Tag: Step 0

Step 2

Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.

One of the things I was missing to be able to recover was faith. I had learned that faith comes from hearing testimony of those who have faith and also from righteousness. In the addiction, I had neither. I was isolated, so I never heard anyone testify who had any success in recovery and I really didn’t have any righteousness with my addictions.

I needed to connect with others who were in the same boat as men and see them making progress. Another form of faith that I desperately needed was faith that God loved me, warts and all and that He wanted to help me.

Working step 0 (being a part of a group) gave me all of these things and more. I got to connect with and hear the testimony of their pains and struggles that we’re just like mine. Then, over time, I heard them testify of the progress they were making. I also watched them nodding with deep understanding as I told my story. Then I saw them not turn away from me. They loved and respected me, warts and all. That gave me the faith that God could love and respect and help me too. Then I started to have faith that I could love and respect and help myself too.

This faith is the core of step 2 and it prepares me to start holding onto God instead of my addictions, one incident at a time.

Step 1

We admitted we were powerless over our addiction – that our lives had become unmanageable.

As I spend time in meetings and connecting with other addicts (step 0), I find myself beginning to open up. This is because others are opening up, and nobody is judging them or hating them. They’re just understanding them and loving and respecting them. So I begin to develop a growing trust in the group. I open up about the truth of my situation. I’m not sharing graphic details of my addiction, just being vulnerable. Continue reading “Step 1”

12-Step Meetings

I have been involved with two different 12-step addiction recovery programs for the past 19 years, Sexaholics Anonymous and the Addiction Recovery Program from the LDS church. Both work for me just fine and are based on the same core principles.  Pick one, find a meeting near you, and attend a meeting this week.  There’s nothing to be afraid of!  You’re going to find people there who are just like you in your same situation.

The inherent safety and anonymity of these meetings permits a level of honesty, humility, and faith in Christ sufficient to allow the repentance process to start working within me. The meetings are safe because everyone there suffers from the same addictions that I do. Therefore, I can have confidence that they will not gossip, backbite, judge, or condemn in the same way people might in other settings.

Continue reading “12-Step Meetings”

The 12 Steps – An Overview

I realized that the core of 12-Step programs aligned with something familiar to me from my religious upbringing—a higher power helping me become a better person. This higher power encompassed faith, self-reflection, personal growth, and support from others. Although I had encountered similar ideas in my spiritual journey, I questioned the importance of revisiting them within the context of 12-Step programs. Previous knowledge alone hadn’t freed me from addiction, so why would exploring these principles again in the context of the 12 steps make any difference? However, I’ve found an answer, and I want to share it with you.

Continue reading “The 12 Steps – An Overview”