No one is born to be an alcoholic though some may be born with genetic coding that may make it easier for them to become affected by this disease than others. While this much is true it is also true that no one wants to be an alcoholic either, as this debilitating disease can wreak havoc on the lives of not only the alcoholic but that of everyone around them. Out of such an illness Alcoholics Anonymous was born and AA medallions were created to help celebrate success. For a person who has become fully involved in the disease of alcoholism to finally hit bottom and either through their own volition or with the help of others decides to seek help in gaining control over this destructive disease is a major challenge. It means admitting to yourself that you are no longer in charge of your life and need the help and support of others to put an end to the misery that your drinking has caused. When you finally make this choice and are ready to stick by it you will start on the long road to recovery and start to earn AA medallions.

When you first begin each hour is a nightmare as your body cries out for the one thing that can make it stop hurting, the one thing that can make the shakes and the vomiting go away and for every hour that goes by the person is one hour closer to recovery. To AA each of these hours is cause for celebration as each of them is a victory over the evils of alcohol. To show the recovering addict their support and to let them know that they are on the right track they reward them with AA medallions. At first AA medallions are handed to the newly recovering alcoholic one for every day they maintain sobriety. As the days turn to months they are rewarded with different medallions signifying each month that they have managed to stay sober. Should they slip and fall off the wagon for even so much as one drink they will have to go back to the beginning and start all over with the daily medallions to work their way back up through the ranks of sobriety.

The months will become years and the AA medallions will reflect this as they become fancier and are used to denote each successive year or group of years of sobriety. No matter how long a person stays sober the chance of relapse will always be present, these medallions are a way of keeping that fact firmly fixed in their minds. For many of them they are a lifeline to sobriety and a reminder of the long and difficult road they have had to travel to get there. Every chapter of AA gives these to their members as they progress along the road to a life of sobriety and these AA medallions along with many other AA reward medallions can be found at Recovery Gifts to help celebrate the new life of the recovering alcoholic as they follow the path to a sober and happy life.