The twelve steps:
People criticize 12-step programs as being a kind of psychological cult, and they do make some valid points, but the program is a proven method for many people to get off and stay off alcohol and drugs, and generally change their lives for the better.
I see it as a kind of prosthesis for the soul: Through the abuse of drugs, the addict has burned out their soul and lost control over their own life, becoming a machine for the consumption of more drugs. Like getting a synthetic heart, attending a 12-step program replaces the lost soul with an inferior model that doesn't do everything the original did and requires constant maintenance to keep in working order.
12-step programs are used throughout most of the world as the prime (in some cases, the only) offer for substance abusers to kick their habit. bitter_engineer listed the actual steps above, so I'm not going to reiterate what has already been said.
The original 12-step program was the one used by Alcoholics Anonymous. The whole program was thoroughly founded in Christianity, and while AA often tout "spirituality, not religion" in their barrage of slogans, the original program's wording was interesting in this regard. Step 2 mentions "a Power larger than ourselves", in step 3, this "Power" has become "God, as we understand Him", and throughout the rest of the program it's just plain old God. Their so-called "Big Book" (simply entitled "Alcoholics Anonymous", author unknown, but probably primarily Bill Wilson) contains a chapter, "We Agnostics", which is practically a how-to guide to stop being an agnostic or atheist, complete with a happy anecdote of an alcoholic atheist who became a sober Christian.
They 12 steps of the program totally and utterly disempower the individual. In the official AA version of the first step, it isn't just "admit that you have a problem", it is "admit that you are powerless before alcohol, and cannot control your own life". Bullshit. Nobody is powerless before alcohol. The alcohol abuser may be powerless when alcohol is inside his body, but it is his own decision whether he wants to put it in there or not. He (or she; alcohol abusers come in all sizes and shapes) may feel a powerful urge to drink, but an urge cannot force his arm to reach out for the bottle and take a swig; it can only suggest to him to do so. He can refuse to do so at any time -- it might be hard, and he certainly may need help, but a divine Power is not the only option. Hypnosis, self-hypnosis, psychological training, useful dialogue with other recovered and recovering abusers (no, repeating slogans and taking turns holding monologues does not count as dialogue) are all alternatives.
Other of the steps may be completely out of touch with the individual abuser's situation. If a rape victim turned to drug abuse and hurt her/his rapist while on a drug-induced frenzy later, would she be required to go make amends with the rapist? Should someone who's been a doormat and a victim his whole life be required to submit and turn over control of his fate to some Power? Why must atheists pray? And if alcoholism is indeed a physical disease (which AA often claims it is), why is a "moral inventory" in order? You should think a medical inventory would be far more interesting -- unless, of course, you believe that the disease of alcoholism was inflicted on you by a vengeful God because you sinned.
All in all, the 12 steps may have helped Bill W and Dr. Bob (and, to be fair, many, many others), they are not right for all situations, all times and all personalities. They seem to be excellent to get a drinking, religious egomaniac down to Earth and off the bottle, but they would only make aforementioned doormat type's situation worse. Some long-time AA'ers resemble brainwashing victims in their endless parade of pre-cooked slogans and total devotion to the Program. In a world where 12-step programs are applied to everything from substance abuse over compulsive gambling to high blood pressure, it is perhaps useful to remember that they were devised in the beginning of the 20th century by Christian alcoholics; they are guidelines and ideas, not facts or laws of nature.
Alternatives to 12-step programs include SMART Recovery, Rational Recovery, and many others.
"The relative success of the A.A. program seems to be due to the fact that an alcoholic who no longer drinks has an exceptional faculty for "reaching" and helping an uncontrolled drinker. In simplest form, the A.A. program operates when a recovered alcoholic passes along the story of his or her own problem drinking, describes the sobriety he or she has found in A.A., and invites the newcomer to join the informal Fellowship.
Newcomers are not asked to accept or follow these Twelve Steps in their entirety if they feel unwilling or unable to do so. They will usually be asked to keep an open mind, to attend meetings at which recovered alcoholics describe their personal experiences in achieving sobriety, and to read A.A. literature describing and interpreting the A.A. program.
A.A. members will usually emphasize to newcomers that only problem drinkers themselves, individually, can determine whether or not they are in fact alcoholics.
At the same time, it will be pointed out that all available medical testimony indicates that alcoholism is a progressive illness, that it cannot be cured in the ordinary sense of the term, but that it can be arrested through total abstinence from alcohol in any form."
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The above information is from http://www.getfreereports.com/rep/1health/aa12steps.htm Having only attended one Al-Anon meeting, I don't have much personal information to add. I did learn, however, that participants in Al-Anon Family Groups also follow the twelve steps, and each person will have a sponsor, just like in AA. The only difference in the twelve steps of Al-Anon is the wording of step 12, where they say "carry this message to others" rather than "to alcoholics."
Notice that the twelve steps are in the past tense; the point here is that there are many, many people who have already successfully worked through the steps, and reclaimed their lives.
Many of us exclaimed, "What an order! I can't go through with it." Do not be discouraged. No one among us has been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We are not saints. The point is, that we are willing to grow along spiritual lines. The principles we have set down are guides to progress. We claim spiritual progress rather than spiritual perfection.1
1 Alcoholics Anonymous, First Edition, pages 59-60; quoted on http://www.ramsjb.com/talamasca/avatar/12steplist.html , 2/18/03.
The official website for Alcoholics Anonymous is http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org/ The official website for Al Anon Family Groups is http://www.al-anon.alateen.org/
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There are principles that go with each of the steps; they are as follows:
Personal commentary: step one | step two | step three | step four | step five | step six | step seven | step eight | step nine | step ten | more to be added later...
I would like to offer some insight onto this discussion, being a member of Alcoholics Anonymous myself. One of skongshoj's strongest arguments against AA is step Nine, in which alcoholics are made prepared to start amending their past. As Dutchess pointed out in the previous post, the actual reading of the 9th Step text is "Made direct amends to such people possible, EXCEPT when to do so would injure themselves or others ," and not a suggestion to walk blindly back into a harmful or frightening situation. Thus, if the wound was too grievously dealt, it is recommended that the person find an indirect way of making amends, such as writing a letter or paying back charities. Often times the person you harmed is dead and there is no physical way to make direct amends. Or, as in the instance that skongshoj quoted, one might write a long unsent letter. The point of making amends is to clear your own soul, to "clean your side of the street", to make you become aware of your actions as to avoid the worst of them again.
Alcoholics Anonymous, nor ANY 12 step program claims to "cure" an addiction. Addiction is not something that can be cured, i.e, a heroin addict will not learn to use heroin safely, nor would anyone in their right mind suggest they try, lest the chance of failing to control their usage kill them. Alcohol has the same principles when abused, and even the medical profession is in agreement. Addiction is a disease than can be curtailed and held off by the process of simply not diving back into the physical addiction of alcohol.
The "moral" inventory mentioned in the 12 steps speak to the reasons behind the addiction. It is all good and well to stop drinking, but if you do not attempt to resolve the issues behind the drinking then the balm and oblivion of drinking starts to sound good and before you know it, you are back to the abusive cycle of drinking. It is well known that in order to stop the symptoms you need to reach the root of the problem. Medically speaking, stopping drinking IS enough. For a human being to stay out of an abusive cycle, they need to be working on the reasons WHY they were in that cycle to begin with.
The Big Book was written in 1932 originally, with revisions coming out roughly every 10 to 15 years. As such, the spiritual side of Alcoholics Anonymous has also changed. Alternative religions were not a part of the program when it first started, but today in any room across the world it is made very clear that Christianity is NOT the only Higher Power to choose from. The reason that alcoholics are suggested to find a Higher Power is because the force of addiction often goes beyond a person's rational ability to think and something just as strong is needed to counter-act that force.
I am a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, and I am an alcoholic. I will not say this program has "saved" me, nor that it has "cured" the "demon alcohol". It has given me something else to believe in than the continuation of death and depression that alcohol brought me.
The 12-step program Metanode
A catalogue of twelve-step-related material on E2. Please feel free to /msg me with addictions -- I mean additions -- or corrections.
Twelve-Step Fellowships These are peer-led support groups which use tools including the twelve steps and the sharing of experience, strength, and hope to deal with a particular issue shared by the members. There are many others that are not noded here. Below each one are some related and explanatory links.
Concepts Twelve-step groups are usually communities with long histories and shared culture; here are a smattering of concepts found there and noded here.
Literature Each twelve-step fellowship has its own literature. This can include the welcoming messages read at each meeting, the fellowship's "Big Book" telling members how the program works, the steps themselves, or various other booklets, meditations, and personal stories.
Specific Steps Several E2 members have shared their experiences working specific steps, or just written about the step itself. Here is what we have so far.
Slogans These are some of the little phrases that people rely on to quickly summarize bigger concepts. A friend of mine likes to comment on how humbling it is that trite phrases such as these save people's lives.
Resources A list of these and many more twelve step groups can be found at http://www.stanice.com/links.html.
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