By Steve K. As a teenager and young adult, I had very little engagement with religious ideas and lived a hedonistic lifestyle characterised by alcohol and other drug misuse. This lifestyle resulted in me turning to a 12-Step fellowship for help to stop drinking. The 12 Steps suggest belief in a power greater than oneself […]
By Steve K. “The word shame is derived from the Indo-European ‘skein’, which means to hide. Shame makes us want to hide from ourselves, and our peers – making shame an existentially isolating state of mind. Feeling shame makes a person dejection-based, passive, or helpless, causing the ashamed person to focus more on devaluing or […]
By Steve K. A sense of social connection and belonging is an evolved human need. It’s vital to our health and well-being and promotes a sense of self-worth and acceptance. Social isolation and a sense of disconnection is a predictor of poor mental health and is often characteristic of the illness of addiction. “Belonging is, […]
By Joe C. Preface Beyond Belief: Agnostic Musings for 12 Step Life marks the third decade of Century 21 with this third printing, 10-year anniversary offering. Has this decade of recovery been the best ever for the newly recovery-curious and people with long-term recovery? I think so. A growing diversity of people with process and/or substance […]
By Steve K. My struggle with acceptance often seems to be related to fear. I identify strongly with the passage in the book ‘Alcoholics Anonymous’ (aka, the Big Book): “This short word [fear] somehow touches about every aspect of our lives. It was an evil and corroding thread; the fabric of our existence was shot […]
By Steve K. The picture of the alcoholic personality in the book Alcoholics Anonymous (aka, the Big Book) is generally portrayed as selfish and self-centred (pages 60-62, 3rd edition). The ego is often demonised in spiritual literature and traditions and is even considered illusory within Buddhism. Religious and spiritual traditions often suggest a mixed message […]
By Steve K. This reflection on the subject of transformation through suffering, adversity, loss, or trauma is particularly pertinent to those who’ve suffered from histories of addiction. People in recovery from addiction have often lived through traumatic experiences and many also suffer with co-occurring health problems. Despite these hardships, their recovery often brings about dramatic […]
By Steve K. An important part of the literature of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) that offers hope to those seeking recovery from addiction is the passage in relation to Step Nine, commonly referred to as the ‘Promises’. (1) There are Twelve promises relating to Step Nine. Twelve being a favourite number in relation to AA principles […]
By Steve K. Upon attending my very first meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), I left with a real sense of hope that I could stop drinking alcohol and develop a better, more meaningful life. I sat in a room full of people who shared their various experiences of addiction to alcohol and how they had […]
By Matt Zoller Seitz Leslie isn’t circling the bottom of the drain yet, but she’s sunk pretty low. We first meet the title character of “To Leslie” (Andrea Riseborough) in an opening credits montage of photos showing what life was like before. Leslie got married, had a son, won $190,000 in a lottery and then burned through it all. The main […]
By Dr Wendy Dossett Beliefs and emotions are commonly accepted features of spirituality, but spirituality also includes ‘disciplines’ and ‘practices’. While ‘professional’ language and the ‘spiritual’ practices of 12-Step recovery may be framed differently, they are not substantively different discourses. In setting the ‘spiritual programme’ of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) alongside the evidence for AA’s mechanisms […]
By Steve K. On Wednesday 7th December 2022, the first ever documentary to gain access to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) was aired in the UK. The following three reviews offer a positive portrait of the role AA can play in helping those with alcohol dependency to recover and rebuild their lives. The documentary […]
By Steve K. The medical view of addiction suggests it’s a chronic and progressive ‘brain disease’ which requires treatment. In using the term chronic, I mean long-term and incurable. “Addiction is a primary, chronic disease of brain reward, motivation, memory, and related circuitry.” American Society of Addiction Medicine. (1) This view is supported by Alcoholics Anonymous […]
By Steve K. Human Beings are complex and the nature of our minds and behaviour is in many respects still mysterious despite all the resources of 21st century science. Although much has been learned by modern science about addiction, it’s still a controversial topic among many experts in the field. For example, brain disease vs […]
By Steve K. Emotional Sobriety: a combination of ’emotional balance’, ’emotional autonomy’, and ’emotional maturity’. Definition of emotional sobriety by Dr Allen Berger: “Emotional sobriety is a mental state in which we know longer react to our changing emotions as though they were the governing facts of our lives. This mental state is made possible […]
The following excerpt is adapted from the book ‘Higher and Friendly Powers – Transforming Addiction and Suffering’ (1) by Peg O’Connor. ‘Renouncing addiction to alcohol or other substances and behaviour excludes hedging one’s bets. One cannot both become a new person and hold onto old ways of doing and being. Nor can a person genuinely […]
By Steve K. My reply to this question is that the philosophy and culture of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is replete with cognitive-behavioural interventions and effectively operates as a form of CBT and peer support system. AA and other 12 Step fellowships are also influenced by medical, philosophical, and spiritual ideas and principles. The psychologist Clifford […]
12-STEP PHILOSOPHY 