A conference for young people in Alcoholics Anonymous aims to lift the stigma associated with youth addiction, writes BRIAN O'CONNELL
THE SECOND ANNUAL European Young People in Alcoholics Anonymous Conference, one of the largest European conventions for people in recovery from addiction, takes place this weekend in Citywest, Dublin.
The convention is aimed at young people and their families and the aim is to celebrate “sobriety and have fun”. Over the course of the weekend, events include workshops, talks, nightly entertainment, and a range of activities from yoga classes to outdoor pursuits.
The aim in effect is to make young people’s sobriety more public and understood, in a society where addiction, particularly at a young age, often carries with it a certain social shame and secrecy.
Event manager Niamh Elliot says the aim is to highlight that “it is possible for young people over a weekend to celebrate recovery from addiction with friends and family.” More than 1,000 young people are expected to attend the conference, with some travelling from the US, Japan, and across Europe.
“It is very significant,” says Elliot, “because this will be the biggest conference of its type ever in this country. We have a completely different culture when it comes to addiction recovery. In other countries, recovery is something to be really proud of.
“The feeling in Ireland is that people would be very open in their drinking and socialising but once in recovery they tend to hide it. There is still huge stigma in Ireland about being a recovering addict and it is very stereotyped.”
Elliot, who is a recovering alcoholic for the past eight years, says she got involved in organising the conference following her experience dealing with young addicts in Ireland.
“It is a very lonely business going in to recovery if you are young and all your friends are out partying. A lot of the scene in Ireland revolves around pubs and young people often say there is not much else to do really. So maintaining sobriety can be quite difficult.”
Some of those participating include Funky Seomra, an alcohol- and drug-free monthly nightclub, which will put on one of their club nights over the weekend. As an aside, Temple Bar, often associated with the wrong kind of socialising, recently hosted a sober nightclub called Dancewave in the Open Minds yoga centre, so there are signs that socialising and sobriety may not be as mutually exclusive.
One of those attending the conference is Lawrence, a 23-year-old alcoholic who has been sober the past two years. “The reason I’m attending is because this is the second time this event has been tried and I am very enthusiastic about young people in recovery.
“I’ve been recovering from alcohol addiction myself since I was 18, and sober for the past two years. Anything like this that can make sober persons more public is good. As a young person the problem I found at my age was to accept that I could be an alcoholic. The question I asked was how could I be an alcoholic aged 18? I had this stigma in my head of what an alcoholic should be. But I came to believe that it is nothing got to do with the amount you drink, it’s my behaviour with or without alcohol that counts.”
Lawrence believes it is important that young Irish people attempting to battle addiction have events such as this at which to gather and share stories and experience.
“I think it is a necessity that we have at least one of these events a year, focused solely on young people. My experience is when I came into Alcoholics Anonymous, I heard people talk about 25 years drinking, the broken marriages, the car crashes, and there were no young people to say we think the same as you. That is why this is so important.”
It’s all part of an effort to lift social stigma around addiction, says Lawrence, who points out that the onset of online social media has made it easier for people like himself in recovery from addiction to connect and develop social networks.
“My best friend is sober a year and a half. He is 25. Facebook is brilliant now because the stigma is beginning to be lifted in that you can be an alcoholic at a very young age and it is okay. I attend the sober nightclubs and I found them very good.
“The social thing with me in the beginning was very tough. When you are drinking and then sober, it is like going from a photograph to its negative. Hopefully with more events like this, we can continue to change people’s perceptions.”
For more details on the event see eurypaa2011.com. It runs Friday, August 12th from 3pm-2am; Saturday, August 13th from 8am-2am and Sunday, August 14th from 8am-2pm. Those attending can pre-register online for €25 or pay €35 at the door.
