12 Steppers

12steppers.org is a resource website providing information on 12 step programs, the 12 step method and recovery from addiction via the 12 steps. We are not affiliated with any 12-step fellowships and we make no claims related to the efficacy or official endorsement of the 12-step programs discussed on our site. Our content is intended for informational purposes only and should not be considered a substitute for professional medical advice or treatment. The purpose of 12steppers.org is to provide the most up-to-date, accurate information about how 12 step programs can help those in need.

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The 12 Traditions

What Are The 12 Traditions? What Do They Mean?

12 Traditions, Alcoholics Anonymous / By / 6 minutes of reading

AA and other 12-step recovery organizations run surprisingly smoothly. Despite differences in culture and purpose between the groups, they tend to remain focused on their goals. They usually avoided excessive infighting or bad publicity. The various groups within 12-step fellowships have managed to run their affairs well while maintaining their autonomy.

The 12-traditions allow these organizations to manage their day-to-day affairs competently while remaining focused on their mission.

History of the 12 Traditions

AA was created in the 1930s and soon enjoyed a terrific amount of success. Groups spread all around the United States and, not long after, the entire world.

However, there were no clear rules for the structure of the organization. The different groups were intended to be self-contained and self-sufficient, and they indeed were. However, organizational questions and controversies began to bedevil the fellowship. No matter how autonomous the various groups are, they need a way to deal with administrative and financial issues.

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The 12 Step Promises

What Are The 12 Step Promises? What They Mean

12 Steps, Alcoholics Anonymous, CoSex & Love Addicts Anonymous, Heroin Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Sex & Love Addicts Anonymous, Sex Addicts Anonymous, Sexaholics Anonymous, Sexual Compulsives Anonymous, Sexual Recovery Anonymous / By / 6 minutes of reading

The 9th Step in the 12-step program is a highly consequential one. It is the step wherein a recovering addict makes amends for the harm they have done to other people in their lives and mainly due to their addiction.

As it says in the Big Book of AA, when working this Step, we: “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”

As part of completing this crucial step, individuals make and fulfill a series of promises, which appear in chapter 6 of the big book of AA. Though conceived as part of working a specific step, they often become an essential part of the outlook of recovering addicts.

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12 and 12 Cover

What is the 12 & 12 (Twelve Steps & Twelve Traditions)?

12 Step Programs, Alcoholics Anonymous / By / 8 minutes of reading

What is the 12 & 12 in AA?

The 12 & 12 (12 and 12) refers to combining two lists of 12 items that have shaped the approach, the steps, and the traditions. The 12-steps are a roadmap that facilitates a path to recovery from addiction. Meanwhile, the 12 traditions are the organizational principles by which 12-step groups maintain autonomy while working towards a common goal.

The founders of AA came up with the 12-steps very early on in its history. In 1950, they added the twelve traditions to solidify the organizational principles that allow groups to avoid distractions and help addicts recover.

In 1953 founder Bill W. published the book Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions. It emphasizes the equal importance of both the steps and the traditions. Indeed, the two are inseparable. The steps illuminate the path an individual can take towards recovery. But the completion of that path without the group is impossible, and the group cannot provide that support without the traditions to guide it.

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Hot to Find an AA Meeting

How to Find Alcoholics Anonymous Meetings Near You

12 Step Meetings, Alcoholics Anonymous / By / 4 minutes of reading

There are Alcoholics Anonymous meetings all around the world. Just about every country has chapters, and most big cities have multiple meetings every day. Meetings types vary. Some are open to the public, while others are closed and designed to protect anonymity. There are meetings designed exclusively for men or women and co-ed meetings as well. Therefore, every member of the fellowship should be able to find the right arrangement for them.

Regional Service Centers

Many cities and counties have service centers dedicated to local AA chapters. Many of them operate hotlines, sometimes 24-hour ones, which you can contact to find a meeting nearby.

Volunteer members of the fellowship answer the hotlines and are eager to help newcomers. They will tell you which meetings are currently available and open. They can also help newcomers find an individual to meet with them and prepare them for the first meeting.

Local AA directories list all of the meetings in their areas. However, the guides are often closed to non-members.

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Alcoholics Anonymous Success Rate

What is the Alcoholics Anonymous Success Rate?

Alcoholics Anonymous / By / 7 minutes of reading

Many members of Alcoholics Anonymous swear that the program has saved their lives and changed them profoundly for the better. For some critics of the program, AA is essentially a cult, built on pseudoscience with no tangible benefits for members.

This has been a difficult argument to settle. Until the last 20 years or so, it was particularly difficult to get good figures on the success of Alcoholics Anonymous.

However, the high-quality research that has been done, shows that AA has an impressive success rate. In comparison to other forms of treatment, the 12-step program has fared either equally well or in most cases somewhat better.

According to one particularly good study, 67% of those who attend AA meetings regularly remain sober in the long-term. It is important to note that this is the success rate for those that stick with the program over the years and not the success rate for those who were members briefly.

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12 Step Meeting for Heroin

12 Step Programs for Heroin Addiction Recovery

12 Step Programs, Heroin Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous / By / 5 minutes of reading

When it comes to the disease of addiction, finding a 12-step program is crucial to one’s physical, spiritual and emotional health. In many cases, it is a matter of life or death. For struggling addicts, 12-step programs are commonly used in order to help one arrest their addiction because there is no cure for this disease. Although there may not be a cure for drug addiction, recovery is possible within the rooms of 12-step meetings.

12-Step Programs

While there is no cure for drug addiction, it has proven to be a treatable and manageable disorder. 12-step programs are usually non profit organizations that come together in order to help individuals recover from their addiction. While Alcoholics Anonymous was the first 12-step program, many groups began forming after its founding in the 1930s and started addressing other problems, such as substance abuse and behavioral compulsions. Because there are so many different problematic areas, it is important to find a group that can specialize in the addiction that one is suffering from.

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12 Step Call

How to Safely do a 12-Step Call

12 Step Programs / By / 5 minutes of reading

A 12-step call is the act of an individual who is working the steps or has worked them, talking to a struggling addict and helping them start the road to recovery.

When does a 12-step call occur?

This very often occurs when a person struggling calls a helpline or calls the headquarters of an official 12-step program and asks for help. At times, these are personal affairs and involve an addict calling a friend or relative in a 12-step program.

Other times, this looks more like an intervention. Sometimes individuals are reticent about receiving the help they deserve and need a nudge in the direction of recovery. In some cases, a friend or family member of an addict reaches out and asks for help in the name of the suffering individual.

The traditions of AA and other 12-step organizations stress the importance of addicts coming independently to the conclusion that they need help and that 12-step programs operate through the principle of attraction rather than promotion. Still, sometimes it can be useful to reach out to those in need, as long as it is not done in a heavy-handed or forceful manner.

The moment where a person reaches out for help can be a pivotal moment in their lives. Therefore, the individual taking the call shoulders a heavy responsibility and a sacred duty to guide them in the right direction.

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Do 12 Step Programs Work?

How Effective are 12-Step Programs?

12 Step Programs / By / 5 minutes of reading

Addiction can be incredibly difficult to overcome. It has psychological, physical, and spiritual components, and every individual experience it differently. Also, there are so many different types of addictions that can shatter the lives of those suffering.

There are a plethora of substances to which one can develop an addiction, from alcohol to organic plants, through narcotics, not to mention nicotine, and even readily available cleaning products and bath salts. Meanwhile, behavioral addictions can turn out to be just as debilitating. People report addictions to gambling, overeating, sex, and compulsive behavior such as hoarding.

Finally, every individual addict has a different genetic and psychological makeup. For some, addiction has a strong genetic component, passed on from generation to generation. For others, it can be a specific traumatic event or process they underwent earlier in life which sparked addiction. Meanwhile, for some, the cause is mostly physical. For them, addiction may be the result of a desire to numb significant physical pain.

Therefore, there is no one size fits all solution to addiction and no magic bullet which can cure every type of dependence.

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Tips on How to be Successful in 12-Step Programs

Tips on How to be Successful in 12-Step Programs

12 Step Meetings, 12 Step Programs / By / 5 minutes of reading

Recovery is hard. There are many pitfalls and days when we feel weak and unable to handle it all. The good news is you are not on your own.

If you are part of a 12-step program, you have a support network to catch you when you fall. One of the great things about a 12-step program is that by helping others, you also make the most of it for yourself.

Here are some tips for making the most of your recovery in a 12-step program, and enjoying yourself in the process!

Get a Home Group

12-step programs are based on a belief in the power of being part of something bigger than us. Humans are social animals and we do not fare well alone. Our recovery and our lives in general, are greatly served by being part of a group that offers mutual support.

In order to succeed in a 12-step programs it is important to regularly attend meetings. But it is best to mostly attend the same group and build bonds with the other members.

Therefore, it is best to find a group that meets two criteria: they are located conveniently to help you attend meetings regularly. Just as importantly, you should feel comfortable with the people in that group. Once you have found that place where you belong, cherish it and hold on to it.

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12 Step Principles

Step 12 – What it is and what it means to carry the message and practice the principles

12 Steps / By / 5 minutes of reading

Step 12 is, of course, the final step in 12-step programs. In this step, we are told ‘Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to others, and to practice these principles in all our affairs’. As we embark on the final step in our twelve-step journey, we learn how to take the wisdom and experience gained in this process and pass it on to others struggling with addiction.

This is a crucial step. One of the main problems that led us into addiction and kept us there, was our destructive tendency towards selfishness. Amongst the main themes of the 12-step process is the realization that we must put the feelings of others on par with our, and sometimes even ahead of our own.

In step 12 we learn to help others systematically and integrate an altruistic way of life into our day-to-day existence. This helps make the world around us significantly better, but it also helps us make more out of our lives. Psychological and sociological studies have shown for years now that serving a greater purpose and helping others makes people happier in the long-term than just about any other activity.

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