Since 1939, the 12 steps have served as a guide for individuals wanting to overcome their addictions. Alcoholics Anonymous founders Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith developed the 12 steps as they summarized key principles in their recovery experience. The 12 steps have also been adapted to help groups dealing with narcotic addiction, emotional disorders and other issues. Each organization tweaks the 12 steps slightly in order to emphasize a particular substance or affliction, usually with the approval of Alcoholics Anonymous.
Step 1
We admitted we were powerless over alcohol---that our lives had become unmanageable.
Reluctance to admit powerlessness is a symptom that you must overcome before you can progress in your recovery, according to William Springborn, former director of Hanley-Hazelden, West Palm Beach, Florida. Admitting powerlessness requires an honest look at your life, and it becomes an important step toward freedom from addiction.
Step 2
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
The insanity this step suggests can take many forms including denial, minimizing or a distorted self-image. A source of Power outside yourself is available to help you return to the sanity of sober living.
Step 3
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
Learning to have faith is a challenge. It involves giving up the position of ultimate authority and recognizing your need for a Higher Power.
Step 4
Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
Dig deeply, face reality with courage and examine the implications of your behavior. The goal is to know and to come to accept yourself, according to the Hazelden Foundation, which can then lead to a path of change and growth.
Step 5
Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
By verbally acknowledging your failures and wrongs, those past deeds no longer have control over you, according to Norte Dame theologian Edward Sellner. He recommends you confess to a mature, wise person who is able to keep things in confidence and who is familiar with the 12 steps.
Step 6
Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
Set aside some time for quiet contemplation and make yourself completely ready to let your Higher Power work. Then proceed to the next step, which is closely related.
Step 7
Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
This is simply a matter of asking with sincerity.
Step 8
Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
Take an inventory of people in your past, and write down names of the ones you have hurt in some way. The length of the list is not as important as being as honest as you can at the time you are making the list, according to one chemical dependency counselor.
Step 9
Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
Paying others back directly calls for courage, humility and honesty. It leads to a freedom that you can't get by making amends anonymously.
Step 10
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
You need to take inventory even when things are going well. It is what one individual in recovery has called a daily revisit of Steps 4 through 9. Examine your actions as well as your thoughts, motives and words.
Step 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.
Rely on your Higher Power to maintain the faith and persistence needed to enjoy a new way of life.
Step 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.
Offer hope to those struggling with addiction by sharing your story. In doing so, you will encourage others as well as yourself.
References
- "The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous Interpreted by the Hazelden Foundation"; Hazelden Foundation; 1993
- 12 Step.org: The 12 Steps
- 12 Step.com: 12 Step History
- 12 Step.com: 12 Steps
