Key takeaway
P-87 shares stories by members who face mental health issues, and by their sponsors. You can sit with a diagnosis and keep it private. Do not stop a prescribed medicine because the room sounded sure. A meeting is peer support, not treatment. If you are in crisis, call or text 988. A desire to stop drinking is the door.
Last updated: Tue Oct 06 2026 00:00:00 GMT+0000 (Coordinated Universal Time)
You took a chair and spent the hour waiting to be found out. The diagnosis was in the room with you, even if you never said the word. Maybe you take a medicine you are afraid to mention. Maybe a sponsor, or a stranger, once made mental health sound like a separate problem that disqualifies you. You are tired, and you are sure the real alcoholics do not live in your kind of mind.
If this is a crisis, stop reading and call or text 988. If you are sick, confused, or cannot breathe, call 911. Do that before you try to decide whether you belong.
A.A. for Alcoholics with Mental Health Issues — and Their Sponsors, pamphlet P-87, is stories by members who face mental health issues, and by their sponsors. The stories stay in the pamphlet. Nothing here quotes them. You do not have to see your chart in those pages before you are allowed to want to stop drinking.
You can be both
The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. A diagnosis is not a second door you have to unlock. You are welcome regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, income, or profession. There are no dues or fees. You can sit and listen. Introducing yourself is not mandatory, which includes not introducing your diagnosis.
A sponsor, in this pamphlet and in the room, is another member. That person can tell you what they did about drinking. They are not a clinician because they have time for you. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment. A meeting is peer support. It is not treatment. It is not detox. It cannot adjust a dose, name a disorder, or replace the care you already have.
A.A. cannot predict who recovers, and it has no authority to decide how recovery should be sought. That sentence protects you on a night when someone sounds sure they know what you should do with your mind. They do not get that authority from a chair.
Do not stop the medicine to look like you belong
Do not stop a prescribed medicine because the room made you ashamed, or because you want your story to sound simpler. Nothing in showing up requires that. If a person tells you to dump a prescription, do not do it from the parking lot. The boundary is written on the page about A.A. and prescribed medication. Read it, and talk to the person who prescribed the medicine, before you change anything.
You can keep the medicine and still be in the meeting. You can also keep quiet about it. After the meeting, talk is optional. You need not join a prayer. If being looked at is the hard part, online meetings can be video off or a dial-in, and phone meetings exist. Closed meetings are for members, or for people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. Open meetings are for anyone interested. Choose the one that feels less like an exam.
The pamphlet is not a care plan
P-87 is shared experience. It is not a plan of care, and it is not homework you finish before you deserve help. Groups normally offer pamphlets free of charge. Take it if you want company in the feeling. Leave it if the title makes your stomach drop. You will not be tested on it.
aa.org is not a meeting finder. Local lists are, and there is a pointer for online meetings. The meetings search is a start. Those listings are not verified, so confirm the time. You can go and only listen, with the diagnosis unannounced.
If heavy drinking stops suddenly, NIAAA says withdrawal can be life-threatening. That risk sits next to whatever else your mind is doing. A pamphlet cannot watch it. Programs are listed at FindTreatment.gov. If you need help finding treatment, call (800) 653-9376, which is free to you because treatment providers pay for the referral, and the line is not an intergroup, and the line is not A.A., and it is not SMART Recovery. SAMHSA's National Helpline, 1-800-662-HELP (4357), is free, confidential, and available 24/7 in English and Spanish.
Tonight
If you are in crisis, call or text 988 again rather than white-knuckling a meeting. If you are steady enough to want a room, use the meetings search and confirm the listing. Go with the mental health still true, and with the medicine still in the bottle unless your prescriber says otherwise. You can listen. A desire to stop drinking is the line. The meeting is not your treatment, and it does not have to be, for you to stay.
Additional Resources
Sources cited on this page:
- A.A. World Services: 2025 Literature Catalog
- A.A.: The Twelve Traditions
- A.A.: Need help with a drinking problem?
- A.A.: What to Expect at an A.A. Meeting
- A.A.: Find A.A. near you
- A.A.: What does Conference-approved mean?
- NIDA: Treatment, including mutual-help groups
- NIAAA Core Resource: Alcohol Use Disorder, From Risk to Diagnosis to Recovery
- SAMHSA National Helpline
- SAMHSA FindTreatment.gov
- 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline
- SmarterRecovery meetings page (public meeting search; listings are not verified)
- SmarterRecovery about page (calling is free to the caller)
Common Questions
Can I go to A.A. if I also have a mental health issue?
Yes. P-87 is stories by members who face mental health issues, and by their sponsors. The stories stay in the pamphlet. You do not have to match them or explain a chart to earn a chair. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. You are welcome regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, income, or profession. You can sit and listen. Introducing yourself is not mandatory. There are no dues or fees. A diagnosis does not move the membership line.
Should I stop my medication to fit in?
No. Do not stop a prescribed medicine to look like you belong, or because a share sounded firm. A meeting is not your doctor, and the pamphlet is not permission to empty a bottle. Read the page on A.A. and prescribed medication, and talk to the prescriber, before you change anything. Sponsors in that literature are members, not a clinic. NIDA says mutual-help groups such as A.A. are peer-led, not led by healthcare professionals, and not a substitute for treatment.
What if I am in crisis during the meeting?
Leave and get crisis help. Call or text 988 if you are in a mental health crisis. Call 911 if you are sick, confused, or cannot breathe. A chair cannot hold a crisis for you, and neither can a sponsor. If heavy drinking stops suddenly, NIAAA says withdrawal can be life-threatening. Get care first. You can come back and only listen when you are safer. The meeting is not the treatment, and it does not have to be, for you to return.
Do I have to tell the group my diagnosis?
No. You can only listen. Introducing yourself is not mandatory, and a diagnosis is not part of membership. After the meeting, talk is optional. Open meetings allow anyone interested to attend. Closed meetings are for members, or for people with a drinking problem and a desire to stop drinking. Online meetings can be video off or a dial-in if being seen feels like too much. You can keep your clinical life private while you sit with the drinking.
Is the pamphlet a treatment plan?
No. It is stories from members and their sponsors, which means shared experience, not a care plan. A meeting is peer support, not detox and not therapy. A.A. cannot predict who recovers and has no authority to decide how recovery should be sought, so a person in a chair does not get to design your mental health care. Programs are listed on FindTreatment.gov. You can want to stop drinking and still need a clinician. Both kinds of help are allowed.