12 Steps to Recovery: The First Step

A twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems. These twelve steps are intended to be worked with a sponsor with an emphasis on working the steps one day at a time. They were originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) for recovery from alcoholism. They were published in 1939 in the first edition of Alcoholics Anonymous ("The Big Book"). Now in its fourth edition with more than 25 million copies printed in many languages, the Big Book lists the first step as: We admitted we were powerless over alcohol and that our lives had become unmanageable. Reference: Alcoholics Anonymous, 4th edition, (June 2001), ISBN 1893007162.

This wording has been modified for various other organizations such as Al-Anon, Alateen, Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Co-Dependents Anonymous and Emotions Anonymous and a general statement of the first step is: admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion.

But what does this really mean? What are we admitting when we work Step 1? Many people feel that this first step is the most important because, in this step, one must admit to having a problem. It is this submission to reality that is essential to a successful recovery. Usually friends or family members of the addict will say that they believe the person experiencing difficulty should be able to control their problem. Yet this first step makes it clear thatrecovery requires one to give up any idea of being able to control the addiction. Working a twelve-step program entails more than simply abstaining from the addictive substance or behavior: it requires coming to understand the emotional and mental causes of the addiction. The desire to change is what truly makes the difference in successful healing, and that desire is motivated by first coming to accept and admit that there is a problem. It all begins with Step 1.

This summary was written by the Faith Partners group of Wimberley United Methodist Church. It is part of a continuing series of articles on each of the twelve steps.