So, What really happens at an AA meeting?
Sober Awkward
Victoria Vanstone
4.8 • 533 Ratings
🗓️ 17 August 2025
⏱️ 45 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week on Sober Awkward, Vic is flying solo. Hamish is off cleaning up family related vomit, and Vic is croaky-voiced and a bit rattled after being told to keep her legs shut in the comments section of a UK Newspaper. Note to self… never read the comments.But onto more important things. In the lead up to National Recovery Month in September, we’re diving into all the different types of support out there for people who are questioning their drinking. Today we are digging into the big one. Alcoholics Anonymous.
Vic shares her own experience of attending an AA meeting, clears up a few common misconceptions, including what a “dry drunk” really means. She also chats with Sal, a long-time AA member who answers the questions you’ve always wanted to ask but maybe felt too awkward to.
What actually happens in those meetings? Do you have to call yourself an alcoholic? Is it all religion and guilt? And most importantly, is it the right path for you?
With honest questions from the Sober Awkward and Cuppa community and plenty of myth-busting along the way, this episode lifts the lid on the sometimes secretive, often misunderstood world of AA.
Whether you end up there or not, this is about curiosity, ditching shame and knowing that whatever path you take, you deserve support.
https://aa.org.au/contact-aa
https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/find-a-meeting/
🎧 Show Notes
For more information on Clean Slate just head to www.cleanslateclinic.com
💛 Resources & Links
https://aa.org.au/contact-aa
https://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/find-a-meeting/
📘 Victoria’s memoir – A Thousand Wasted Sundays
A brutally honest and hilarious look at motherhood, anxiety, and ditching the booze.
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🫖 Join The Cuppa Community
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🚨 Helplines & Support
🇦🇺 Australia
– Alcohol & Drug Foundation (ADF) – 1300 85 85 84
– Lifeline – 13 11 14 (24/7 crisis support)
– Hello Sunday Morning / Daybreak App – hellosundaymorning.org
🇬🇧 UK
– Drinkline (NHS) – 0300 123 1110
– Alcoholics Anonymous UK – www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | The cattle's boiled, Vic. |
| 0:03.7 | Great, perfect timing. Just a dash of milk for me, please, mate. |
| 0:09.5 | Here you go. Should we get started then? |
| 0:17.3 | Have you ever woken up on a Sunday morning and said, I'm never drinking again, |
| 0:21.4 | and then found yourself waving 50 bucks at a barman by happy hour? |
| 0:25.1 | Are you wondering why everyone else can stop at one, |
| 0:27.8 | while you head to a dodgy after-party with a weird bloke called Disco Dave? |
| 0:31.6 | If so, it might be time to take a deeper look at your relationship with your reliable social crutch, alcohol. |
| 0:38.1 | On each episode, we'll investigate our own dysfunctional dealings with booze |
| 0:42.1 | and find out if it's possible to stop this deeply ingrained habit |
| 0:45.4 | before things get too messy. |
| 0:47.5 | Yep, we're going to open up a shame shed of humiliating drinking stories |
| 0:51.1 | to help you understand why waking up from a booze coma each weekend with a |
| 0:54.9 | kebab sticking out of your top pocket might actually be negatively impacting your health. |
| 0:59.9 | Hamish and I are here to delve into what it's like being sober, an unwanted warts and all look |
| 1:05.3 | into why giving up those cheeky pints or putting down those mummy wines will make you feel happier, |
| 1:12.0 | help your anxiety in mental health and turn you into the most sparkly authentic version of you. |
| 1:16.5 | Won't that mean I become boring though, Vic? |
| 1:18.3 | Well, Hamish, we'll just have to wait and see. |
| 1:20.9 | I'm Victoria Vanstone. |
| 1:22.5 | I'm Hamish Adams Cairns. |
| 1:24.1 | And this is sober awkward. |
... |
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