The 12 Step program for the treatment of alcohol addiction was first introduced in the book The Alcoholics Anonymous in the year 1939, the gospel of the now-worldwide organization Alcoholics Anonymous. This program was made so as to cure people from alcohol addiction and bring them back to lead a healthy life.



The Alcoholics Anonymous made this program so as to make it possible for people who are dependent on alcohol to kick this habit in just twelve steps, and hence the name. This program became an instant hit and is till date one of the most popular ways for treating alcohol addiction. Many people have benefited from this program. Even other organizations such as the Cocaine Anonymous and the Narcotics Anonymous have adopted this program.

The 12 Step program was also made into different versions so as to treat people with other kinds of problems such as eating disorders and people who were having acne problems. This shows how popular this 12 Step program is. Here we shall try to understand the reason for the popularity of this program. Let us take a look at the 12 steps of this alcohol treatment program first. Here they are:-

1.Accept that you are an alcohol addict and that your life is in peril as you are unable to control your alcohol intake. Alcohol has gained control over you.

2.Have faith that there is some Divine Power, which will help you come out of it, as every problem has a solution. Accept that you will again be able to have control of your own life.

3.Make a decision that you will follow the guidelines of that Divine Power and will follow their suggestions with complete understanding.

4.Find out the real meaning of your life.

5.Admit to the Divine Power and to another earthly person that you have done wrong by getting addicted to alcohol. Confess that you have committed a sin by abusing alcohol and that you have committed several other sins under the influence of alcohol.

6.Trust in the Divine Power that it will correct all your misdeeds.

7.In your prayer, request the Divine Power to help you in correcting all the wrongs you have committed.

8.Know who all you have hurt with your bad habits and be ready to set things aright again.

9.Start correcting whatever has been spoiled in all those years. But if you think that your correcting something will hurt someone more than it will mend things, leave it as it is.

10.Keep on thinking about all the wrongs that you did and find ways for correcting your deeds.

11.Prayers and meditation are the two things with you. Pray to the Divine Power that guides you and meditate. Ask the blessing of the Divine Power to make you come out of your alcohol dependency.

12.Don't keep this program to yourself. Meet other alcohol addicts and educate them about how they can correct their own lives.

The 12 Step program is highly spiritual as you can make out after reading these steps. This is the only one program that tells the addict to rely on a Divine Power to regain the control over their lives. This Divine Power could be the God you believe in. However, it must be noted that this 12 Step program is a spiritual program and not a religious one. It does not cater to any one particular religion. It is not meant only for people of one particular religion, it is for all. That is one of the reasons why this program has gained so much popularity.

The beginning of this 12 Step program is nothing but an intervention process. The difference is that in this program the addict is made to think about their addiction and take corrective measures. The basic trick in this program is to make the addict aware that they have hurt someone by their deeds. This feeling will only motivate them to stay away from the addiction.

It is better to have someone whom the addict trusts and believes to become the witness as the addict embarks on this journey of the 12 Step program. That person can be either from the family of the addict or any close friend. The treatment centers where they have this 12 Step program insist that the addict should attend this program along with a family member. This gives extra meaning to the whole program. This 12 Step program is not just limited for alcohol addiction but it is being used in other treatment programs too.