A Member Shares On...
MAKING PROGRAM CALLS
I found a Sponsor right away, and it was easy to call or text her or to make arrangements to meet her somewhere and talk. She suggested I build a support system of Al-Anon friends I could call so I wasn’t relying solely on her. She explained that this is a “We” program and there were others who had more experience, different perspectives, and their own unique approach to using the Al-Anon tools.
Someone in a beginners’ meeting also suggested that I practice making program calls. She would go down the list of names and numbers she’d collected at meetings, pick up that “thousand-pound phone,” and announce to the person who answered the call that she was just practicing. This made it easier, she explained, when she was sad or upset and had to make a “real” program call.
My first program call was to someone who was very patient with me. After I poured out my concern and frustration, she asked: “Is there anything you absolutely need to do about this in the next 24 hours?” I was surprised that my answer was no, and she suggested I not even think about it for a whole day. If my troubling thoughts returned after that, I could call her again; otherwise, it might be a message from my Higher Power that “fixing” this was not my responsibility. That was the first time I heard the phrase Pause for Poise — and it worked!