How Can I Use The Twelve Steps Without Being in a 12-Step Program?
Roughly 90 years ago, two men got together and decided that if they were to stay sober, they had to do two things. One was to adopt a spiritual life. The second was to help other people get sober. These two men were Bill Wilson and Dr. Robert Holbrook, the two co-founders of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). They are also responsible for creating the Twelve Steps as they are practiced today. This includes the way they are practiced both by people in a 12-Step program and those who choose to take a non-12-Step approach.
Better Understanding the Importance of Healing at the Cellular Level
There are critical components when it comes to healing at the cellular level. One of those components is realizing that one aspect of the “Self” cannot be healed without the whole. This includes the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual parts of the Self.
Healing at the cellular level is also about getting to the underlying root/core causes of one’s issues. It is only by addressing these internal issues that one can start to heal externally. For many, these underlying issues have to do with trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Trauma is more common than many people think. According to the peer-reviewed journal Psychological Medicine, “The fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) defines a traumatic event (TE) as exposure to threatened death, serious injury or sexual violence. Such exposure may occur directly or indirectly by witnessing the event, learning of the event occurring to a loved one, or repeated confrontation with aversive details of such event (e.g. emergency responders). Exposure to TEs is a prerequisite for the diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and is also associated with a wide range of other adverse mental and physical health outcomes.”
PTSD is also relatively common. According to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the National Center for PTSD, “About 6 out of every 100 people (or 6% of the U.S. population) will have PTSD at some point in their lives.” Also, “About 5 out of every 100 adults (or 5%) in the U.S. has PTSD in any given year. In 2020, about 13 million Americans had PTSD.” To heal from these issues of trauma, it is important to focus on individualized and comprehensive addiction care.
Better Understanding the Importance of Individualized and Comprehensive Addiction Care
It is important to take a multi-angled approach to recovery. This means individualized and comprehensive treatment plans that utilize means, methods, and modalities from all avenues of the recovery realm. Now, this includes psychotherapies like cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), experiential therapies like nature immersion therapy, and holistic healing methods like yoga and meditation.
It also means focusing on treatment methods that include proven “steps” of recovery. However, this does not mean that one needs to be a member of a 12-Step community.
What Are the Twelve Steps?
The Twelve Steps are twelve set rules that are considered a “design for living” a healthy and sober lifestyle. As previously mentioned, they were created and championed originally by the creators of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). However, since then, they have branched out to help people recover from any type of addiction (such as Narcotics Anonymous and Cocaine Anonymous).
The Twelve Steps also often involve a sponsor and sponsee relationship, which simply means that someone who has gone through the Twelve Steps takes someone new through them. However, this does not mean that one has to be part of one of these relationships to practice the Twelve Steps.
Better Understanding 12-Step Programs
It is widely understood that 12-Step programs have helped millions of people and their families recover from the issues related to alcohol use disorder (AUD) and substance use disorder (SUD). There are also currently over 120,000 12-Step groups in over 180 nations that are still helping millions of people recover.
Also, since the COVID-19 pandemic, there are now thousands of meetings online, so there is literally a 12-Step meeting available 24/7 for anyone around the world to attend. But, again, one does not need to attend these meetings to practice the Twelve Steps.
How Can I Use the Twelve Steps Without Being in a 12-Step Program?
To practice the Twelve Steps, all one has to do is read and follow them diligently. As is often said in 12-Step meetings, “The only requirement for attending is a ‘desire’ to stop drinking or using substances.” For those outside of 12-Step programs, “The only requirement to practice the Twelve Steps is a ‘desire’ to stop drinking or using substances.”
Of course, it can be highly beneficial to go through the Twelve Steps with someone else. But, this does not need to be the case. The biggest key to the Twelve Steps is being willing to do the work.
Step One: “Giving up to Win”
The First Step of the Twelve Steps states, “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol [and substances] – that our lives had become unmanageable.” This is where the importance of “acceptance” comes in.
There is even a statement known as the “Acceptance Statement.” It goes, “Acceptance is the answer to all my problems today. When I am disturbed, it is because I find some person, place, thing, or situation – some fact of my life – unacceptable to me, and I can find no serenity until I accept that person, place, thing, or situation as being exactly the way it is supposed to be at this moment. Nothing, absolutely nothing, happens in God’s [Higher Power’s] world by mistake.”
Once people have accepted that they have a problem, they can start to accept the help they need. They can also start down the path of action that is required to recover at the cellular level.
Step Two: A Focus on Spirituality
The Second Step of the Twelve Steps states, “Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.” This is the step that many people balk at because they feel that it is too “religious.”
The reality is that this step does not require anyone to be religious. Yes, it is a spiritual step, but many people choose to replace this spirituality with something secular. For example, some people choose to make their “Higher Power” something more tangible, like nature or other people who have managed to maintain long-term recovery.
Step Three: A Choice of Spirituality
The Third Step of Twelve Step recovery states, “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.” Now, the key to this step is “decision.” It is up to the individual to decide whether or not they are going to take on a Higher Power (who some people choose to call God) or not. However, it has been shown that many people who take on a spiritual life have a greater chance of avoiding a relapse.
Many people don’t realize just how prevalent relapse is in the U.S. According to the peer-reviewed journal Current Psychiatry Reports, “It has long been known that addictive disorders are chronic and relapsing in nature. Recent estimates from clinical treatment studies suggest that more than two-thirds of individuals relapse within weeks to months of initiating treatment.” Also, “For 1-year outcomes across alcohol, nicotine, weight, and illicit drug abuse, studies show that more than 85% of individuals relapse and return to drug use within 1 year of treatment.”
Step Four: “Cleaning House”
The Fourth Step of the Twelve Steps states, “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.” For those in a 12-Step program, this occurs between sponsor and sponsee. However, for those outside of a 12-Step program, this can be aided by modalities like psychotherapy.
Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) can be highly beneficial in helping individuals connect with the root/core causes of their addiction so they can start to take this step. This therapy helps change the negative way that one views themselves and the world around them.
CBT has been helping people recover from issues of addiction and mental illness for over sixty years. According to the peer-reviewed journal Cognitive Therapy and Research, “Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) refers to a class of interventions that share the basic premise that mental disorders and psychological distress are maintained by cognitive factors. The core premise of this treatment approach holds that maladaptive cognitions contribute to the maintenance of emotional distress and behavioral problems… [T]hese maladaptive cognitions include general beliefs, or schemas, about the world, the self, and the future, giving rise to specific and automatic thoughts in particular situations”
CBT is also not the only therapy that can help with addiction. Group therapy can be highly beneficial as well.
Step Five: Connecting With Others
The Fifth Step of the Twelve Steps states, “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” This connection to others can be crucial for recovery, and it can happen in group therapy.
Group therapy can help people struggling with multiple types of addictions and/or mental illnesses. According to the peer-reviewed thesis, Group Therapy, by Doctors Malhotra and Baker, “Group therapy is the treatment of multiple patients at once by one or more healthcare providers. It can be used to treat a variety of conditions including but not limited to emotional trauma, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)… This approach is especially necessary for rural and low-income areas where clinics are often understaffed and have a high volume of patients.”
Group therapy is also where one can meet others to help each other recover. There is a chapter in the primary text of 12-Step recovery (also known as the Big Book) entitled “Working With Others.” The chapter states, “Practical experience shows that nothing will so much insure immunity from drinking [and using] as intensive work with other [people with AUD and/or SUD]. It works when other activities fail… You can help when no one else can.”
Steps Six and Seven: Preparing for Long-Term Recovery
The Sixth and Seventh Steps of the Twelve Steps state, “[We] Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character” and “Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.” This is all about getting one ready to “make amends” to people who have been harmed by one’s addiction.
One way to better help people take this step is to connect to their root/core issues via yoga therapy. The iconic yogi and spiritual leader B.K.S. Iyengar famously said, “Yoga is like music: the rhythm of the body, the melody of the mind, and the harmony of the soul create the symphony of life.”
Besides helping people in their step work, yoga also offers many other benefits. According to the International Journal of Yoga (IJOY), “Therapeutic yoga is defined as the application of yoga postures and practice to the treatment of health conditions. Yoga therapy involves instruction in yogic practices and teachings to prevent reduce or alleviate structural, physiological, emotional, and spiritual pain, suffering, or limitations. Yogic practices enhance muscular strength and body flexibility, promote and improve respiratory and cardiovascular function, promote recovery from and treatment of addiction, reduce stress, anxiety, depression, and chronic pain, improve sleep patterns, and enhance overall well-being and quality of life.”
Steps Eight and Nine: Making Amends
Now, steps Eight and Nine of the Twelve Steps state, “Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all,” and “Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.” This is the best way to ensure that “people, places, and things” don’t pop up and cause a relapse.
“Saying sorry” can also be very valuable in helping the whole family heal. This is important because addiction is not just a disease; it is a “family disease.” Another component that can help with these two steps is meditation. However, meditation and reflection are bigger components of Steps Ten and Eleven.
Steps Ten and Eleven: Meditation and Reflection
The Tenth and Eleventh Steps of the Twelve Steps state, “Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it,” and “Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.” These are also known as the “maintenance steps” because they are meant to be practiced daily.
Meditation and reflection offer a myriad of benefits. According to the International Quarterly Journal of Research in Ayurveda (AYU), “During the process of meditation, accumulated stresses are removed, energy is increased, and health is positively affected overall. Research has confirmed a myriad of health benefits associated with the practice of meditation. These include stress reduction, decreased anxiety, decreased depression, reduction in pain (both physical and psychological), improved memory, and increased efficiency. Physiological benefits include reduced blood pressure, heart rate, lactate, cortisol, and epinephrine; decreased metabolism, breathing pattern, oxygen utilization, and carbon dioxide elimination…”
Step Twelve: Helping Others
The Twelfth Step states, “Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics and to practice these principles in all our affairs.” However, while many people experience this “spiritual awakening,” many others feel as though the Twelve Steps are highly effective without one (these are those who choose a secular path).
Ultimately, when all of these Twelve Steps are done with rigor, the chances for recovery go up exponentially. This is the “promise” of the Twelve Steps.
Healing at the Cellular Level With Exclusive Hawaii Rehab
Here at Exclusive Hawaii Rehab, we believe that everyone has their own path to recovery. It is our job to guide our clients down whichever path that works best for them.
Recovery is about the journey and never the destination. That journey can start by taking the right “Steps.” From there, the chances for recovery are not only possible but also probable. There is hope. We can help.
Many people balk at the Twelve Steps because they don’t like some of their components (specifically the “God” aspect and the “powerlessness” aspect). However, the principles of the Twelve Steps can be utilized by anyone, and there are ways to “use what’s best and forget the rest” on an individual basis. If you feel like you or a loved one are struggling with issues of addiction, mental illness, or co-occurring disorders, we can help get you on the positive path toward long-term recovery right away. You don’t have to do this alone. For more information about utilizing the Twelve Steps for recovery, please reach out to Exclusive Hawaii Rehab today at (808) 775-0200.