The Alcoholic Addict and Step Six

“Were entirely ready to have god remove all these defects of character.”

“We have emphasized willingness as being indispensable. Are we now ready to let god remove from us all the things which we have admitted were objectionable? Can he now take them all- every one? If we still cling to something we will not let go, we ask god to help us be willing.” Into Action pg 76 from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

When we first came to Alcoholic Anonymous we were full of character defects and short comings. We were out right mental defectives and we did not know that we did not know. however there were some character defects which we were unwilling when we got to step 6 to let go of, because they still worked for us in the sense that lying, manipulation, as well as other character defects might still be working it still might be used as a means to get what one wants and self preservation. However the defects that we felt like we had to hang on to was simply based off of fear. This is why we have to pray for willingness. In Step 6 we end up making a conscience decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of god again as we did in step 3. When we finally realize the defects no longer work for us and the lifestyle we’ve chose to live, we are then willing to be rid of them fully and to start working towards an altruistic movement. Like it says in the big book. “We feel, after many years of experience, that we have found nothing which has contributed more to the rehabilitation of these men than the altruistic movement now growing up among them.” How can we get to that place one might ask…after all we weren’t the poster children for selfless acts and we were ridden with short comings. There are several helpful establishments that exist for the sole purpose of helping alcoholics get to an altruistic place and recover such as; drug addiction detox, AA, 30 day rehab programs, NA, or a California alcohol rehab. It’s not easy changing everything and turning your life around, but once you clean your wreckage up and get closer to being the person you want to be you will find a new happiness and a fulfilling life awaits you.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step Five

STEP FIVE: “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and another human being the exact natures of our wrongs.”

In step five we take our inventory we did and sit down with another person (usually our sponsor. However in the past people have chosen to read it to others as well i.e. clergymen. This is fine provided there is trust in and a working knowledge of the steps in regard to the other person.) We then read our inventory making sure we left out nothing including our deepest darkest secrets. This step separates the people that are serious about getting and staying sober vs. the ones that aren’t serious about getting alcohol addiction help. This might seem like a pointless and scary step. Many might ask what’s the point? Or what if the person I read this too tells my secrets? This step requires a huge amount of trust and faith. If steps one, two, and three were done thoroughly faith and trust shouldn’t be an issue. If you find you are struggling with it you can always go back and do more work on step 3.Many places such as an affordable rehab, AA, or a drug rehab facility in LA can point you in the right direction as far as starting and continuing step work in a safe environment. As far as what the point of this step is or the benefits go there are many. You finally get to be rid of all your secrets and skeletons that have been holding you down. After all your secrets keep you sick. You get a sense of freedom, you get a sense of relief that only the people that have taken this step could imagine, and you can begin to hold your head up high and look people in the eyes again with dignity and grace and you can finally be free.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step Four

STEP FOUR: “Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.”

Through doing steps 1, 2, and 3 we have built our foundation for recovery. An archway which we can walk through. We had to make sure we were thorough. If we weren’t then we would have to go back and do more work or we would eventually drink. After we did this we immediately began work on the fourth step. A four column process that not only helps us to look at the times we were hurt by others but also helps us to see we were not the victims that we once thought we were in these situations. We got to see our parts and the areas of our lives that it affected. As far as our fourth step goes it was imperative that we dug deep and made sure nothing was left out or else our efforts would have been in vain. If we are able to recognize, take responsibility, and clean our side of the street then we can regain control of our lives. However if we remain victims we assume a position that has little or no power/control  aside from the time, anger, and fear we assign to it. In order to do this step we may enlist the help of places such as an addiction program in Los Angeles, AA, or a California alcohol rehab. Most of these places also offer support for family of addicts and alcoholics available and if not then they can point you or your loved one in the right direction. If you are tired of living this way or feeling like a victim these and other places are there for you to get the help you need.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step Three

STEP THREE: “Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.”

After having come up with our own concept of a higher power in step two This seems like it should be an easy step to take but it’s not so easy for alcoholics who were used to running their own lives and acting based on their own will. After all it says in the big book that we were perfect examples of self will run riot. How can we have that level of blind faith with something most of us had either negative or little experience with? The reality is that whether we are aware of it or not we had that level of blind faith in alcohol. Alcohol was def a power greater than us. We had faith  in it every day. we had faith that it would do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, that we would be taken care of and that it would do for us what we needed it to do. So you see we had no problem turning our will and our lives over to a higher power. This continued on until we sought out alcohol addiction help. The big fact for us was that we were very familiar when it came to the concept of faith. We only had the illusion of control and even though we were acting on our own will, we were still powerless. If we were willing to have even a quarter of the faith in a higher power that we had in alcohol then we would be set. There are many places designed to help with this and the other eleven steps such as; an affordable rehab, AA, and drug addiction detox. You or your loved ones don’t have to do this on your own. It can be scary to make an honest decision to turn your will and your life over. The payoff though is the removal of fear, peace, serenity, and an amazing fulfilling life.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step Two

STEP TWO: “We Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.”

This is a big deal for us alcoholics. Let’s look at the first half of step 2. “We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves”. This is important because first we had to come up with our own concept of a higher power. What does that look like? How is that possible when most of us who were raised with a God and were brought up with these ideas that he was damning, and shaming? Or when we think about God we think about religion and the feelings around it such as fear and judgment? Many of us didn’t come to AA thinking the greatest things or with the best feelings when it came to a higher power. After all if a higher power existed how could he/she/it let all these horrible things happen to us? We didn’t realize that our problems were of our own making. We were after all the perfect example of self will run riot. Many of us were unaware of the fact that we took over our lives and kicked “GOD” out of it. We were playing God until we found alcohol addiction help. In AA and through the second step we got to come up with our own beliefs and concepts of our own higher power. By doing that we found a loving and caring source which we could have faith in to take on all of our life problems. Many outsiders might think that sounds wishy washy to be able to create our own idea of GOD but it’s hard to imagine anything other than this working. Especially considering how defiant we are when we first get sober. Being told what we had to believe in wouldn’t have gone over too well. Now let’s take a look at the second half of the first step “could restore us to sanity”. This requires us to look at the fact that we were indeed insane before we sought out help whether it be through an addiction program in Los Angeles, AA, or a drug rehab facility in LA.When we were out there using it was very much insane. It went hand in hand with the unmanageability. The definition of insanity is “the condition of being insane. A derangement of the mind.” That could definitely be applied to our behavior surrounding drinking. Through this step we learn to trust in an infinite power rather than our finite selves and through that we are restored to sanity. What a remarkable blessing for a group of people who all at one point and time felt helpless, alone, crazy, and scared.

The Alcoholic Addict and Step One

In Alcoholics Anonymous there are suggested actions that people take called the steps.

Step One says: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol and our lives had become unmanageable.”

Many places such as 30 day rehab programs or a California alcohol rehab are twelve step centered. Let’s take a look at the first part of the first step: “We admitted we were powerless over alcohol.” In order for us to be ready to admit that we first had to reach our bottom and truly see/feel our powerlessness so that we could get to the point where we could surrender and seek out alcohol addiction help. We had to get to the point where we finally realized that not only has drinking not worked for us for a while but more importantly that no matter how many different ways we tried to control and enjoy our drinking it would never work.

In other words we had to fully admit to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics and therefore could not drink alcohol normally. This brings us to the second part of the first step.

“That our lives had become unmanageable.”Notice it doesn’t say and because of alcohol our lives had become unmanageable. That is because we come to find out that alcohol was not the problem. It was a symptom of our alcoholism. We also learn that it is a disease that centers in the mind as well as a spiritual malady. Our lives were not unmanageable because we drank it was unmanageable because of what that brought up for us and meant to us. Once we drank we couldn’t stop. The problem wasn’t in the liquid but rather the person that drank it. We were spiritually bankrupt and lacked the ability to recall the damage that came about as a result of our alcoholism. Through working the first step and starting to build a foundation we not only began to get relief from the years of suffering that drinking brought about but we found that piece by piece we were putting our lives back together and slowly watched as the unmanageability faded.

Powerlessness and Asking for Addiction Help

“Lack of power, that was our dilemma. We had to find a power by which we could live, and it had to be a power greater than ourselves. Obviously. But where and how were we to find this power?”  We Agnostics pg 45 from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

As alcoholics we spend our whole drinking career searching for power and control. We try many different methods to gain control and power over our drinking, but the last place we usually look are places we can get addiction help such as an affordable rehab, AA, or treatment centers in California. We would rather defend our right to drink or use to the death than accept alcohol addiction help. We continue to seek out power until we exhaust all of our option. At that point we can finally surrender. It’s when we don’t have any other choice than an alcoholic finally truly surrender and can get sober. In recovery we find what we have been searching for our whole lives… POWER. We start to build a relationship with a power greater than ourselves and in return regain control of our lives but the question still remains, where do we find this power? That’s easy by doing the work available through various 12 step programs or  a Los Angeles rehab. You can start on the path toward regaining power in your life. Through recovery you’ll be able, not only to regain control, but also mend broken relationships, and become happily and usefully whole. Through this lifestyle you will find a sense of purpose and joy for life that many of us have been searching for long before we got sober.

There is a Solution: 12 Step Addiction Programs and CA Rehab

“We are average Americans. All sections of this country and many of its occupations are represented as well as many political, economic, social, and religious backgrounds. We are people who normally would not mix. But there exists among us a fellowship, of friendliness, and an understanding which is indescribably wonderful. We are like the passengers of a great liner the moment after rescue from shipwreck when camaraderie, joyousness, and democracy pervade the vessel from steerage to captain’s table. Unlike the feelings of the ships passengers, however our joy and escape from disaster does not subside as we go our individual ways…The tremendous fact for every one of us is that we’ve discovered a common solution. We have a way out on which we can absolutely agree, and upon which we can join in brotherly and harmonious action”- There is a Solution page 17 from the big book of Alcoholics Anonymous.

It does not matter where you’re from, the kind of upbringing you’ve had, or the type of person you are. Regardless of age, sex, and race, alcoholism does not discriminate. It is believed that persons, places, things, or situations do not make us alcoholics. We find that regardless of those things many of us have similar experiences when it comes to alcohol. We know all too well the feeling of uselessness, self- pity, and loneliness. We know what it’s like when our disease takes over and we are caught in a world full of darkness, fear, desperation, powerlessness, pain, and emotional/spiritual bankruptcy.  When we feel helpless it can be hard to see a way out, however when we are ready to surrender and ask for alcohol addiction help we can try different things; such as California rehab centers, AA, or California drug treatment. Once we seek out help and get sober we begin to get the gifts of recovery that’s mentioned in the excerpt from “There is a Solution”.  We are able to find happiness, form meaningful relationships, and come to know a joy that we never knew could exist. There is light where there was once darkness. There is peace where there was once chaos. There is love where there was once brokenness, and the life we live is truly indescribably wonderful. It is a life beyond anyone’s wildest dreams that cannot be transmitted, but is available to those who are willing to get sober and work to achieve recovery.

Alcohol Addiction Help and Surrender

“The idea that somehow someday he will control and enjoy his drinking is the great obsession of every abnormal drinker. The persistence of this illusion is astonishing. Many pursue it into the gates of insanity or death. We learned that we had to concede to our innermost selves that we were alcoholics. This is the first step in recovery. The delusion that we are like other people, or presently may be has to be smashed.” -More About Alcoholism pg 30 from The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

Many of us wish to believe we are normal and can drink like others. Like the big book says, it’s the great obsession of every abnormal drinker and it usually leads to insanity or death. To admit we are alcoholics and that we are defeated are possibly two of the hardest things an alcoholic can admit to in their lives. Yet it is the most vital step when it comes to recovery. It’s amazing the power that this liquid has over us. We know that it destroys us yet we seek out ways to prove otherwise. We have a disease that tells us we don’t have a disease. If that’s not insanity then what is? When we finally surrender and get sober we often feel for a short period of time more lost than ever. Perhaps that’s something alcohol addiction help, or a 30 day rehab could help us with. Structure is always good in the beginning. Many of us alcoholics fall by the wayside and lose our lives to this disease but you don’t have to be one of them. There are so many other options available such as drug rehab in California, or AA. There is even support available for family of addicts. Whatever route you choose you can be in the minority rather than the majority .You can recover, and lead an amazing, happy and joyous life.

Affordable Rehab: When You’ve Given up Trying to Manage Your Drinking

“Each person is like an actor who wants to run the show; he is forever trying to arrange the lights, the ballet, the scenery and the rest of the players in his own way. If his arrangements would only stay put .if only people would do as he wished, the show would be great. Everybody including himself would be pleased.” How it works – pg.60 Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous

This is very much the alcoholics’ life. He is always trying to manage and control every area of his life so he can have a sense that things are manageable. Our lives become so chaotic that we begin grasping for any sense of stability .often times we also go through the blaming phase. If only so and so would do this or if that person would just be a little more understanding then maybe we could all be happy. We deflect responsibility for ourselves and others welfare by putting it off on other people we blame other people for our unhappiness shortcomings. We have high expectations that are often times impossible to meet. We become restless, irritable, and discontent. As a result selfish thoughts and behaviors run our lives. This can carry on into our sobriety until we take responsibility. Once we admit we are powerless and our lives are unmanageable we can begin to recognize our parts in things and be free of past wounds and harms. We can recognize we have a problem and begin to heal .if this rings true for you or you or a loved one are at the point where you are ready to get help then there are several solutions available such as drug rehab blogs, an affordable rehab, AA, and 30 day rehab programs along with many other sources. May you find the help you are looking for and may this be the first day of the rest of your life!