Monday, January 12, 2009

Alcoholism and the Twelve Steps

By Dave Owen

Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a twelve-step plan for those hurting from alcohol abuse or alcohol addiction. Anyone with the disease alcoholism can benefit from the twelve step program because it presents a plan for making the disease manageable. It will help one understand the reality of the disease that they have. A disease that they will have for life. Yes, alcoholism is a degenerative disease. There is no cure and it is essential for the individual to learn how to live with the disease. If they do not, it can and will end the life they have. The method of recovery from your disease begins with the admission that you are powerless over alcohol. That you have a disease and that you can overcome the consequences by following the twelve steps.

Even though the Alcoholics Anonymous 12 step program isn't the only treatment program available it's a program that is frequently suggested to complement other programs. It is also a well-known program so there is normaly a feeling of confidence. By stepping into the rooms of AA, one will feel a definate sense of acceptance.

Tthe first step in the AA program is to understand that you are powerless over alcohol and that your life is unmanagable. The act of coming to this realization, is, to some, comforting. They feel a sense of relief knowing that they have a disease that can be treated and that they are not going crazy. To come to this realization, that one is an alcoholic with a chronic disease called alcoholism that can be treated is a comfort. Getting honest with yourself and admiting where you are in life and that you have a need to recover from your addiction to alcohol is the beginning. You can then begin the method of learning how to manage your disease.

You will be shown that following the twelve steps will not be easy but that all twelve steps are an essential part of your recovery.

One of the steps to recovery is recognizing that there is a power bigger than you in the universe, namely, God and that you are in need of improving your relationship with God, as you understand "God" to be within your culture. This is because the recovery program at AA has a very strong spiritual component. This component though is non-denominational. In other words you will not be pushed to follow any particular denominational thinking or to join any religion. You are simply asked to recognize that part of managing your life understands where your life comes from and that there is a higher power that effects you in a powerful way.

It is suggested that one should continue to practice the program long after having completed going through all twelve steps of the program. Those who attend your local AA meetings are just like you. They are dealing with a killer disease, alcoholism. They know where you are coming from because they have been there. They also know where you are headed if you do not learn how to manage your disease. The best support you can get is from someone that understands your problems. The AA twelve-step program is based on the belief that when an individual alcoholic accepts that there is a higher power it is the key to overcoming alcoholism. And is the beginning of a long road to learning how to manage the symptoms of the disease.

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