Our purpose
Many of us come to AHA because we recognize patterns of self-abandonment, over-responsibility, difficulty with boundaries, or organizing our lives around other people’s feelings and reactions. We meet to share experience, listen, reflect, and support one another as we learn to treat ourselves with more care.
The behavior is the problem, not the person. AHA is a place to practice shifting focus from outward to inward, and from guilt, shame, and self-denial toward self-love and self-compassion.
No labels required
No one is required to adopt a label to belong here. Some people find the language of codependency useful; others simply recognize patterns they want to change. Members are welcome to participate as much as, and in whatever ways, they wish.
AHA is nonreligious, not anti-religious. We do not ask people to accept religious belief, reject religious belief, or explain their background.
The AHA Moment
For many of us, the AHA Moment is realizing that we do not need permission to begin recovering in a way that works for us. We can learn from others, listen inward, and take responsibility for our own recovery without turning support into another form of control.
How we support each other
Our meetings are peer-led. We use shared experience, readings, reflection, and discussion to support recovery. Listening is participation. Sharing is optional. Support should not become advice-giving, fixing, rescuing, or control.
AHA is not therapy or professional treatment. It is a fellowship of people learning together and taking responsibility for our own recovery.
About the steps
AHA uses the practical steps to guide a process of self-exploration. Members are encouraged to consider how these principles may aid their own recovery.