A 12 part series written by a recovering alcoholic in an attempt to give a basic understanding of just what Alcoholics Anonymous is all about. Alcoholics Anonymous is not just a program on how to quit drinking, it is a way of life that teaches you how to live sober.
I would like to start off with stating that a drug is a drug, is a drug. Alcohol is a drug. Don’t think that A.A. is just for alcoholics and you can’t apply these steps if your addiction is Crack or Meth. The principles of Alcoholics Anonymous are for controlling your addictions weather they are alcohol, drugs, sex, pornography, gambling, etc… You will never be completely “cured” of your addictions, but similar to diabetes, you can control it and keep it from killing you.
So, what are the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous and what do they mean?
Alcoholics Anonymous Step 1: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.
The first 3 steps are the very foundation on which the A.A. program is based on. It is hard really, to say one step is more important than another. A general observation would be that the most important step is the one you are working on this moment, or the one you NEED to be working on.
That being said, Step 1 is just that, the first step. If you can not admit that you are powerless over alcohol, then you will still think that you can control it. If you think you can control it, you won’t ask for help or truly accept the help that is offered to you. Until you can truly accept that you are powerless over alcohol you will continue to battle your addiction on your own, thinking you just need to use more “will power”. And you will undoubtedly fail!
The second part of Step 1 really has to do with the first part. If your life has not become unmanageable, then how are you going to truly accept that you are powerless over alcohol? If you are managing your life just fine, then you are in control, not alcohol or drugs.
As a general rule, an alcoholic has to hit his “rock bottom”. Ultimately, this is his breaking point. This is the point where things get so bad that he basically feels he is left with two options. Surrender or die.
Unfortunately, sometimes the alcoholic will look at death as being a lot better choice than the life they know.
If the alcoholic chooses to surrender and admit he is powerless over alcohol and that his life has become unmanageable, then he can start laying the ground work towards recovery.