Recovery 101
Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is an informal society of more than two million
recovered and recovering alcoholics in the United States, Canada, and other
countries .AA members meet in local groups that range in size from a handful to
many hundreds in larger communities. Although AA has a central communication
office, each group is essentially autonomous. The stated primary purpose of an
AA group is to "carry its message to the alcoholic who still suffers." AA was
the first twelve-step program and has been the model for similar recovery groups
such as Al-Anon/Alateen, Gamblers Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous, Sexaholics
Anonymous, and Overeaters Anonymous. Al-Anon and Alateen are companion programs
designed to provide support for relatives and friends of alcoholics.
AA teaches that an alcoholic, in order to recover, should abstain completely
from alcohol on a daily basis; the society in turn offers a community of
recovering people who help each other and work the twelve steps together.
The Twelve-step program is a set of guiding principles for recovery from
addictive, compulsive, or behavioral problems, originally developed by the
fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (abbreviated A.A.) to guide recovery from
alcoholism. The twelve steps were first laid out in the so called "Big Book"
entitled Alcoholics Anonymous, and the method has been incorporated into
twelve-step programs by many other groups, such as Narcotics Anonymous,
Overeaters Anonymous, and Codependents Anonymous.
Working the twelve steps involves:
* admitting that one has a serious, uncontrollable problem;
* recognizing that a higher (spiritual) power can help;
* inventorying and admitting character defects;
* asking one's higher power for deliverance from these defects;
* making amends to those one has harmed; and
* helping others with the same problem.
