12 Steps to Recovery

The Twelve Step approach to addiction recovery is an ingenious solution to a problem that has afflicted human kind for centuries through faith in and devotion to a religiously neutral higher power. Developed in the nineteen thirties by Alcoholics Anonymous, the program guides addicts through twelve progressive steps in order to "admit powerlessness" over addictions, develop a faith in a higher power, examine one's inner self and past, amend wrongs to others, and emerge into society to live a life independent of alcohol or other stimulants. [1]

After the first eleven steps of the program, the addict is called to have a spiritual awakening and share the program with others who are addicted. [2] The program, which creates a strong atmosphere of symbiotic interdependence among members, relies heavily on the involvement of sponsors in the lives of recovering addicts. These sponsors are addicts who have a good deal of sobriety already past them and are now carrying out the twelfth and final step of the program. This creates personal bonds and relationships within the program that support those who are going through a "tough day" and "help keep [them] away from alcohol when [they] think [they] need it the most."[3]

Alcoholics Anonymous and other similar organizations can attribute a great deal of their success to the emphasis on developing a relationship with a nonpartisan higher being. As many addicts are initially "angry with God", a requirement of institutionalized religion might be highly ineffective, but the necessity of spirituality and belief in something higher than one's self is something that many can attest to. [4] This encompassing belief in a higher power serves not only to avoid the creation of uncomfortable situations and unthinkable steps for the recovering addict, but also to reach the twelve step method to all who want to recover.

[1] Alcoholics Anonymous. The Big Book Online. (2001; 4^th Edition). "Preface" and "Chapter 5: How it Works". http://www.aa.org/bigbookonline/en_preface.cfm (Accessed February 23, 2007)

[2] Ibid.

[3] AA meeting in Orange, CA on February 13, 2007

[4] Lecture by Sharon Dixon on February 9, 2007