12 Step

12 Step

Why should I go to a support group meeting?

Many people are afraid to go to a meeting. Moreover, many people are afraid even to talk about going to a meeting.

Perhaps it is the shame attached to being an addict, or being a family member. Perhaps a person is just shy and finds the idea of going to a group overwhelming. Perhaps a person firmly believes he/she can overcome any problem on his/her own and does not need or desire the company of others. There are hundreds of reasons why you can’t or don’t want to go to a meeting.

Since Alcoholics Anonymous developed the 12-Step Recovery in the late 1930’s, over 250 self-help groups have used this approach, and part of that approach requires contact with other people. Why do all these groups meet? Put the 12-Step aside for a moment. Why would you go to a group of people you don’t know to share your inner most secrets or fears?

The value of other people

This may sound silly, but it could be for the same reason this writer is a member of the Wisconsin Umpires Association. I go for training. I go for access to those who schedule games. I go because everybody in the room is an umpire. Some do NCAA games, or even professional. Some do local recreational league games, or what I like to call “ankle biters.” There is commonality and we all understand each other. We share “horror” stories, we laugh, we complain a lot about coaches and players, but we’re all on the same page because we are a fraternity.

Alcoholism 12-Step -- What is it like?

Imagine yourself in the kitchen to make a piece of toast. You have everything you need. But when you push down the lever to lower the bread into the toaster, nothing happens. You have done every correctly, so you double check -- bread, butter, jam, knife, plate – and you see that everything is in place. But there is one item missing. You have no power to make the toaster work. After a brief “ah ha” moment you plug the toaster in and shortly thereafter enjoy your toast.

The 12-Step process is similar to making toast in one respect, you have to plug into a power source, and when you do, everything can start to work. We believe that people are not meant to be alone, to handle the everyday challenges of life. It follows that people are certainly not meant to be alone during the very hard times. Whatever the power source, it is vital to the process.

Please consider using the Alcoholism 12-Step program

There are an abundance of web sites and books written about the alcohol programs, and we’ll share a few of them with you to give you a broader base of understanding and point you to a few excellence resources. The 12-Step program is steeped in tradition and firmly supported by spiritual truth, give us all a model of humanity that points us to a better life, a stronger relationship with our neighbors, and an eternal loving relationship with the one who made us.

As you look through this program, think of them as a process. Like a path you walk on to go from A to Z, only you must take all of the steps and go through each in order, otherwise the path does not lead to your final destination. You go at your own pace and move forward as you see fit.

Along the way, please remember that these steps were written by people just like you, who needed help and had the courage to accept the help. Regardless of your Alcoholism, 12-Step offers improvement for the human condition. Enjoy your reading. Maybe you like Rev. Buchman and Bill Wilson will go through a spiritual experience of your own. If you do, please share it with us.

The 12-Step Program

Please review each step and try to either begin following them yourself or enroll in a local program. Let’s take a look at the steps. You will see quickly that the process includes others and that we are not meant to go through this alone.

Step One:

We admitted that we were powerless over alcohol--that our lives had become unmanageable.

Step Two:

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

Step Three:

Make a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understand Him.

Step Four:

Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Step Five:

Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Step Six:

Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Step Seven:

Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Step Eight:

Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

Step Nine:

Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Step Ten:

Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

Step Eleven:

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.

Step Twelve:

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 our affairs.

Alcoholism 12-Step History

To appreciate the roots of the Alcoholism 12-Step program we need to spend a moment to look into the personal history of Alcoholics Anonymous founder Bill Wilson. Click here for History of the Alcoholism 12-step program

Try it you’ll like it

If a person can overcome his/her reluctance to attend a support group meeting, the chances are very high that he/she will receive a warm welcome, understanding and compassion. Maybe you’re not a “group person” and would rather listen and not talk. It’s OK.

Maybe you’d be more comfortable observing and gathering information. That’s OK too. You’re probably afraid that somebody is not going to approve of what you say, or criticize you for something. Maybe you’re afraid of being rejected, or laughed at. If you’re an addict, or the spouse of an addict, believe me, nobody in the room is looking to put you down because they are just like you.

What you get

I facilitate spirituality groups for recovering addicts. Over the years I have seen how they interact with each other, how there is a bond between them. They are on the same path and share so many life experiences. The meetings that are the most meaningful, at least for me, are the ones when the group members engage each other and offer support and understanding. That’s what you get and that’s why you should go.

For more 12 Step go to books

12 Step 12 Step 12 Step 12 Step 12 Step 12 Step

HOW TO USE THIS SITE:

This site contains five MAIN pages that EVERYONE should read:

ABOUT…

SYMPTOMS…

CAUSES…

TREATMENT…

RECOVERY…

Read these five pages and learn what you need to know to spot Alcoholic in:

Yourself... Your Family... Your Friends... Your Community...

The rest of the pages are there for your reference to explain important topics in more detail.

Finally does not miss the Spiritual and 12-step sections to fully explore how understanding THE SPIRIT can lead to recovery!

You Can Be ADDICTION FREE FOREVER!