Originally developed by AA groups, short for Alcoholics Anonymous Group, these 12 steps of recovery programs work as a spiritual foundation that guides a person out of their addiction or alcoholism. Time has come a long way since it was first introduced and now it is more than just a way to overcome addiction. It has now become a guide that pushes you towards a new way of life. With that said, let’s take a look at the 12-step program in brief.
The 12 Steps of Recovery Programs
Here are the 12 steps of a recovery program that have helped countless people over the years on their path to recovery.
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Honesty
“I’m not an addict,” “I wasn’t before and I’m not now,” “I don’t need help.” You are not the only person who feels this way at the beginning. It’s hard to accept that you are addicted and that’s accepting it means accepting the fact that you are not in control and that you do need help, but it’s okay. It’s okay to ask for help and it’s okay to not be in control. No one is in control of their lives for every second, minute, and hour of their lives. No one can be in control all the time and that’s because the world is unpredictable and we all make a mistake now and then. Only after you accept the fact that you are vulnerable and that you need help, the program can begin to help you.
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Surrender
You have to surrender yourself to the program to allow it to heal you. A lot of people tend to have this attitude that this program is trash, or that it doesn’t work, or that it won’t make you a better person and it won’t, not with that attitude. For the program to work, you have to surrender yourself to it and believe in it, which brings us to the point of faith.
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Faith
Your belief and faith in the program are the only way this program can ever work. When you put your faith in the program of addiction treatment and truly believe that this could work, you will begin to see that it can work.
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Soul Searching
Now that you have surrendered to the program and it’s working great, it’s time you start working on identifying the root cause of your alcoholism or addiction. More often than not, the root cause behind drinking habits turns out some trauma anxiety or depression that was nagging at them. Instead of dealing with these issues, people turn to alcohol or drugs to numb these feelings and ignore them. But with this step, you are going to have to deal with all these issues. Only when these are truly resolved, your need for alcohol and drugs will be over too.
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Integrity
Integrity is the key to moving forward. It’s to look at someone else and point out their fault, but it’s incredibly hard to accept that you may also have similar faults or the fact that you might be in the wrong as well.
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Acceptance
When you find your faults, you have to accept them as they are. No excuses such as “I did it because..,” or “I had to because..” are going to work. You have to accept your faults no matter how bad or embarrassing it is. Just remember no one will judge you there as it’s a safe place.
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Humility
In this step, a person has to ask someone else to do something that they cannot do by themself.
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Willingness
In this step, you are asked to make a list of every bad mean, or harmful things that you may have said or done to someone before you began your recovery program.
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Forgiveness
The above list is not going to be small. The list will have several names unless you are still hiding something which is not going to work. For the program to work, you have to be truthful to others as well as yourself and once the list is ready, you are going to have to make amends for everything you did or said to every person on the list.
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Maintenance
Nobody likes to agree that they did something wrong but once you do, true spiritual work can begin and heal you from the inside.
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Making Contact
The 11th step is realizing that your life is not just yours but a part of a higher power that your life has a meaning and that you have to work hard to find the meaning of your life and achieve what you were meant to.
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Service
You have learned everything you need and have been provided with all the tools that you need. The last step is all about using the rules and principles that you found in the program in real life.
How Do These 12 Steps Work?
The 12 steps in the recovery program work when you work for it. Having the wrong attitude or without faith, the program will not work. For the program to work, you have to believe in the program, submit to it, and do what it tells you to. You have to do everything truthfully without hiding anything from yourself or others around you. When you begin to share, you will realize that others in the recovery program also have similar stories and this will give you the courage to continue with the program. Almost all substance abuse treatment facilities have this 12-step recovery program.
Wrapping Up
The path to recovery is hard and one needs great courage to follow this path. The 12 steps of recovery programs merely serve as the guide that helps to stay on the path until you fully recover. You can just make a call to our recovery helpline number at +1 844-570-1301.
