12 Steps Alcohol Anonymous

The 12 step program is an extremely popular and often effective route to seek support or treatment for any number of conditions. The Alcoholics Anonymous 12 steps is the first and most famous. But the 12-step program isn’t only for someone that is an alcoholic, but it is a longstanding, widely offered and used device for recovery. AA began in the 1930s, originating from two alcoholics (Bob and Bill) who realized that by helping each other stay sober, following some principles and a higher power (of your choice) would help many needing to heal from the demons of alcoholism.

The early 12 step program associated with Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was heavily focused on religion. If you read through a copy of the AA ‘big book’ (a clear reference to the Bible) you’ll see that it’s filled with religious wording and references to God, the Father. The religion associated with the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 steps was of course Christianity, and the model itself is loosely based on a Christian fellowship called the Oxford Group.

What Are The 12 Steps for Alcoholism?

1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - 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 God
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 God 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 God, praying only for knowledge of God’s 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 other addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs

The view of the twelve step program suggests a process, which includes, of course, taking nothing, following the twelve steps, and getting a sponsor.

Today there are 12 step programs to help people struggling from addictions of any kind you can imagine, eating disorders, depression, anxiety disorders, as well as many other mental illnesses and traumatic experiences. Tried and tested, the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 steps is a good place to start if you need help to recover from addiction.

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