How do celebrities go to AA meetings and not have their stories known publicly after?

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As I understand artists like Eminem and many others, who have been part of AA, they go to the meetings, and talk their story. Share their experiences and etc.

I understand many of them are already public but still I am sure they share some sensitive stories there.

Of course in AA everyone is a friendly family community, but how is it possible that people don’t gossip about stuff after? Especially having a celebrity on their meeting?

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32 Answers

Anonymous 0 Comments

A few things:

At first, most sensitive things are shared with one person or a small group of friends during private conversations. Celebrity or not, a sensitive issue usually carries guilt / shame along with it. People are hesitant to share these things with anyone let alone with a room full of people. It takes awhile before these feelings are overcome. Once the guilt / shame are overcome then, frankly, it doesn’t matter who knows about the past… because it’s the past.

The point of sharing a sensitive issue is for identification. It’s so others who have done something similar don’t feel alone (if they have shame / guilt about it) or so that others might take heart in the work it took to have the courage to share something sensitive with a room full of people they hardly know.

The point of “open sharing” isn’t to share war stories full of drinking / drug use. Sharing the personal experience of using is spoken about so that others can identify with where using took you. The balance of the story (hopefully the majority of it) is sharing where the strength to abstain comes from to provide hope to others.

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