Is there a cure for alcoholism? Of course, yes, but this path often seems too complicated. Defeating an addiction means opening the way to your true self, stopping lying to yourself and compensating for problems with alcohol oblivion. The task is not easy, but quite feasible. On the other hand, an addicted person has two paths: to sink lower and lower, or to find strength in himself and break the vicious circle, looking into the face of life and starting his path anew. The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous works very well for these purposes.
The Story of Alcoholics Anonymous
This system did not appear today. Since ancient times, a person has sought to find in society those who suffer from the same illness as him. Together it is easier to endure all the hardships of treatment, and to realize oneself as part of a mini-society is also much easier than being lonely and abandoned by everyone. If we talk about the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous program, then it has been working for 63 years and forthis time was recognized as one of the most effective systems for combating addiction, and this trend is visible not only in Russia, but throughout the world.
Program Basics
Not only the specialists of drug treatment centers, but also the people themselves, who used to suffer from addiction, confirm that the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous program is the most effective in the fight against addictions. It is difficult to count the number of people who have passed through these groups, since the presence in them is anonymous. However, the main value is that a person does not just take a course to remove physical dependence, but lives a deep personal psychotherapy, during which his view of the world should radically change. This is what makes it possible to acquire a completely new quality of life. This is very important to understand and, most importantly, to accept.
Theoretical platform
Like all other addiction treatment programs, Alcoholics Anonymous's 12 Steps has a base. This is a coherent theory, which is based on a complex, biopsychosocial-spiritual model of the disease. All of these approaches are essential, and each carries its own burden. Without sobering up a person, it is impossible to go further, only then psychologists enter the struggle for a he althy lifestyle. They can find exactly those points of tension, those painful moments, which are the triggers leading to addiction. Gest alt therapy is the basic tool for such work. It is on the basis of its principles that they dividealcoholics anonymous with their experiences and feelings. The 12 Steps program carries core values, love and kindness, as well as faith. It was these strongholds that helped people to endure in any life situations long before the first AA group was organized. They didn’t come up with anything new, but simply took as a basis what helps people to stay and stay sober.
Faith and religion: are these concepts the same?
Actually, no, perhaps that is why there are no disagreements between people of the whole world, different views and religions. All of them are anonymous alcoholics. "12 Steps" is a book that reveals all the subtleties of this approach. The understanding of spirituality here is much broader than in any particular religion. That is why it is easily perceived by both Catholics and Muslims, as well as atheists. Despite the fact that it is called spiritually oriented, it does not carry any specific religious content. If this were the case, the program would not have gained worldwide significance. That is, God in the 12-step program is a kind of higher power, which in the understanding of each person will be his own. This is the source of resources that the patient turns to. And what he calls him, Jesus, Buddha, the spirit of ancestors or collective consciousness, it doesn’t matter, the main thing is that a person feels support in him.
Freedom of choice
This is the main difference between Alcoholics Anonymous 12 Steps. Feedback from patients suggests that they decided to join the ranks of members of thisorganizations precisely because no one forced them to do anything. They are free to come to meetings or not. The program is truly universal, it leaves the final right of choice for everyone. Just replace the words "alcohol" and "drug" with the name of your problem - and you will get a ready-made solution.
Active position of the patient
This is an absolutely necessary condition. Only by passing deeply through each of its steps, you can achieve a good result. Any problem can be solved through such classes, which is why the group of anonymous alcoholics "12 steps" is the best assistant for each of you. This is a clear and well-structured model that describes a program of actions that involve activity both within and without. That is, work is carried out simultaneously both within oneself and in society. This helps very well to reorient a person, to get away from fruitless philosophizing. It is necessary not only to think, but also to start doing. Theory is very helpful, but you will never learn how to swim by reading a book on breaststroke technique. It is also impossible to help oneself simply by studying the contents of the 12 Steps.
Short Algorithm, or What You Have to Do
In fact, everything is intuitively simple and clear, it is due to this that the 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous program becomes universal. Reviews say that even a person without a secondary education can quickly navigate andstart working on yourself no less successfully than, for example, a psychologist with a higher education. You can consider the program as a working algorithm that contributes to the correction of personality and change in its quality.
The first and probably the most difficult thing is to recognize the problem. This is the biggest and most difficult step. Not for one day, but forever, one has to admit one's powerlessness over alcoholism. This step causes resistance among many beginners, and only when time passes, they begin to understand its value.
Next, there is a search for an exit. This is the second step, which is to come to the conclusion that only a greater power can restore your sanity.
The third step is again a test, a decision. And it is realized by a simple and complex thesis: I entrust my life to God as I understand him. And at this stage, prayers help a lot. In the morning, the patient asks God for strength to remain sober, and in the evening thanks for the gift of the day. It is both a recognition of the presence of a higher power, greater and more powerful than yourself, and the realization that you are not indifferent to it.
Next, practical exercises begin, this is introspection. The fourth step is to evaluate your life from a moral point of view. Group sessions help the alcoholic, who sees only the bad in himself, to find the good in his personality. This is how the soul is restored, as if a person returned to his abandoned house and gradually begins to make major repairs.
The fifth step is confession, that is, the recognition of the true nature of your delusionsbefore God and people. This is cleansing. It is necessary to part with the past. Working through your own shortcomings and building he althy social connections.
The sixth step is to prepare yourself to get rid of all imperfections. This is the path of one's own growing up, the recognition that the whole path of alcoholism is compensation for one's low self-esteem. The patient in the group understands that you just need to love yourself and that he does not owe anything to anyone. In doing so, each patient must admit that he has acted like an impulsive child so far.
The seventh step is humility. The patient asks a higher power to correct his flaws. You need to learn to humbly talk about the most difficult and unpleasant moments of your life to other people. This is another brick that is not so easy to lay.
Eighth step - now the patient is ready to return to society, to his old connections that are important to him. At the same time, the task is again difficult - to make a list of people whom you have harmed. At this point, the band members are filled with the desire to make amends.
The ninth step is the continuation of work on returning to the usual society. The alcoholic personally makes amends to all the people listed in the previous step.
In the tenth step, the group members continue to introspect and immediately admit their mistakes if they make them.
The eleventh step is to strive to become closer to God through prayer and reflection.
Finally, the final step, which can last indefinitely, is the transfer of experience,helping other alcoholics.
Working with drug addicts in St. Petersburg
This organization has been operating for many years in a row, the first center was established 14 years ago. Today there are branches in all major cities of Russia. The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous program is used as the main method. In St. Petersburg, many people know this organization and trust the authority of its specialists, because the results are truly stunning. At the same time, the meetings of the alcoholics themselves are only part of a great work.
Specialists of the centers take into account the individual characteristics of each client, and in addition, they perform another important mission, helping relatives cope with codependency. Various events, family education, legal lectures, lectures on medical hygiene are held for the patients of the center and their relatives. The specialists of the center give a full guarantee of getting rid of all types of addiction if all the recommendations given by the specialists are followed.
What happens in class?
Alcoholics Anonymous "12 Steps" is a kind of commune united by one single goal - to stop degrading and destroying yourself and start a normal life. It is very important that not doctors, professors and psychologists with sometimes incomprehensible lectures are present at the classes nearby, but the same people as the newly converted alcoholic himself. Very often you can hear the phrase that only someone who has experienced cravings for alcohol or drugs can understanddependent person. Here, in the group, this is what happens. All people with one story gather here. The reasons are different for everyone, the fall is always the same. No one will scold or try to remake, everything is completely voluntary. It is very remarkable that there are no leaders and organizers, founders. Each session can be led by different people.
This makes the system even more flexible. Yes, there are those who want to leave at the first lesson. But this decision of everyone, forced hospitalization and a course of treatment will also not give a result if a person does not set out to change his life. Surprisingly, in the classroom, everyone, in fact, repeats the story of the previous and next speaker. At the same time, it is very valuable that people who are already sober admit for several years: "I am an alcoholic." This helps beginners to remove the barrier and recognize their problem. From here further treatment begins to unfold.
Summarize
The 12-step program is one of the best methods for the rehabilitation of addicted people. There are activists who gather a group and travel far beyond the city, to a farm or simply to the mountains, where you can live in tents. Fresh air, physical labor and separation from the former environment, along with ordinary meetings, give good results. It remains only the task of returning to the usual rhythm to avoid the temptation to return to old habits.
