The Twelve Steps, created by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), is a spiritual foundation for individuals to recover from the effects of alcoholism, both for the person who consumes alcohol and for their friends and family in Al-Anon family groups. The 12 Steps are a set of principles developed to assist people struggling with addiction to alter their beliefs. Together, they act as a framework for long-term recovery. In addition, 12-step communities of all kinds provide the support and accountability that many recovering addicts need.
The purpose is to recover from compulsive and out-of-control behaviors and restore order and manageability in your life. It's a way of understanding that your behavior is just a symptom, a kind of engine control light to find out what's really going on under the hood. The Twelve Steps are outlined in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. They can be found at the beginning of the chapter “How it works.” The essays on the steps can be read in the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions.
Don't feel like you're ready to quit AA just because you've gone through the 12 steps of AA once. The 12-step movement can be a powerful and useful force for many people, but some people struggle with what they interpret as a strong religious element of the program. The 12-step program, first developed and used by Alcoholics Anonymous, is a 12-step plan for overcoming addictions and compulsions. In addition to knowing rehabilitation centers, it may be beneficial to understand what these steps are so that you can support them. The definition of recovery support varies for each person: it could be someone to help you continue your 12-step education, teach you more about each specific step, or even a partner to introduce you to others in recovery.
Generally speaking, the focus of working on the 12 steps of any 12-step program should not be on how quickly you complete them once, but rather on how thoroughly you are doing your work in steps and how you use them to make a positive impact on your daily life. Because you have no control over your life, you must accept that you need God to step in and help you stay sober. Today, Alcoholics Anonymous's original 12 steps have helped countless men and women make sobriety sustainable around the world. Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) originated the idea of the 12-step model in 1938, when founder Bill Wilson wrote down the ideas that had been developed through his experience and vision of alcoholism. Not only does the terminology of Twelve Step recovery from addiction look a bit like a foreign language (at least at first), but many aspects of the program itself are widely misinterpreted or misunderstood. You will find yourself repeating the 12 steps of aa over and over again as a means of safeguarding your sobriety.
Before analyzing the effectiveness of 12-step programs, it's important to remember that effectiveness is relative, which means that the effectiveness of something depends on your goals. Many different addiction support groups use these 12 steps, even those that address things like shopping or overeating. Twelve Step recovery programs combine measures of responsibility, inspiration, education and connection to help participants change their internal dialogue. By understanding these principles and applying them to their lives, individuals can gain insight into their own behavior and learn how to make positive changes.
