12 Steps Explained

12 Steps Explained

So many times people will say “the 12 steps” but many times people don’t even know what those steps are.

Here are those twelve steps.

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.

Many people also ignore or do not respect the 12-Step Program traditions.

1. Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

2. For our group purpose there is but one ultimate authority — a loving God as He may express Himself in our group conscience. Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.

3. The only requirement for A.A. membership is a desire to stop drinking.

4. Each group should be autonomous except in matters affecting other groups or A.A. as a whole.

5. Each group has but one primary purpose to carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers.

6. An A.A. group ought never endorse, finance, or lend the A.A. name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.

7. Every A.A. group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.

8. Alcoholics Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.

9. A.A., as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.

10. Alcoholics Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the A.A. name ought never be drawn into public controversy.

11. Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, and films.

12. Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all our traditions, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.

Who needs Rehab?

Rehab is designed for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. In many cases, their lives are out of control because of their addictions and they need outside help. Many people will try to quit drugs numerous times before they are finally able to do so. It does not matter whether or not they try on their own or need to enter several rehabilitation programs. While this can be frustrating for the addict themselves and also for people who love and care for them, this is typically a part of the process of getting clean. Very few people are able to quit cold turkey the first time they attempt to do so.

There are many types of rehabilitation programs, designed to treat different addictions. People find them selves addicted to not only drugs but also all gambling, sex and even pornography. If a person finds themselves out of control or getting out of control, they may be interested in getting some type of intervention and rehab offers this.

Rehab facilities are organized differently. Some are residential where persons actually get to stay in the group home or building. Others are outpatient programs where individuals are allowed to visit the facility for meetings and/or counseling. Some rehab programs take the form of support groups, giving individuals the opportunity to talk about their addictions, their successes and their struggles.

Individuals who need rehab may not necessarily be at a point in their lives where they are out of control. They make just be concerned with some of their behaviors and want to stop themselves before they end up in trouble or addicted. In this sense, it is a preventative measure. It is much easier to nip a problem in the bud before it gets out of control, versus waiting until you feel overwhelmed.

Mostly, rehab is for people who need professional help and who have not been able to stop a certain behavior by themselves. They recognize that they need someone outside of the situation to help turn things around.

Persons who are in an environment that is not conducive to getting clean may also choose to go to rehab. This gives them an opportunity to focus on their sobriety and to get away from people or situations which make it easy or enticing to take drugs, drink alcohol or engage in behaviors that are unhealthy and that they would like to quit.