can be beneficial for the person in recovery, it’s also important to remember that family members also need support.

Al-Anon is a specific organization designed to provide support and guidance for friends, family members, and loved ones who may have been affected by the problem drinking behaviors of someone they know.

The people who lead Al-Anon groups recognize that family members can also suffer due to a loved one’s drinking behaviors. They also acknowledge that those family members also deserve to receive the support and guidance they need to assist someone else throughout the recovery process.

At first, some people feel a bit skeptical about group meetings such as Al-Anon. Yet, it only takes a couple of sessions before most people begin to realize that they aren’t alone in their challenges. In fact, they’ll have the chance to meet other concerned family members who are all trying to find positive ways to help and support a person they know who may be on their journey to recovery.

Regularly attending Al-Anon meetings helps family members understand how addiction can take hold in someone they love. Those family members may also begin to realize that others face their own challenges as they struggle to help people they know in their recovery.

Some people who come to Al-Anon meetings somehow feel that they might be to blame for their loved one’s alcohol addiction problems. They might feel as though something they’ve done might have caused their drinking problems.

In reality, addiction is an insidious disease that not only affects the person with a drinking problem. It has an equally devastating effect on the people around them too.

When family members and loved ones attend Al-Anon meetings, they often begin to realize they aren’t to blame for their loved one’s addiction issues. They can also learn about some of the things they can do to provide the proper support for the recovering person.

Al-Anon Meetings in Fort Myers

There are plenty of separate Al-Anon meetings available in Fort Myers dedicated to helping family members and friends find the support they need. Meetings are open to anyone who feels like they need some support and assistance while trying to cope with a loved one recovering from alcohol addiction.

You can remain completely anonymous while at Al-Anon meetings. Of course, you are also required to respect the anonymity of any other members who may attend the same sessions.

Everyone at an Al-Anon meeting agrees that stories or shared experiences are confidential and remain between those present at the meeting on that day. Those stories won’t be shared outside, so you can have confidence you can discuss your issues, concerns, or problems safely.

Family Al-Anon meetings can also help to mend relationships that may have been damaged during the affected person’s addictive cycle. As that person recovers, it’s common for many family members and other friends to feel as though their own needs have been ignored.

That’s where the ongoing support from Al-Anon comes in. You’ll have the opportunity to meet others who are struggling to define their roles in a loved one’s recovery process. Those people may also be learning to recognize various ways to maintain their favorable positions in a recovering person’s life, helping you develop your own coping mechanisms.

Besides, having access to a support system from people who are outside of the immediate family drama can have a positive effect overall. After all, those people are more subjective and can see things from a different perspective than you may have considered before attending the meeting.

Al-Anon meetings for family members of people in recovery are available all across Fort Myers, so you should find it easy to find one conveniently near home. While many Al-Anon meetings are held at churches or other religious centers, they are not a religious program.  

Local Al-Anon groups in Fort Myers pay a fee to rent space in the center, but they aren’t affiliated with the religious group where you might be meeting. It’s also important to remember that each meeting is separate. Leaders at each meeting group run their organization as their members choose. If you don’t find a comfortable fit at your first meeting, you’re encouraged to attend some others in the nearby area until you find one that best suits your needs.

Here are a few organizations hosting Al-Anon meetings in Fort Myers:

Riverside Church Al-Anon Meeting

For more than 100 years, Riverside Church has provided a welcoming environment for Fort Myers residents to come together and celebrate their faith. The church also offers various inspirational, supportive Al-Anon group meetings throughout the week. If you feel as though you want to continue with one-on-one counseling sessions after leaving rehab, Riverside Church also has several licensed counselors available who all specialize in integrating your ongoing counseling needs with theology to help you heal mind, body, and soul.

8660 Daniels Pkwy, Fort Myers, FL

Grace United Methodist Church, Shores Campus

Grace Church recovery ministries focus on providing a safe, supportive environment that is conducive to your healthy recovery. The church invites you to attend their regular Al-Anon meetings, most of which are led by people who themselves have made successful recoveries from compulsive behaviors such as addiction.

14036 Matanzas Drive, Fort Myers, FL

YANA Club

The YANA Club is a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing residents of Fort Myers with a safe, supportive environment to meet and connect with others in recovery. With more than 45 distinct groups held each week at various hours of the day and night, you’re sure to find a group meeting to suit your needs when you need support the most.

1185 Lake McGregor Dr, Fort Myers, FL

If you find that any of the local Al-Anon meetings aren’t open at the times you feel you really need support, or if you aren’t sure whether you’ll fit in right away, there are lots of alternatives available.

Online and virtual al-anon meetings are often available throughout the week, as well as after hours and over weekends, allowing you to access the support networks you need at the times you need them most. Some groups may also offer telephone meetings and even private social media groups.

You can also reach out to your sponsor for additional one-on-one support and guidance through difficult times in a more private setting. There’s always support available on every level you might need. The key is to ask questions and discover which options are available to you near your home in Fort Myers at times that suit your needs.

Benefits of Al-Anon for Families of Alcoholics

Most people assume that only the person with a drinking problem needs to attend Al-Anon meetings. However, it’s commonly underestimated how affected family members and loved ones can be by problem drinking behaviors.

Al-Anon groups recognize and understand how loved ones can be affected by addiction. Relationships can be damaged or strained. Some family members also feel that the recovering person is given all the support they need, while they may feel abandoned to their own devices.

When family members attend Al-Anon meetings, they have the opportunity to learn that they deserve support throughout their loved one’s recovery process too. Family members and loved ones also begin learning more about the supporting roles they can play in the healthy recovery process.

When family members can learn more about the nature of addiction and the recovery process, they are in a stronger position to understand the challenges involved. They can also begin developing new strategies and mechanisms that help them remain supportive during their loved one’s recovery.

Aside from receiving support from others at meetings, family members can also share their stories and experiences. Others in the sessions may find that shared experiences help them gain confidence that they’re not alone in their struggles.

If you’re ready to take a proactive role in your loved one’s recovery from alcohol addiction, why not reach out to WhiteSands Alcohol and Drug Rehab and find a local Al-Anon meeting in your area?

If you or a loved one needs help with abuse and/or treatment, please call the WhiteSands Treatment at (877) 855-3470. Our addiction specialists can assess your recovery needs and help you get the addiction treatment that provides the best chance for your long-term recovery.

About the Author

Jackie has been involved in the substance abuse and addiction treatment sector for over five years and this is something that she is truly eager about. She has a passion for writing and continuously works to create informative pieces that not only educate and inform the public about the disease of addiction but also provide solutions for those who struggle with drug and alcohol abuse.