Alcoholics Anonymous is a voluntary organization that was conceived back in 1935 to help practicing alcoholics to find sobriety. It was the brainchild of Mr. Bill Wilson, a onetime financier who’s career in Finance was shattered by alcoholism.

Whilst attending a hospital, suffering from the effects of acute alcohol poisoning, Bill Wilson underwent what he called a spiritual experience, and in his new found acceptance and belief in God, was able to cure himself.

Once leaving the hospital, he worked together with Dr. Bob Smith, and they performed their cooperative job to help and heal alcoholics. The project was very successful and in 1939, Bill Wilson created a book called Alcoholics Anonymous that started the organization we know today.

At the moment there are more than 106,000 Alcoholics Anonymous meeting groups and the organization has spread around the world. The requirements for joining Alcoholics Anonymous are that only have to be an alcoholic who wants to stop. There is no payment or fee thus the foundation receives its funding from private donations.

The concept of treating alcoholism like a disease was the brainchild of Dr William Silkworth who was the physician who treated Bob Wilson in the New York hospital where here underwent his spiritual experience that put him on the path to creating Alcoholics Anonymous.

As alcoholic anonymous grew during the late 1930s and early 1940s, it became more structured and the 12 basic principles were developed that are still the backbone of the organization today. The original 12 principles were:

• Admitting alcoholism ruled their lives
• Believing God could cure alcoholism
• Putting themselves in hands of God
• Honest self-evaluation
• Self-confession of wrongs performed
• Preparedness for God to remove bad characteristics
• Asking that God get rid of these bad characteristics
• Making list people they had harmed as well as committing to restore wrongs done
• In fact, making any possible change
• Continuous self-evaluation and admittance of any ongoing imperfections
• Vowing to try to understand God and his plans for recovering alcoholics
• Committing to assist other practicing alcoholics

Alcoholics Anonymous had a basic foundation in the belief of God, it appears from the original mission statements or principles, but the companionship has increased over the passage of several years, the principles have to be more and more general so as not to estrange or make themselves indefensible to alcoholics that badly need and want assistance, but saw religion as an obstacle to obtaining the assistance.