Twelve Steps

The Twelve Steps of Recovery

Alcoholics Anonymous allows the reprinting of the Twelve Steps of recovery with written permission from Alcoholics Anonymous World Services that includes a statement that AA has neither reviewed nor approved the content of the publication. This statement is included at the end of this entry.

• 1.
  We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable.
• 2.
  Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
• 3.
  Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
• 4.
  Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
• 5.
  Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
• 6.
  Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
• 7.
  Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
• 8.
  Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
• 9.
  Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
• 10.
  Continued to take personal inventory and when were wrong promptly admitted it.
• 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.
• 12.
  Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Analysis of the Twelve Steps

The initial driving concept of the steps—and to many people the most objectionable—is personal powerless-ness. Persons seeking to practice the steps first admit they are powerless over their malady and that their life has become unmanageable. This is counterintuitive for many people who have been socialized to value and believe that self-control and willpower will solve most problems. With the first step, admission of one's own essential limitations is seen as key to overcoming difficulties. People using the steps will let go of the idea that they will personally and willfully be in control of their addictive behavior. Evidence for the truth of this conclusion will be drawn from the previously out-of-control addictive behavior—usually marked by repeated failed attempts at self-control. The acceptance of personal powerlessness, that the addiction is in fact beyond self-control, is often liberating for individuals. For others, it is just too bitter a pill to swallow.

When the basic text for Alcoholics Anonymous first advanced this concept as part of a larger program of recovery, many saw it as radical, particularly with regard to alcoholism. The idea had, however, been around in various forms for a long time, perhaps having its base in diverse religions that suggested all overwhelming human foibles were best addressed by powers greater than those of humans themselves.

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