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April 21, 2025 8 min read
What are AA’s 12 Steps?
AA, or Alcoholics Anonymous, is a mutual support organization that helps individuals recover from alcohol addiction. The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous outline a set of principles to guide individuals in their journey to sobriety. Here are the AA's 12 Steps:
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.
These steps are meant to provide a framework for self-reflection, acceptance, and personal growth, as well as fostering a sense of community and support among AA members. It's important to note that the term "God" in the steps can be interpreted in a way that aligns with an individual's personal beliefs, regardless of religious affiliation or lack thereof.
Why Are the 12 Steps Important?
The 12 Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) are considered important for several reasons. Here are some key reasons why the 12 Steps are significant:
§ Acknowledgment of powerlessness: The first step involves admitting that one is powerless over alcohol and that their life has become unmanageable. This recognition helps individuals confront their addiction and take responsibility for their actions.
§ Promoting self-reflection: The 12 Steps encourage individuals to engage in self-reflection, examining their behaviors, attitudes, and the impact of their addiction on themselves and others. This introspection aids in personal growth and understanding.
§ Encouraging support and fellowship: AA emphasizes the importance of connecting with others who have experienced similar challenges. Through group meetings and fellowship, individuals receive support, guidance, and understanding from peers who can relate to their struggles.
§ Addressing character defects: The Steps prompt individuals to examine their flaws and character defects honestly. This self-awareness helps identify areas for personal improvement and facilitates the development of healthier behaviors.
§ Making amends: Step 9 focuses on making amends to those who have been harmed by one's addiction. By taking responsibility for past actions and making sincere efforts to right the wrongs, individuals can repair relationships and rebuild trust.
§ Encouraging spiritual growth: The 12 Steps promote a spiritual foundation, which can be interpreted in different ways depending on an individual's beliefs. This spiritual aspect helps individuals find meaning, purpose, and guidance in their recovery journey.
§ Providing a roadmap for recovery: The 12 Steps offer a structured approach to recovery, providing individuals with a clear roadmap for overcoming addiction. The progressive nature of the Steps encourages individuals to work through each stage systematically.
§ Maintenance of sobriety: The Steps help individuals develop coping mechanisms and tools for maintaining long-term sobriety. By incorporating principles such as self-reflection, accountability, and support, individuals can navigate challenges and avoid relapse.
§ Continual self-improvement: The 12 Steps promote an ongoing commitment to personal growth and improvement. Even after completing the Steps, individuals are encouraged to apply the principles in their daily lives, fostering a lifelong journey of self-improvement.
It's important to note that while the 12 Steps have been highly influential in Alcoholics Anonymous, they may not be the right fit for everyone. Different individuals and recovery programs may employ alternative approaches to addiction recovery based on individual needs and preferences.
AA’s Fifth Step
The Fifth Step of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a crucial part of the recovery process, emphasizing honesty, self-reflection, and accountability. It states: "Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs." Let's delve into what this step entails:
§ Admitted to God: In this context, "God" refers to a higher power or a spiritual entity, as understood by the individual. This admission to God involves recognizing and acknowledging the wrongs committed during one's active alcohol addiction, as well as the consequences that ensued.
§ Admitted to ourselves: The Fifth Step encourages deep self-reflection and introspection. It entails acknowledging the reality of one's behavior, character defects, and the harm caused to oneself and others. It requires an honest and fearless examination of one's actions, motivations, and patterns of behavior associated with alcoholism.
§ Admitted to another human being: This aspect of the step involves sharing the exact nature of one's wrongs with another person. The choice of this person, often called a "sponsor" in AA, is essential. A sponsor is usually an experienced AA member who has gone through the steps and can provide guidance and support. The purpose of confiding in another person is to unburden oneself, gain perspective, and receive feedback and guidance from someone who understands the challenges of addiction recovery.
The act of admitting the exact nature of one's wrongs to another person fosters accountability, humility, and connection. By vocalizing and sharing these truths, individuals can confront their past actions, take ownership of their mistakes, and work towards personal growth and healing.
It is important to note that the Fifth Step is a confidential and private process. The individual sharing their wrongs with another person is protected by the principles of anonymity and trust within the AA fellowship.
Overall, the Fifth Step of AA encourages individuals to face their past honestly, take responsibility for their actions, and begin the process of self-forgiveness and healing. By openly discussing their wrongs, individuals can gain a deeper understanding of themselves, cultivate humility, and strengthen their commitment to sobriety.
Why We Chose the Name “Exact Nature”
Why indeed.
For many newcomers to sobriety, the steps look like a tall order. I remember, at a very young age, reading the steps where I went to church. Too young to understand their purpose, I remember thinking whoever practiced those steps must be pretty extreme. Even as an upcoming alcoholic and drug addict in grade school, I knew the steps sounded a little…well… cultish.
Even the Big Book addresses the neurotic newcomer exclaiming, “What an order! I can’t go through with it.” Truth be told, the steps are extreme. Unfortunately addiction is, by its very nature, exceptionally extreme. And alcohol addiction is no exception. To arrest an extreme illness, a treatment that employs drastic measures must be taken.
A lot of sober newcomers bounce out of the program after the 3rd step. The ones that do make it through the 4th step hit snags on the 5th step because it demands rigorous honesty. That’s rigorous, not partial honesty or mostly honest… rigorous honesty!
Fifth Step – Incredible Benefits
In his book The 12 Steps and 12 Traditions, Bill Wilson explains the benefits of thoroughly completing a 5th step. The fifth step of the 12 step recovery program states that we, “Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.” This vital exercise begins to provide emotional, mental and spiritual relief. By sharing wrong with a trusted confidant, guilt and shame start to melt away. Newcomers begin to realize their troubled past isn’t as unique as once thought.Both painful and rewarding, the 5th step is essential to the fundamental change of personality required to overcome alcohol and drug addiction. In its simplest form, the fifth step is simply a confession of personal wrong-doings. Confession is a long standing practice in the Judeo/Christian tradition, and alcoholics usually store a vast collection of closet skeletons. By sharing the depths of their conscience with another person, alcoholics allow fresh air to enter their soul’s closely-guarded closet of shameful skeletons.
Repentence, similar to confession (and equally painful), is also espoused in the Buddhist verse found in Practices and Vows of Samantabadra Bodhisattva (chapter 40):
“For all the evil deeds I have done in the past,
Created by my body, speech and mind,
From beginningless greed, hatred and delusion,
I now know shame and repent them all.”
The original architects of the 12 steps wove the powerful, spiritual tradition of confession for a reason. It is effective. It is healing. It is one of the most valuable tools to alleviate past burdens. As Bill Wilson notes:
“If we have swept the search light of Step Four back and forth over our careers, and it has revealed in stark relief those experiences we’d rather not remember, if we have come to know how wrong thinking and action have hurt us and others, then the need to quit living by ourselves with those tormenting ghosts of yesterday gets more urgent than ever. We have to talk to somebody about them.” (12×12, pg.55).
This is precisely what the 5th Step of the 12 step process requires of those who genuinely desire sobriety – a candid discussion in light of a 4th step inventory. Although the word “required” repels many an alcoholics or drug addicts, Bill Wilson further warns that “without a fearless admission of our defects to another human being we could not stay sober.” (12×12, pgs. 56&57). Obviously, staying sober is a prerequisite for meaningful, fulfilling recovery.
The Fifth Step is More Than Just Relief
But personal admission of one’s checkered past offers more than mere relief. The Big Book states that the fifth step, if conducted fearlessly and thoroughly, produces unhealthy patterns of behavior. Destructive behaviors reflect underlying character defects, the engine that drives off-the-wall actions. Before freshly sober members can begin to address these core issues, they must undertake an identification process to understand their precise nature.
Of course, personal admission of a rag-tag past is sobering in and of itself. As Wilson points out, however, meaningful insights offer the potential to initiate a purging of core issues that drive alcoholics to drink. Incredible emotional and mental relief, coupled with profound personal insight, makes the fifth step a valuable exercise for anyone. Successful completion marks a return to sanity, or a clear recognition of who and what we are.
For most with a truly self-addicted mind, the 12 step recovery process provides an invaluable method to rid oneself of self pity, emotional entanglements, delusions of grandeur and ‘playing the victim.’ Step five initiates the change. But remember, there are another seven to go!
