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12 step program
Learn The 12 Step Program Of Addiction 
Recovery
December 13, 
2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. What Are 12 Step Programs?
2. Alcoholics Anonymous(AA)
3. What Are The Types Of 12 Step Programs?
4. What Are The 12-Steps Of Recovery?
Addiction is a complicated brain disorder causing physical, mental, emotional and social distress. It has become a major problem 
globally  and millions of Americans are grappling with drug or alcohol addiction. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse 
(NIDA), the  United States spends approximately $137 billion annually on substance abuse. Alcohol, tobacco, prescription medicine, and 
illicit drug  addiction are economically taxing to the United States.
Long-term addiction, if left untreated, can even take a toll on the victim’s life and health. In many cases, addiction is not just involved 
with  substance abuse like drugs or alcohol. People who are addicted for a longer period may also have a mental illness, called a co-
occurring  disorder. Mental illness and addiction are difficult to treat and require medical intervention. Moreover, people find it 
challenging to  overcome addiction and take the necessary addiction recovery steps. Many addiction rehab centers offer multiple 
addiction recovery  treatment styles.
You may logically assume that discovering the best addiction treatment center is more challenging than choosing one out of a list. That 
is  an accurate opinion. Before you know what would be a great fit for you or someone you love, you have to know your options about 
the  treatment. The treatments include therapy, inpatient rehabilitation, outpatient rehabilitation, counseling, and 12 step programs. This 
article  will provide you with the necessary pieces of information about what are the 12 steps of recovery.
What Are 12 Step 
Programs?
Twelve-step programs were proposed by Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) groups as an effective method of recovery from alcohol addiction. 
It  contains a set of guiding principles stating the ways to overcome addiction and other behavioral problems. The twelve steps made 
their  first appearance in the book “Alcoholics Anonymous: The story of how more than one hundred men have recovered from 
alcoholism”  published in 1939. The twelve-step method was used to treat alcoholism, dependency problems, and substance abuse like 
drug addiction.  The addiction rehab fellowships and self-help organizations use these twelve-step principles for rehab. The twelve steps 
state that people  can’t control their addiction unless they recognize that they have a problem.
Alcoholics 
Anonymous(AA)
Alcoholics Anonymous was founded in 1935 by Bill Wilson and Bob Smith in Akron, Ohio. The Alcoholics Anonymous groups developed 
the  twelve steps to achieving sobriety, which changes the addict spiritually and enhances behavioral development. The alcoholics 
anonymous  further evolved as an international mutual aid fellowship having millions of members worldwide. Over the years, other 
organizations that  were formed are Narcotics Anonymous (NA) Groups, Marijuana Anonymous (MA) Groups, Gamblers Anonymous (GA) 
Groups, Cocaine  Anonymous (CA) Groups, and other groups for all types of substance abuse and addiction. These recovery groups tend 
to follow the  twelve-step programs to assist in addiction recovery.
AA or NA may not be the right fit for every individual, but there are many options accessible for getting back on the path to the healing  
process. It may take some effort on your part and a trial and error process to discover the right fit, but there is clear proof that in order 
to  be victorious, rehabilitation with the guidance of professionals is more efficient than attempting to do it alone.
Let us know more about the programs involving 12 addiction recovery steps.
What Are The Types Of 12 Step 
Programs?
When people are addicted to a substance like alcohol, they may feel happy while consuming it; but they may face a huge problem while  
trying to get rid of the alcohol addiction. But not to worry, there are multiple types of 12 step groups that can help you from alcohol  
addiction and support you in recovery from other dependencies.
These are the types of 12 step groups:
Al-Anon/Alateen (for friends and families of NA –Narcotics Anonymous
alcoholics)
ACA –Adult Children of NicA –Nicotine Anonymous
Alcoholics
CA –Cocaine Anonymous N/A –Neurotics Anonymous
CMA –Crystal Meth Anonymous OA –Overeaters Anonymous
COSLAA –CoSex and Love Addicts OLGA –Online Gamers Anonymous
Anonymous
CoDA –Co-Dependents Anonymous PA –Pills Anonymous
CLA –Clutterers Anonymous SA –Sexaholics Anonymous
DA –Debtors Anonymous SCA –Sexual Compulsives Anonymous
EA –Emotions Anonymous SAA –Sex Addicts Anonymous
FA –Food Addicts in Recovery SA –Smokers Anonymous
Anonymous
FAA –Food Addicts SIA –Survivors of Incest 
Anonymous Anonymous
FA –Families Anonymous SLAA –Sex and Love Addicts 
Anonymous
GA –Gamblers Anonymous SRA –Sexual Recovery Anonymous
HA –Heroin Anonymous UA –Underearners Anonymous
MA –Marijuana Anonymous WA –Workaholics Anonymous
What Are The 12 Step 
Recovery?
The programs based on the twelve addiction recovery steps bring spiritual, mental, and physical awakening in the addicts.
Here below, you can find the original alcoholics anonymous 12 steps:
[Tweet “Twelve steps programs are set to awaken an addict spiritually, mentally and physically and let’s have a look into each step 
briefly  as published by Alcoholics Anonymous”]
Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become 
unmanageable:
The first step towards addiction recovery is admitting to yourself that you were powerless against the addiction. Long-term addictions 
alter  the brain’s chemistry, thereby, causing psychological and behavioral changes. Even though the addict has the willpower and 
motivation to  recover, it can not be done alone due to the impaired functions of the brain.
Hence, the addict has to admit that they have less control over the addiction and require a helping hand to support recovery. The first 
step  calls the individual to seek medical help or addiction recovery treatment to fight against their addiction. There are various 
addiction  rehabilitation centers offering sound treatments for such addicts.
Step 2: Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
Alcoholics Anonymous organizations focus on spiritual teachings and to accept God as a supernatural power and faith that He can heal  
addiction. The second step involves spiritual healing rather than religion and to believe that a greater power is there to help mankind  
restore from addictions. There are few criticisms for this second step as the atheists don’t believe in God or a higher power. However, 
there  are other 12-Step groups specially dedicated to atheists and nonbelievers. AAAgnostica is such an organization for those who are 
not  religious in their thinking and practice.
Step 3: Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood 
Him:
Step 1 and 2 are all about accepting the addiction problem and recognizing a higher power. Step 3 calls for action, which is –  
completely  surrendering the life to the higher power. Firstly the addicted person has to believe in God and now trust in God for 
recovery. Here the  individuals are invited to accept God as the solution to their addiction problems and understand God in any form as 
per their religious  beliefs.
Step 4: Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves:
The fourth step calls for a personal inventory of our lives and to be fearless in whatever we do. Here, the individual is asked to write down 
 all the resentments towards people and other things in life. As the person completes the inventory, they get time to analyze the bad  
happenings and resentful situations in life. By doing so, the person realizes that they can’t control the actions of other people rather than  
controlling themselves. The moral inventory allows the person to examine their life and move towards the next step of recovery.
Step 5: Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our 
wrongs:
After analyzing the resentments in step 4, now it’s time to admit our mistakes and shortcomings in our life. Step 5 calls to rectify the 
things  that you wrote in the step 4 inventory. Here, the individual has to let go of all the bitterness and past things that were harmful. 
Confessing  the resentments to God, asking forgiveness, and living life without any negative feelings is a great way to recovery.
Step 6: Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character:
Step 6 calls the individuals to curb all the negative characters and past happenings from their life and mind: giving everything to God 
and  letting the higher power take over the inner spirit. By now, the individual knows what is wrong and how to live a peaceful life with 
love and  humanity. Step six molds the character, and the person becomes more matured towards every event of life. Identifying the 
deceitful  characters and behaviors, and replacing them with honest habits is the key to moving forward in the journey of recovery.
Step 7: Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings:
Step seven correlates with step six, asking God to remove all the shortcomings in life. Humbleness and self-introspection are taught in  
step seven. Here the individual gets the opportunity to learn about one’s fundamental nature and the purpose of life. It is the examination  
of one soul and done in a spiritual context. By doing so, the person understands more of himself and submits to the higher power to  
eliminate shortcomings.
Step 8: Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them 
all:
Step eight resembles the moral inventory, the person is asked to make a list of people they have harmed and rectify those mistakes 
by  asking for their forgiveness. By doing so, the person gets rid of negative feelings like guilt, envy, and fear.
Step 9: Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would 
injure them  or others:
Now the individual can reach out to the persons they have harmed, and ask them for forgiveness. Asking for forgiveness can be done by  
direct or indirect ways as per the person’s convenience. The individual can write a letter to the person they have harmed or visited them 
in  person with a flower bouquet seeking an apology. Hence the individual gets more social support to recover soon from their addictions.
Step 10: Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it:
In step 10, the individuals are asked to maintain the inventory and check for any wrongs. If a person finds any wrongs, they are asked to  
rectify it immediately. The individuals keep on examining themselves and analyze their thoughts, actions, and behaviors. Things causing  
negative impacts in their life are curbed, allowing them to stay on the recovery track.
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:
In step 11, prayer and meditation are given great importance. The step calls to improve the individual’s connection with God or the higher 
 power. Self- introspection enables the person to take control of their mental and emotional wellbeing. Meditation helps heal and repair 
the  mind, body, and soul. Here, the inner soul is healed and the spirituality of the person is improved. Surrendering life to the higher 
power  works wonders on the road to recovery.
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:
Having followed these 11 steps, step twelve calls the individuals to help other addicts through their knowledge. Now the individuals are  
spiritually sound and live a divine life with the power of God. Here the individuals share their experience, testimonies, and stories with the  
recovering addicts. All these alcoholics anonymous 12 steps help a person to stay sober, live a meaningful life, and help others do the  
same.
what are the 12 steps of recovery, alcoholics anonymous 12 steps, addiction recovery steps, alcoholics anonymous
Resources:
1) https://www.drugabuse.gov/related-topics/trends-statistics
2) https://drugabuse.com/library/drug-abuse-statistics/
3) https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/national-institute-drug-abuse-nida
4) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Twelve-step_program
5) https://www.alcohol.org/alcoholics-anonymous/
6) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcoholics_Anonymous
Repl
December 14, 2018 at 2:20 pm y
When I was in recovery treatment this 12 step helped me a lot in mind. When I fully surrender to god he helps me to come out of this addiction and 
all  my past sins.
12 STEPS IS VERY USEFUL TO OVERCOME YOU ADDICTION & and great article this will help the people those who not have an idea about this 12 
step  program.
Repl
December 26, 2018 at 8:48 pm y
Now I came to know about 12 steps program. Nice article. Keep writing
Repl
January 9, 2019 at 5:24 pm y
This blog was very useful for all the reader and an easy way to understand about 12 step programs. Keeping doing Katrina.
Repl
February 14, 2019 at 12:09 pm y
When all hopes were lost it was Him who helped me overcome difficult times as well as the addiction. He will help for sure. Best article for 
struggling  people trying to overcome addiction.
Repl
April 18, 2019 at 10:25 am y
Nice keep doing
I love the 4th step: “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our 
wrongs”  this was the only true.
Repl
May 25, 2019 at 7:16 pm y
Informative post, your every post worth atleast something.
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