What Are the 12 Steps of Addiction Recovery?

Addiction is a chronic mental condition that can be hard to overcome. Even after comprehensive addiction treatment, the risk of relapse is always present. Joining Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous can help you better understand your addiction and find healthy ways to cope with it. The 12 steps can help individuals dealing with all types of substance abuse, including:

Understanding 12-Step Programs

The 12-step program is a set of guidelines for recovery from addiction. The steps were first formulated by the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous, Bill Wilson and Bob Smith, and have since been adapted for many other forms of addiction recovery, including Narcotics Anonymous, Cocaine Anonymous, and Marijuana Anonymous.

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Bill Wilson and Bob wrote the book Alcoholics Anonymous (or The Big Book as it is commonly known), which outlines 12 sequential steps for addiction recovery.

The program involves admitting that you have a problem and cannot control your addiction and making amends for the harm you have caused. It also includes a commitment to attend AA meetings and to help other addicts.

The 12-step program is essential because it provides a roadmap for recovery. It helps addicts take responsibility for their addiction and to make positive changes in their lives. It also offers support and accountability, which are essential for long-term sobriety.

The 12 Steps of Addiction Recovery

The 12 steps of addiction recovery are:

1.   We admitted we were powerless over alcohol – that our lives had become unmanageable.

Addiction is a chronic mental condition that can be hard to overcome. Even after a comprehensive treatment, the risk of relapse is always present. Step One aims to relabel the addiction as a disease rather than a character flaw. It is structured around the belief that one is "powerless" over their chronic illness.

Those who enter AA or NA acknowledge their inability to control their drinking and that their life has become unmanageable. Step One is often the stage of acceptance.

2.   Came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

While Step One acknowledges the lack of control, Step Two suggests that an external force can help. Some people interpret the "power greater than ourselves" as a higher power, such as a God or spiritual being. However, it does not necessarily need to be religious or spiritual. It can be karma, meditation, the universe, medical professional, etc.

Step Two allows individuals to gain faith in something bigger than themselves. And acceptance in Step One plays a vital role in opening one up to external help.

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3.   Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

Step Three is an acknowledgment of one's willingness to surrender their will and life over to the care of a higher power. It provides individuals with a platform to admit they cannot do this alone. Religious people may find the concept of "God as we understood Him" helpful, while others may find other ideas more suitable. The main point of Step Three is to recognize that the power lies outside of yourself and that this power is essential for recovery.

4.   Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

Step Four is all about self-reflection and introspection. It encourages individuals to take a critical look at their lives and examine how they have made decisions in the past and what led them down the path of addiction. Understanding one's triggers and making changes is essential to prevent future relapses. Step Four can be difficult as it forces one to confront their past and accept responsibility for their actions.

5.   Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

Step Five is the stage of confession, where individuals must admit to themselves, God, and another human being the exact nature of their wrongs. This can be a difficult step as it involves confronting and addressing the harm they have caused. But the step helps individuals to learn to take responsibility for their actions and make amends for the damage they have caused.

6.   Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

Step Six is a preparation step, where individuals must make themselves entirely ready to have their higher power remove all their character defects. This involves letting go of the negative traits that have kept them stuck in addiction and mental discomfort. It requires faith and trust in the higher power, as it involves surrendering one's ego and allowing a power greater than themselves to make one ready for recovery.

7.   Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

Step Seven is an act of humility, where individuals ask their higher power to remove their shortcomings and defects of character. This step requires honesty and courage to admit out loud one's willingness to be changed and molded into a better version of themselves.

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8.   Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.

Step Eight is the stage of accountability, where individuals must list those they have harmed and become willing to make amends to them all. It's essential for taking responsibility and restoring relationships damaged due to addiction. It allows individuals to mend broken bridges and create a better life.

9.   Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

Step Nine is the stage of action, where individuals make direct amends to those they have harmed whenever possible. This step requires individuals to take responsibility for their actions and reach out to the people they have hurt. It is a decisive step in healing relationships and restoring trust between individuals.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and, when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.

Step Ten is the stage of continuous self-reflection, where individuals must continue to take personal inventory and admit when they are wrong. This step emphasizes that recovery should be lifelong, requiring people to stay vigilant and hold themselves accountable for their actions. It helps ensure individuals do not slip back into old habits or behaviors that could lead them to addiction again.

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

Step Eleven is about deepening one's connection and relationship with their higher power. It encourages individuals to seek knowledge of their higher power's will through prayer and meditation and to ask for the ability to carry out that will. This step helps individuals maintain strong faith in their higher power and stay committed to recovery.

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12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and practice these principles in all our affairs.

Step Twelve is the culmination of all the previous steps, as it marks the point where individuals have had a spiritual awakening due to working through the Twelve Steps. This step encourages individuals to spread their newfound knowledge and wisdom to other alcoholics to help them recover. It also emphasizes that principles from the Twelve Steps should be applied to all facets of their life.

The Twelve Steps provide individuals with the necessary structure, guidance, and encouragement for recovery from addiction. Each step is an essential milestone to sobriety, helping individuals progress towards a healthier and happier lifestyle.

By working through each step one at a time, individuals can develop the strength and courage to make lasting changes. As individuals progress through the Twelve Steps, they will find that their relationship with themselves and others improves significantly. Ultimately, the Twelve Steps offer a roadmap for recovery, empowering individuals to take control of their life and create a brighter future.

Finding Treatment Programs

There are many 12-step programs available to help individuals make a successful recovery. At More Than Rehab, we can connect you to one that matches your needs. We can also connect you to other support groups and resources to help you stay on track with your recovery. Contact us today to learn more and start your journey toward sobriety.

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Friends & Family Can Contribute to Drug Addiction

There is truth to the expression, “One rotten apple spoils the whole barrel.” That’s because ripe apples produce ethylene, a ripening agent. When you store apples together, the ethylene prods other apples to ripen further and eventually rot.

It takes a single apple to start a domino chain that ruins the rest of the bunch. And guess what? The same holds true for drug users. You’re very likely to abuse drugs when you hang out with people who abuse drugs. Not because of weak morals, but because of several mechanisms that we’ll cover in this article.

Understanding addiction

The initial decision to use drugs or alcohol is voluntary for most people. However, repeated use changes the brain in ways that make it hard to quit, even for those who want to. Those recovering from a long term substance use disorder have a higher risk of drug use, even after years of leading a sober life. This is especially true if they’re dealing with mental health problems or are hanging around places or people connected to the addictive behavior.

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Friends or family members, who participated in the addictive behavior, are potential triggers for relapse, irrespective of whether or not they’re still using drugs. That’s because they bring back the memories of addiction. In some cases, they may ask you to go out or even tell you stories and share images of their happy moments in your absence. All these can lead you back to addiction.

But relapse is not the only way friends can contribute to drug addiction. This article will discuss different ways friends can worsen your drug use problems. But before we do, let’s look at the relationship between peer pressure and drug use.

Social learning theory

Social scientists who study peer pressure see it through the lens of social learning theory. According to this theory, when people observe other people’s behaviors and reactions using addictive substances, they may wish to replicate what they saw. For example, an agitated friend walks into the room.

They then sniff cocaine or smoke meth. After a few minutes, they’re relaxed and fun to be around. The person observing all this will know that the drug is a good way of coping with stress – because it’s what they’ve seen. So, any time they feel stressed or agitated, they may use the drugs to calm down.

Social learning is the most common way that people learn. When you observe your friends abusing drugs, you become more likely to try out drugs too. That’s because you have learned through observation that drugs achieved a positive result. You could also use drugs out of a need to be part of the group.

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Human beings have a strong need for social interaction. So, it becomes critical to consider the compelling social nature of many addictions. Most addictions need at least the cooperation of other people. And as the addiction progresses, the chances of a person interacting with healthy, non-using individuals become slimmer.

That’s because family and friends eventually disengage. At the same time, addiction takes up most of the addict’s time. In the end, the addict’s entire social circle is dominated by role models associated with the addiction.

How friends and family can contribute to drug addiction

Negative peer pressure

Negative peer pressure can be divided into two parts:

Direct negative often involves peers or friends directly asking you to try something, like abuse illegal drugs. It may be difficult to say no, especially if you are young and are concerned about how they’ll think of you. In some cases, they may hint that you’d be “uncool” if you didn’t take part or even provide reasoning that’s hard to argue against. The fear of losing friends or facing mockery can make you yield. Direct negative peer influence includes your friends or peers:

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Indirect negative is a subtle type of peer pressure and isn’t as apparent as direct negative. It happens when you try out drugs or alcohol just to fit in. Your friends don’t encourage you to participate in risky behaviors, but you feel pressure to do so to continue being part of that social group. Indirect negative peer pressure includes things like:

An NIH study assesses the group influences on an individual’s drinking and other drug use at clubs. A total of 368 social groups representing 986 people were anonymously surveyed. The study found that social groups had a definite impact on the individual outcome.

Group members seemed to know about other members’ drug use or drinking patterns, which were related to their drinking and other drug use. This suggests that normative patterns are established for the group, and social modeling happens within the group.

Signs your friends are making your drug use problem worse

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Positive peer pressure

Not all peer pressure is bad. Friends can influence you into making the right choices. Positive peer pressure is when friends bring a good change in your life – and this can be a useful tool in addiction treatment. In fact, many treatment facilities use this strategy to influence patients’ behavior. The same way a person in a drug-using circle uses drugs to fit in is the same way a person in a sober circle will want to stop using to fit in.

If you or someone close to you is struggling with substance abuse as a result of hanging out with wrong company, we can help. Contact us today to get started. 

The Social Model of Addiction Recovery:

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The social model of recovery from addiction has become one of the most prevalent forms of treatment used in a modern rehab center today. The social model focuses heavily on people helping people through their recovery and rehabilitation from some form of substance abuse. These social principles were rooted in the foundations of Alcoholic’s Anonymous (AA) and other social programs focused on curing alcoholism or drug abuse.  The social model to recovery is beneficial, because it can help build self-esteem, confidence and other key skills for a person trying to live a life of sobriety. People learn from others, so why should addiction treatment be any different?

 

Neuroscience has added a great depth of understanding about addiction and its effect on neuro pathways in the brain.

New health care technology has allowed us to examine the patterns in the brain in real-time. Neurochemistry has helped us examine principles related to various treatment techniques for substance abuse. These recent advancements have helped us understand the innate nature of addiction and its effects on the biology of the human brain. Science can now help us understand a complex combination of biological and psychosocial reinforcement mechanisms that all contribute to a substance abuse problem. With this depth of knowledge, we can find statistically effective techniques to treat addiction and other mental health issues.

Humans have evolved as a social creature. Starting at a very young age, we are inherently tied to our social atmosphere. Our social structure has an inherent system of rewards and punishments.  A complex substance abuse problem can rewire these reward signals in the brain, thus throwing our evolutionary instincts out of balance. The information we have gathered in the scientific and medical community compels us to dig deeper into the understanding of addiction treatment programs and their potential effectiveness.  

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Considering addiction from a biological and social perspective allows more flexibility and individuality in our treatment regimens.

When we look at the reward circuits in the brain, we are able to see rehab from beyond the medical model of “it is a disease” or the psychological model of “it is a bad habit”. Having our patients understand the biological causes of addiction can relieve a lot of guilt for the addict, while it also allows the patient to train their rational mind to think beyond their addiction. Performing this exercise in a social setting can help foster permanent behavioral modification that will make sobriety last a lifetime.

Using this mental technique in a social setting is a great tool for many recovering addicts. Having a support network of peers, coupled with trained professionals can help guide the treatment for alcoholism or drug abuse towards a successful goal of sobriety. Having a community based treatment program helps people view their progress as a lifelong learning process based on permanent changes in various aspects of life.

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Changing only the substance abuse is not enough to guarantee successful treatment that will last in the long term.

Drug and alcohol treatment programs that use a social model will teach the patient how to change their attitudes, beliefs, values, habits, routines and behaviors in conjunction with the principles of sober living. These skills are essential to provide confidence as the patient prepares to reintegrate into the outside world after their time at an inpatient rehab facility. A social model to recovery is best suited to prepare patients on what to expect once they begin to encounter the triggers and stresses of day to day life, without relying on drugs or alcohol to cope.

Long term success is greatly increased through spending time with other individuals who are also recovering. Since we are social animals, group therapy sessions are quite beneficial as they offer a therapeutic, homelike community setting as opposed to a cold, institutionalized hospital setting. Healing as a community helps us rewire our brains in a way that one on one treatment cannot quite accomplish on its own.

Cognitive behavioral therapy and relapse prevention are enhanced within a social model of recovery.

When a chemical dependency has shaped a portion of an addict’s life, it is important for them to seek ongoing outpatient treatment services. Regular attendance to group therapy sessions or meetings within a 12-step program are strongly encouraged. These sessions serve not only to hold the individual accountable for their recovery, but will also instill much needed confidence and self-esteem as they see others who can succeed. These social activities will help them grow into their newfound sobriety by reinforcing a drug-free lifestyle. Attending social gatherings with other addicts who are in recovery can enhance the patient’s ongoing efforts to maintain their recovery.

At More Than Rehab, we employ a combination of treatment tools that are integrated into your life as we focus on healing the whole person. We all help empower each other as you experience one of the greatest struggles in your life. As a community we stand stronger, together.

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