What is Step One?

For nearly 100 years, the 12-Steps have helped countless alcoholics and addicts overcome their challenges with the disease of addiction and learn how to live without turning to the use of drugs or alcohol. Today, there are thousands of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous meetings held in over 180 nations throughout the world, where the 12-Steps are practiced. However, people do not need to go to AA or NA to learn about the 12-Steps and adapt them to their lives, as they can also get exposed to them through professional addiction treatment programs. No matter how, when, or why a person begins utilizing the 12-Step model, doing so can be positively transformative. Each of the 12 Steps has its own identity, as they focus on different areas of one’s development and growth post addiction. The first step is sometimes viewed as being the most difficult of them all, as it takes courage and a leap of faith to get moving on working this step. It reads: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol -- that our lives had become unmanageable.” Step One and Surrendering  Step one is where it all begins. It is important for people to spend as much time as they need to work each step so that they can process it fully, understand it, and apply it to their lives and thinking. You might be wondering, “How do I do step one?" There are several ways that you can do step one correctly so that you can get the most out of it and utilize it as the foundation of your recovery. The steps, while the same...

3 New Year’s Resolutions For People In Recovery

We have entered not only a new year but an entirely new decade. Naturally, when we enter January each year, we begin to reflect on the past year and how we want this next year to be different. For us in recovery, it usually is a good experience. Whether you are new in recovery and survived your first 'hurricane season' (Thanksgiving/Xmas/NYE) or have been sober for years, you can appreciate the fact that you are still sober. If you're finding yourself unhappy with your 2019, it's now the perfect time to start over. We are our own harshest critics in recovery. Before anyone criticizes us we are the first to criticize ourselves. So when we start dressing ourselves down we have two options, we can either do something about it or pity ourselves. Pity has never done anything redeeming for anybody. Since it's the new year, let's talk about resolutions that are beneficial for those in recovery, new or long time. Before we go over suggestions on what to change, here are some key principles to successfully fulfilling these resolutions: Make them realistic Talk about it with friends and family, let them hold you accountable Don't beat yourself up if you fall short, try harder the next day Work on one thing at a time Just do your best Volunteer Work If you're anything like me, you think about yourself a lot. I spend a lot of my day worrying about everything in my life, most of those things trivial and don't have enough concern for others. It's a trait of being afflicted with addiction, we are inherently self-centered. Volunteer work is...