12-steps for Drug Addicts

Transforming Addiction: Embracing Recovery Through the 12 Steps

Windle, Lauren. (2018, March 28). Lessons a drug addict can teach you. TEDxSurreyUniversity.

Summary:
Lauren Windle shares her personal journey from heavy drinking and cocaine use at 22 to achieving sobriety through the structured process of the 12-step recovery program. After hitting a low point marked by deteriorating physical health and emotional isolation, she sought help from a support group where honest sharing and connection played a pivotal role. By admitting her powerlessness, embracing a higher power, conducting a moral inventory, and making amends, Lauren gradually rebuilt her life. Her story underscores the importance of self-care, community support, and the transformative power of facing one’s fears to overcome addiction. Now, she facilitates a recovery course to help others find the path to healing.

1. Admitted powerlessness: We admitted we were powerless over our addiction and that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Believed in a greater power: We came to believe that a power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Turned our lives over: We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. Conducted a moral inventory: We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted our wrongs: We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Prepared for change: We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked for help: We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of those harmed: We made a list of all persons we had harmed.
9. Became willing to make amends: We became willing to make amends to them all.
10. Continued personal inventory: We continued to take personal inventory and promptly admitted when we were wrong.
11. Sought spiritual connection: We sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will and the power to carry that out.
12. Carried the message: Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics or addicts and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Addicts: puzzling behavior a mystery, surprising new information

West Palm Beach – September 17, 2013 -  A pervasive social issue, addiction and addictive behavior could touch each and every one of us at some time in our lives. If the behavior of your alcoholic or drug addict is puzzling, then Understanding Addiction could bring a better understanding of them. Much of the new information in Christopher O'Brien's book might be surprising----- reducing the mystery surrounding our view of addiction. .

If the alcoholic or addict is your child, your life partner, a business associate, or even you; Understanding Addiction is intended to supplement what has already been learned from clinical and grass roots recovery (12 Steps and other groups).  It will assist in identifying the particular components and methods that continually improve the quality of recovery.

"For each person, there is a unique mix of influences, symptoms, and consequences.  This book might bring a better understanding  that could improve your ability to accept them, love them, and perhaps assist them in achieving recovery."

About the Author
Christopher O'Brien holds an M.S. in Counseling Studies and a post-gradate certification in "Contemporary Theory in Addictive Behavior". A Certified Addiction Professional (CAP), Mr. O'Brien maintains a private practice as an addiction counselor and interventionist.