How much do you know about the complete 12 step addiction treatment program? Or where and how it got started, or the benefits?
The 12 step program originated from Alcoholics Anonymous or AA in 1935, straight from Akron, Ohio. Bill W., a New York Stockbroker, and Dr. Bob in Akron struggled with alcoholism for many years.
Bill felt alcoholism was a combination of troubles in the mind, body, and emotions. Bill sought to find other people who suffered from addiction and called many people until he found Dr. Bob.
After their meeting, Dr. Bob finds sobriety, and then later Bill moves to Akron with Dr. Bob, and they dedicate their lives to helping people overcome their addiction.
Because of this, Healthy Life Recovery offers addiction treatment for your mind, body, and soul while you attend 12 step meetings!
Let’s take a look at the fantastic benefits of these programs!
The Steps
First, we need to see what these 12 steps are all about. What do the full 12 steps tell us? Here is a summary of what they entail:
- We admitted we were powerless over drugs and 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 a Higher Power as we understood Him.
- Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
- Admitted to our Higher Power, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
- Were entirely ready to have our Higher Power remove all these defects of character.
- Humbly asked our Higher Power to remove our shortcomings.
- Made a list of all 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 our Higher Power as we understood It, praying only for knowledge of It’s 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 addicts and alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.
The main themes are finding and trusting in a Higher Power of your own understanding, taking an honest inventory of yourself, and extending that knowledge to others. Helping other people is a massive step in the recovery process.
12 Steps Go Beyond Alcohol & Drugs
The 12 step program is generally associated with AA, but the truth is it goes way beyond that.
12 step meetings can also deal with issues besides alcoholism, such as:
- Problems with dependency
- Issues with overeating
- Addictions to gambling
- Abuse of substances
- 12 steps for teens
- Support for adult children of alcoholics
- Support for nicotine addiction
Anybody can attend a 12 step program for support, whether they are struggling or if they have someone in their life that is.
Teenagers and young adults struggling can find support within the 12 step meetings.
Location
One massive advantage to the 12 step programs is that they are everywhere. Nearly every city has some sort of 12 step recovery program you can attend.
Larger cities will have multiple meetings in many different areas and meetings you can walk to.
This eliminates the need for transportation or worrying about finding your way home after the meeting.
Helping Others Along the Same Path
It is always easier to help someone go through what you have experienced. Twelve-step meetings often have sponsors and people to help keep you on track.
People you can reach out to when you feel the pull towards your addictions. Someone you can talk to that understands because they have experienced the same thing.
Whether you become a sponsor or are helped by one, everybody involved is a life-changing experience.
Helping another person also helps keep you on your path too. It gives you responsibility for someone else as well as yourself.
They Provide Structure
Twelve-step meetings provide incredible structure. Too much extra time is not good for people in the stages of early recovery.
Living in an isolated environment with no support can lead to increased cravings.
Regularly scheduled meetings and seeing people on the same path to sobriety helps to keep people accountable for themselves.
It gives you somewhere to go, and something to do that is scheduled regularly. A beautiful structured reminder of exactly how far you have come!
Community Involvement
Twelve-step meetings bring out the best community involvement as 12 steps meetings create a community of their own!
Most of the time, old friends and maybe even family might still be involved in alcohol or drug use. To maintain a sober life, there need to be changes made. This means a considerable shift in social circles.
It can be challenging to meet new people, and 12 step meetings provide this already built-in.
Good for Church or Religious Involvement
Twelve-step meetings are also an excellent combination for those already heavily involved within their church community.
With the strong guidance towards faith and higher power for help, this can be a very comfortable and familiar step to take.
Having faith is a huge factor in recovery and healing for the body, mind, and emotional burdens that life can bring.
Long-Term Sobriety
Long-term sobriety is one of the biggest challenges people face. Staying sober for 90 days is tough, so what about 25 years?
People attend meetings who have achieved 30, 50, and 60 plus years of sobriety. The inspiration that comes from hearing those messages and how they overcame their addiction is priceless.
Change Your Life With 12 Step Meetings
12 step meetings have the power to change lives, so why not start changing today?
Get in touch with Healthy Life Recovery today to talk about addiction recovery options for you or the ones you love! They have tools to help you recover your mind, body, and soul. Healthy Life Recovery is located at 1010 Turquoise St, San Diego, CA 92109. You can also reach out for 24-hour support or call (858) 888-5332.
