12 Step Programs

A 12-step program could be the answer to your recovery.

12 Step alcohol abuse programs emphasize a series of 12-steps that will help an addict to remain abstinent and recover from alcohol addiction. There are a number of different 12 step programs offered for a range of addictions but for alcohol addiction the most common and most widely known 12-step program for recovery is Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was the group that first coined the 12-steps of recovery in 1939.

12 Steps of Recovery

Twelve Step programs use a series of guided principles that provide the foundation for recovery. The 12-step recovery process involves:

admitting to the inability to control addiction or a compulsion to drink
recognizing that a higher power is responsible for providing you with the strength necessary to overcome addiction
realizing the errors that we have made in the past and finding ways to fix these errors as well as prevent the same errors in the future
learning a new code to live by which includes the incorporation of the 12-steps into every facet of daily living
helping others to overcome addiction the same way a mentor helped you

The actual twelve steps of recovery as they are published by Alcoholics Anonymous have been adapted to meet the individual needs of those suffering from other addictions. Below is a list of the 12-steps that were originally defined by Alcoholics Anonymous for the recovery from alcohol addiction.

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.