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Originating with two alcoholics (Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith) who realized helping each other and following some principles and a higher power would help many needing to heal from the throes of alcoholism, the 12-step program began as Alcoholics Anonymous. From there, other groups off-sprung, such as the 12-step program Narcotics Anonymous, the 12-step program ACA, Adult Children of Alcoholics, the 12-step program Overeater’s Anonymous, and many others for smoking, sex addiction, codependency, etcetera.
The basic 12 step program:
Here are the 12 steps anonymous “members” follow:
1. We admitted we were powerless over our addiction - 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 God
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 God 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 wherever possible, except when to
do so would injure them or others
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly
admitted it
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious
contact with God as we understood God, praying only for knowledge of
God's will for us and the power to carry that out
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we
tried to carry this message to other addicts, and to practice these
principles in all our affairs….
I have never had the need to go through the agony and struggle of the 12 step recovery program, but have seen first hand what it is like, and have marveled at the strength of someone close to me to overcome addiction. My brother had to go through a 12 step program, he started off the way most of us did, binge drinking on the weekends in college, partying, and just generally having a great time. When you are young, this is simply enjoying life, and most of us move beyond it eventually and never look back. Unfortunately, my brother was not so lucky, before beginning his 12 step program to recovery, his life fell into a shambles and he hit bottom.
The only way for us to get him to join a 12 step program was for the whole family to confront him together. In the speech of recovering alcoholics, this is called an intervention. And if you know someone close to you that is battling an addiction, and needs the help of a 12 step program, it will be one of the most important things that you can do to help him or her. Doing an intervention might feel like ganging up to the target of the intervention, but it is always done out of tough love.
Even if they decline to enter into the 12 step program, and even if, as was the case with my brother, they respond to the intervention by lashing out, chances are that they will eventually come around and realize that you considerably lengthened their life and saved them much misery. Once they recover from their addiction, whether from alcohol or drugs, they will most likely be very grateful for your intervention. But praise is not what is important, the real reward is the full recovery of your sibling, friend or loved one.
There are many different 12 step programs. My brother tried a Catholic 12 step program that was highly recommended, but it conflicted with his Christian upbringing, so he had to go. It is not just a matter of enrolling in any 12 step program and letting them fix you, the success or failure of any addiction recovery starts with you! You have to be able to look yourself in the mirror and admit you have an addiction problem.
If the bond is not right between you and the other people and your counselors involved, your 12 step recovery program, you simply will not recover, and will slip back into addiction again. It helps to bring someone with you to help you along when you are first starting a 12 step program for their support. I went with my brother to almost every meeting, and when I could not, our sister accompanied him.
en.wikipedia.org The original 12 Step Program is Alcoholics Anonymous - which deals with what they call the "powerlessness" to stop drinking alcohol
www.12step.org Using the 12 Step program and principles to recover from addictive behaviors...
www.draonline.org Dual Recovery AnonymousT is a 12 Step self-help program that is based on the principals of the Twelve Steps and the experiences of men and women in recovery...