Hello! This is actually my first time posting but I thought I’d give it a shot!
I’m 22 and newly in recovery- 6 days sober and finally doing it for myself. I’ve gone to AA meetings on and off for about 3 months now but everyone is always older and 20+ years sober. I’ve always found this made it hard to relate to everyone else there.
Is anyone else struggling with this? Or is anyone else also young and in recovery?
Hi. I am not young, but I once was.
I was an active duty Marine for many years, who made a decision at age 22, to quit drinking. In addition to being a young Marine, I was also a father and a husband.
Except for one drunk before going off to war, I was sober from age 22 to 30.
Then came the collapse of my marriage, a service-related seperation from my child, and my self-identify getting flipped on its head. I decided to cope with alcohol.
A couple years passed, and I left the Marines. Transitioned to a new life, met and married a new wife. But I still drank. It took years to become a recognizable problem, but it was a problem.
I hit 50 and decided to quit. Had a month, then my mother passed. I dealt with it the old way. I drank, for 11 months. This was the worst drinking I ever did. Almost a year of being an emotional zombie.
I decided I’d had enough. I didn’t have as much time left to build a solid legacy as I used to. I had a lot to lose too. A loving wife. A relationship with an adult son and a pre-teen daughter. A solid reputation.
I am 11 months sober as of yesterday.
You are young. You may not think you have a lot in common with older recovering alcoholics, but you do. I made a decision to quit drinking at 22 too. The only difference is that I made the mistake of picking up the bottle 8 years later. You don’t have to. You can make the most of your youth, while you still have it. I wish I had.
I think it is wonderful that you are realizing so young that you need to get help. Do you have an AA meeting finder app on your phone? It will show all the meetings in your surrounding area. You can filter by the type of group. I’m betting there in a young people’s group not too far away. I’m not super young anymore, but I occasionally hit a young people’s meeting and some of the social events organized by the AA young people’s group near me. They are a blast, and those folks have a super tight community.
I have a pamphlet list of all the meetings in the surrounding towns within like 10-15 miles there’s 2 young peoples meetings a week- not many people show up to those meetings by me sadly. Maybe I should venture further out of town to meet more people.
This is refreshing. Even with the age difference it is nice to here you were able to do it even that long while having so many things on your plate.
Thank you
Hey there glad you’re here 
️ I’m 32 so not in my 20’s anymore lol but in a couple meetings I go to I’m the youngest by quite a lot. I used to feel a bit intimidated at times but what helped me was sharing in the meetings. I found them really reaching out to me after I had shared many want to connect but don’t know how and when you’re able to be vulnerable they’re able to connect and relate too. There’s a women’s meeting I go to specifically and it’s really neat I thought they all had many years of sobriety but come to find out many of them didn’t start their sober journeys until age 50 or 60. Some have less time than I do and have expressed how they wish they would have came to AA at a younger age- point being they are so happy you are there and desperately want you to come back.
You add value to them just as they add value to you. One of my favorite meetings is in this old dusty basement lol lots of long term sobriety and lots of young people too. The energy in that room is so cool because we all have a common ground somewhere and there’s so many different people, ages and lengths of sobriety. If you can relate to someone sharing I encourage you to reach out- after if you don’t feel comfortable sharing during the meeting, but I believe you will find it easier to relate and connect the more vulnerable you can be ️
What area are you from? I’m connected with Young people groups across the states and some in Europe. I can reach out to them and get you connected
I’m from manahawkin, New Jersey!
I’m 26 and understand your situation!
It’s easy for people to go “damn, I wish I got sober at that age”, and I get it…
But yeah, there’s an enormous social pressure to drink and party at this age - it’s our ‘best’ years, where we’re meant to go wild and get wrecked 
I suppose it’s about tuning that chatter out and listening to your gut - and seeing sobriety as an investment in your future x
Most of my friends got sober between 18-21 and now have between 2-10 years sober. It’s all about perception. They don’t feel any pressure to drink because they surround themselves with supportive friends, many of them being in recovery too.
Im 24 but first time when i got drunk i was 13 i think… im from slovakia and you know in this “slavic” countries there is not problem to find alcohol in young ages… so yes some young people are here too 
need to stop before we ruin our lives…