The 12 Steps
Honesty: After many years of denial, recovery can begin with one simple admission of being powerless over alcohol or any other drug a person is addicted to. Their friends and family may also use this step to admit their loved one has an addiction.
Faith: Before a higher power can begin to operate, you must first believe that it can. Someone with an addiction accepts that there is a higher power to help them heal.
Surrender: You can change your self-destructive decisions by recognizing that you alone cannot recover; with help from your higher power, you can.
Soul searching: The person in recovery must identify their problems and get a clear picture of how their behavior affected themselves and others around them.
Integrity: Step 5 provides great opportunity for growth. The person in recovery must admit their wrongs in front of their higher power and another person.
Acceptance: The key to Step 6 is acceptance—accepting character defects exactly as they are and becoming entirely willing to let them go.
Humility: The spiritual focus of Step 7 is humility, or asking a higher power to do something that cannot be done by self-will or mere determination.
Willingness: This step involves making a list of those you harmed before coming into recovery.
Forgiveness: Making amends may seem challenging, but for those serious about recovery, it can be a great way to start healing your relationships.
Maintenance: Nobody likes to admit to being wrong. But it is a necessary step in order to maintain spiritual progress in recovery.
Making contact: The purpose of Step 11 is to discover the plan your higher power has for your life.
Service: The person in recovery must carry the message to others and put the principles of the program into practice in every area of their life.