12-Step programs, such as AA or NA, use the 12 Steps as the crux of their program. Initiating the change of behaviors that are brought out during addiction is a good reason to use the Steps. Drug and alcohol use may end, but addicts and alcoholics may not understand the depths of their behavior until the layers of the addiction are pulled back with the help of the 12 Steps.
The biggest reason to work the Steps is to prevent relapse from occurring. Without putting some work into recovery, sobriety will become stagnant and will make an addict or alcoholic become more susceptible to getting back out there to do some unnecessary research, which will most likely cause even more wreckage from their addiction. 12-Step programs use the Steps as guidelines to stay sober.
- We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.
- Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
- Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character
- Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings
- Made a list of persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
- Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
- Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
- 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.
- 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.
Starting with Steps 1-3, an individual should own the fact that they are indeed an addict or an alcoholic and try to connect to a Higher Power to lead them into the other steps. Steps 4-9 gives someone trying to get sober an opportunity to do an extensive inventory of the things that made them drink in the first place while ridding themselves of all the negative effects of their addiction. Steps 10-12 are what members may refer to as the “maintenance steps” to keep their program current with what is going on with them on a daily basis.
With the Twelve Steps, a person can transform into the person they have always wanted to be. Understanding the recovery tools of the 12 Steps can be the solution that will keep an addict or an alcoholic sober.
Serenity Oaks Wellness Center uses 12-Step aspects along with holistic therapy to help addicts and alcoholics to maintain long-term sobriety. Our well-trained staff is here to provide recovery tools for clients to advise them with coping and life skills.
Call us today: 844-720-6847
