12 Step Program
Gods Will or My Will?
Many people in recovery struggle with the idea of God at all, and find it even more difficult to approach or deal with the issue of what is God’s will for them as a person. […]
Prayer
12 Step Program
What is an Adult Child and Why it Matters
The term adult child refers to an adult of any age who grew up in a home where alcoholism had been present, meaning that the child would have been seriously affected in several different ways.
12 Step Program
Spirituality and Religion in Recovery
There is much talk in Alcoholics Anonymous about spirituality and religion, and the mix between the two. There is a fairly simple reason for this. Many people who look to get sober have had bad […]
12 Step Program
What is Emotional Sobriety?
Emotional sobriety is a phrase that was used by Bill Wilson in a Grapevine article, entitled The Next Frontier: Emotional Sobriety, published in 1958, some 20-plus years after he got sober. Originally a letter to […]
12 Step Program
Adult Children of Alcoholics
Adult Children of Alcoholics, often referred to as ACA or ACOA, is another 12 step fellowship that has a close association with Alcoholics Anonymous. It is aimed at adults who grew up in a home […]
12 Step Program
12 Step Program
12 Step Programs
This can be a slightly confusing term for some people. It originates from the organisation Alcoholics Anonymous, which developed a recovery program based around 12 specific steps, which are really statements of experience of what […]
12 Step Program
Rehabs and Treatment Centers
Many people who get sober do so in a rehab or treatment center. Many people are familiar with the idea of a rehab, but perhaps less clear about what happens there. Most rehabs are residential, […]
12 Step Program
What is an Inner Voice?
When people talk about an inner voice in the context of spirituality, they are normally referring to an inner intuitive sense of direction in their life. This sense of there being an inner world, and […]
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Acceptance and Surrender
It has become almost something of a cliche in society nowadays to use the adage that you cannot cope with a problem unless you first admit it. Not that this is a new or novel […]
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The Need to Question Gratitude
Quite often in an AA meeting or similar, you will hear someone announce themselves as my name is so-and-so and I’m a grateful alcoholic/ addict, or I’m a grateful recovering alcoholic/addict. Equally, you are quite […]
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The Myth of Tough Love
Tough love is one of those expressions that has crept into the vocabulary of mental health and 12-step recovery in recent years. It sort of implies that an action or directive is being given or […]
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Why People Struggle with Being Vulnerable
People quite often like to categorise emotions as being good or bad, with emotions such as anger and self-pity being thought of as bad or weak. Emotions such as gratitude and a positive outlook are […]
12 Step Program
What Does it Mean to Respect Boundaries?
Quite a simple question in many ways, but one that many people struggle with, both in terms of trying to set boundaries of their own, and dealing with other people who don’t respect, or don’t […]
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What Does Rigorous Honesty Really Mean?
The term rigorous honesty is used a lot in Alcoholics Anonymous, and in the 12-step recovery world generally. Its original intent was to make clear the need for people to own and take responsibility for […]
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Pray As You Can, Not As You Can’t
The phrase ‘pray as you can not as you cannot’ isn’t terribly well known to a lot of people, but to those who do know it and use it as a literal guide to prayer, […]
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Why do People find it Hard to Believe in God?
Most people have normally been asked at some point in their life if they believe in God or not. In AA and 12 step recovery generally, people are likely to be asked this question more […]
12 Step Program
Why can Meditation be Difficult?
There is a paradox about meditation, in that most types of meditation of themselves are fairly simple to do, but many people find meditation as a practice, or a process, fairly difficult. Sometimes people put […]
12 Step Program
Willing To Go To Any Lengths……
Anyone familiar with this phrase will recognise it from the early part of chapter five of the book Alcoholics Anonymous, which sets out the 12-step program which is the cornerstone of AA’s recovery process. As […]
12 Step Program
Why Secrets Are So Dangerous
Several slogans and sayings get chucked around in health circles, which some people find helpful, and other people find both helpful and irritating, depending upon their mood. One of the most common sayings, although not […]