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1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our
wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to
them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would
injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as
we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry
that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this
message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
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SteveThe Alcoholics Anonymous model of 12 steps
is one of the oldest treatment programs available and is widely regarded as the gold standard for recovery from virtually any form of addiction. They were formed by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous to provide instructions for overcoming alcohol addiction. In its early years, the program was successful enough that other addiction support organizations adapted the stages to their own requirements.
Because recovery is a lifetime journey, there is no right or wrong way to approach the 12 Steps as the person seeks to discover out what works best for them. In fact, most participants discover that as their recovery progresses, they will need to revisit several steps or perhaps handle multiple steps at a time. The first, second, and third steps are considered the cornerstone of a 12-Step program and should be practiced on a daily basis.
The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are as follows:
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings
Made a list of persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
The twelve steps are:
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become
unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to
sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we
understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature
of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make
amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do
so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with
God, as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us
and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to
carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our
affairs.
1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol - that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
Reprinted from the book Alcoholics Anonymous (The Big Book)
with permission of A.A. World Services, Inc.
The Twelve-step Program, or just 12 Step Program, is a set of guiding principles meant to help people recover from addiction or substance abuse. Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, were the ones who coined the phrase and first made use of the program. In their program, as with most of the copies, the steps have some religious or spiritual influence. In the case of the AA program, it is christian in spirit. Three of the steps found there are admitting one has a problem, realizing a higher power can help, and that one's actions can be harmful to others.
The "12 Steps" of the programs "AA (Alcoholic's Anonymous, where the 12 Steps originated from) or "NA" Narcotic's Anonymous, started because it was felt, at the time, that another program was needed for those who abused a different substance than alcohol, until it became clear that Alcohol IS a drug) for recovery are the best known treatment for persons simply desiring to become sober (or, as in NA, "clean")
The different fellowships are all based on the 12 Steps, and are , for the most part, inter-changeable, except that the substances or behaviors the person is trying to recover from are specific to that group. (GA, Gambler's Anonymous, OA, Overeater's Anonymous, etc)
The 12 Steps are simply a guide, rather than an absolute and required way to a better life, and include the issue of identifying the defects of character a person wishes to change, and getting support and figuring out ways to do this, as well as identifying people who were harmed by their active addiction, and becoming willing to make amends, if possible, to those harmed.
Doing all of these steps is not easy, and therefore a "sponsor" is always highly encouraged. This is a person who has done the 12 steps with a good result, and is recovering from the behavior or substance that they were actively abusing. The sponsor puts forth challenges and gives much needed support to the "sponsee" to have a better chance of success in the program.
There is also a general guideline within the 12 Steps regarding finding a "Higher Power", and this does not have to include "God". The 12 Step programs have people from all religious back rounds, including agnostics and atheists.
Any of the 12 step fellowships take NO position on religion at all. This is typical of ALL the guidelines- including the anonymity of the 12 step fellowships. There is no profit or corporation involved, so the fellowship meetings run simply on donations put forth a each meeting. One does NOT have to pay to attend ANY of these meetings.
There are also "12 traditions" that go hand in hand with the "12 Steps", but those are mostly involving "service" to the financial and structural existence of the fellowship, and the new member need not concern themselves with the "12 traditions". until they are on solid recovery ground and can perhaps assist with the maintenance of the fellowship and it's governance.
The suggestion is to find "something bigger than yourself", and begin to have a conscious contact with that being, so that one can get guidance making decisions, and feel that there IS something larger than themselves and their ego "out there".
Some 12 Steppers use the memory of a deceased loved one, for example.
At the last (12th step)- the guidelines suggest that a successful recovery based on the 12 steps should be shared by the person in the program, carrying the "12 step" message to those people who are not aware of it's existence, lending support to them as they received support when they first joined the particular 12 step fellowship, and began learning the steps.
The 12 Steps have been around for over 60 years, and have helped millions of people around the world recovery from the ravages of addiction to behaviors and substances.
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