#twelvesteps

[livingsober]

The 12 Steps as they are listed in the "Big Book" of Alcoholics Anonymous

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol — that our lives had become unmanageable.

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

3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.

4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.

6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.

7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.

8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.

12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these Steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

[nadzer-sprinkles]

Help! Such a small little word with a big massive punch! #howiseeit Asking for help was so humiliating for me. With my delusion of being better than everyone and my belief of not being good enough, I hated showing any kind of weakness (which today I know it to be humility). I'd rather fail than ask for help. And when I asked for help, it really felt like a punch in my face. I am a failure punch. Thank Goodness for recovery! Thank Goodness for the people in recovery. I asked for help with all my heart after a year sober, with the obsession to use streaming in my head! What a relief it was. Like the song, doors opened; one of which was recovery! Today my favourite sayings are: I don't know; can you show me? I don't understand; show me what do to; help me please. No shame, no cringing, no humiliation. Simply me being a student of life. 🛐🤗☯️🥰☮ #sobriety #soberlife #recoveryispossible #cleanandsober #recoverjourney #mentalhealth #cocaineanonymous #alcoholicanonymous #soberwarriors #soberliving #drugaddiction #addictionstigma #alcoholismrecovery #alcoholism #recoverywarriors #12steps #twelvesteps #12steprecoveryprocess #onedayatatime #ODAAT #soberissexy #mindalteringsubstances #addictionrecovery #recoveryrocks #cleanandsober #AABigBook #wecanrecover #thereisasolution https://www.instagram.com/p/CIpphTKgRkE/?igshid=1fdalr4dsqd3x

[shadowofyourreflection]

So much luck in a book.

[neloran]

Progress, not Perfection

We may never fully overcome the trauma. But our desire to keep striving for healthy behaviors and compassionate connections with other DID survivors will create new, safe experiences we always deserved growing up.

Yesterday, my fiancé told me how much he loved me and was proud of my recovery. I felt uncomfortable with the positive feedback and I didn’t know how to receive it. How could I when my whole life was nothing but abusive feedback for everything I did?

I started internally beating myself up, feeling like an idiot or as if something was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I just accept his love and support like a normal human adult?

Well, guess what? Progress, not perfection. The fact that he is in my life, that I trust him, love him, and sought a relationship with him is progress.

I keep being aware of what I need to work on to keep going in this right direction. It’s not a step backward. It’s a sidestep that I take notice of, so I can stop doing this awkward dance.

[bdayallday]

getting better ❤️

[debbielamm]

Finding God Through Hard Times

Recovery is hard. There is no easy way to do it. Whether you or a loved one is walking this journey, it will be hard work. I heard a sermon recently about finding God IN the hard times, but lately I have been thinking it is more that we need to find God THROUGH the hard times. We all have our own experiences that seem to break us down. Relapse definitely brings it, but so does the loss of a job,…

[pvrecovery]

The latest newsletter from Nick Wignall: https://nickwignall.com/productivity-spelled-backward-is-self-discovery #sober #clean #puravidasle #onedayatatime #recovery #twelvesteps https://www.instagram.com/p/CU7vMv3FyfQ/?utm_medium=tumblr

[devildrinksvodka]

Saturday Newz- Ramblings on Alcoholics Anonymous

Saturday Newz- Ramblings on Alcoholics Anonymous

If you’ve been in the recovery community for a minute, you’ve probably noticed that there are some strong opinions flying around. AA seems to be a hot topic that comes up frequently. I’ve been to maybe five or six AA meetings in my life, but haven’t been in a couple years now. I frequently think about going, especially during the summer because there’s a close noon group that I like. I thought…

[out-thegut]

A letter from my brother when he was in jail when I was 14, 8 years ago and my 6 month coin I received tonight. I started “really” using shortly after this letter and became a shadow of the person he once knew. I’m grateful I can be someone he’s proud to have as a brother today. It’s never been that way, ever. More importantly I’m glad I can continue to grow as a person everyday in recovery and no longer turn my back on myself day in and day out. Today I can be compassionate and easy on myself throughout all my new endeavors. Unfortunately, I did live up to his “don’t end up in jail it sucks” statement at the end of this, umpteen times and had a little too much fun (the bad times trump the “fun” times ten fold) but it comes with the territory of my addiction and decisions I used to make. It was all stepping stones to get me to where I am today and I choose to be grateful for that. The longest I’ve ever been clean from all substances and I still have leaps and bounds to go but I owe where I am today to my people and for them imbedding in me the ultimate one-liner for myself to “keep coming back” and now they can’t get me to leave and by any means, if you have family you have everything. I’m happy today and glad I chose this life.

[steelroseforge]

Sunday📆 Celebration🥳 for Sarah's Seventh 'Second Birthday in Recovery' Build!! 💍Coin Ring From a 🥈Silver AA Recovery Medallion. I'll Build her ring💍 and we'll talk about the next job on the list, more Turnbuckles in Lake Fenton!! If I have time⌚, Maybe we'll do a GIVEAWAY!!! 🏷 a friend, and come join the fun around 8p.m. (EST)!!! . . . . #addictionrd#addictionisadisease#addictionrehab#addictionsucks#addictioncare#addictionisanillness#twelvesteps#soberisbetter#sobrietygangster#soberblogger#sobrietyisworthit#sobrietyjourney#emotionalsobriety#sobrietycoach#sexysobriety#sobrietyispossible#sobrietybirthday#sobrietygifts#sobrietydate#sobrietyisawesome#interiordesigntrends#betterhomesandgardens#blackandwhitedesign#modernfarmhousemonday#customhomedecor#kitchendesignideas#industrialdecor#industrialdesign#industrialdecor#industrialliving (at Steel Rose Forge) https://www.instagram.com/p/CL1-VY2j1V0/?igshid=a867928hb73

[crothersy1]

#overeatersanonymous #twelvesteps #adayatatime #feelingsarefacts https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ7p4u1niTY/?igshid=116wl61nxjy0x

[neloran]

Step One Inventory: Powerlessness

I finished the first half of my Step One Inventory on powerlessness.  I’m not going to share it here because it’s the most detailed account of my trauma I’ve ever written.  It’s something I would need to process in therapy and perhaps with a sponsor first.  But here are a few of my takeaways...

**TRIGGER WARNING**

I fought a lot as a kid, and again as a teenager, against my abusers.  There were many times I just fought and fought.  There were also many times I gave up and dissociated.  There were many times early on, I had no idea what was happening was wrong.

All of the mixed messages (fighting but failing, telling about the abuse but not believed, disconnecting from my body) caused intense self-loathing to develop.  

A childhood so out of control, the only thing my child-brain could accept, in order to survive and not go completely insane, was that it was my fault.  

No wonder “admitting powerlessness” is so triggering.  It forces me to connect with the terror, confusion, and utter helplessness -- so intense -- that I had no recourse but to hate myself.

Yet--I also must respect this.  

Blaming myself for the abuse was a survival technique that worked.  It allowed me to make sense of the incomprensible trauma, and file it away in my brain with a neat label.

I’m alive because I believed it was my fault.  Yeah, I struggle with DID, low self-esteem, depression, and a whole host of nonsense, but I. AM. ALIVE.

[bdayallday]

The insanity in the addiction is real. Just thinking on my lowest, hopeless days, you’re so scared of CHANGE. What will life be like if I stop using? It’s a scary thought. But being miserable in active addiction is already so scary and so low, imagine knowing that if you put down the substance , life gets a little easier. Imagine knowing that if you actually work on yourself and learn to love yourself your whole perception of the “big scary world” slowly disappears. You find out life without using is possible, you remember things you use to enjoy, you appreciate everything so much more, you become a person you can be proud of, you learn that you are capable of so much more than you EVER could imagine. 7 months ago I came to accept that my disease would take my life, little did I know that I would actually prosper and grow every single day after that because I had accepted I had a problem and the problem was me. My self pitying, lack of respect for myself and others, my failure to cope with life, my instincts became to use when I’m happy, sad, mad. It became a way of life that consumed my time, finances, health and happiness. I lost relationships, my family, my career, but most of all I lost myself. Today, I can honestly say life is rough but it is beautiful. To wake up is a blessing, to love myself and others, to be able to provide for myself and others, to be able to tell someone you absolutely can start healing today, today is the best day to change your life. If I could take my disease away and restart from that first time, I wouldn’t. I know that my experiences have shaped me and taught me so much about life and myself that I would NEVER would’ve realized if I hadn’t gone through the struggles and adversities I faced. I wish I could fix you, heal you but all I can do is show you how I live and tell you that it gets better if you’re willing to submit and ask for help. I love you so much.

[debbielamm]

Against Apathy

Its been a while. Honestly, I have been struggling with the “why.” Why do I write? Why do I minister? Does it really matter? I put on blinders that blocked me from seeing what I needed to see. I have friends who have put words on the blinders. Apathy. Tired. They are so overwhelmed with life that they can’t see the why anymore. It’s difficult to live as God calls us to live in the middle of a…