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The 12 Steps

You may have heard of Alcoholics Anonymous in the news or movies, with a lot of celebrities being members of the group. But what really is Alcoholics Anonymous and how does it help alcoholics?

Alcoholics Anonymous, or AA, is an organization that helps people to abstain and recover from alcohol addiction. It was founded by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith. Bill Wilson had his first taste of alcohol when he joined the army, and soon, he became addicted. Because he was drinking so much he was unable to graduate from law school, and was later admitted to a hospital where he received treatment for his alcoholism. During his hospital stay, he had a spiritual awakening that made him realize that there is a God, and this made him stop drinking. After that, he joined a Christian group and met with Dr. Bob Smith. Smith started drinking when he was studying in college, and he even became a member of a “drinking society”. His experience of alcohol addiction was even worse than Wilson’s.

In their desire to stay sober and help other alcoholics, Wilson and Smith came up with an alcohol treatment program called The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous. According to Wilson, the 12 steps were inspired by Dr. William Silkworth and the well-known psychologist William James from the Oxford Group. Since the Oxford Group was a Christian group, the principles of the 12 steps were adopted from the teachings of the Bible. These teachings include absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness, and absolute love. Wilson also remembered Dr. Silkworth teaching him that that alcoholism is an illness that can destroy people if they do not get rid of it. At this time, Wilson also read a book that was written by William James. He was moved by some of the ideas in the book, and he got the spiritual awakening he needed to stop drinking.

Based on the ideas in William James book and certain biblical principles, Wilson and Smith formed the 12 steps, which would be used to help alcoholics free themselves from their addiction. Since they have been introduced, the 12 steps have helped many people beat their addiction to alcohol, and have also been adopted by drug rehabilitation groups. Meetings are held in alcohol treatment and drug rehab centers, where members will share their personal experiences with each other.

Looking at the 12 steps, you will realize that control is an important part of the process of alcohol rehabilitation. It all starts with step one, which requires the members to admit that they have lost control of their lives because of their addiction. Step two is the beginning of the road to recovery, and the members have to believe that a “higher power” can help them free themselves of their alcohol addiction. The other steps of the program will help the addicts realize that they will be able to beat their addiction and stay sober if they let that “higher power” guide them.

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