What Is Powerlessness? Step One of the 12-Steps of AA Leave a comment

You must first admit powerless over alcohol and be honest with yourself about the situation. We sometimes feel as if we are the victim and point fingers at other people or situations. This kind of thinking prevents us from looking at our powerlessness. Accepting our powerlessness opens us up to the willingness for a Higher Power’s help. We let this Power remove the problem by practicing the rest of the steps as a way of life. Until we can accept powerlessness, we will not fully seek Power.

Recovery Advocacy

Therapists can offer guidance, tools, and insights to help individuals navigate the challenges of recovery. Joi Honer directs the operations that support our alumni in their recovery from mental health and substance use disorders. Ms. Honer, who has been in long-term recovery for over 40 years, has worked in the treatment field for over 33 years. She holds certifications in addiction and co-occurring disorder counseling and a bachelor’s degree in addiction studies, having graduated summa cum laude. At The Kimberly Center, we know that acknowledging powerlessness isn’t easy, but we want to help simplify the recovery process. Call us now at KCENTER so that we can help you tackle the first steps of your recovery.

The Twelve Steps

You are strong enough not to let alcohol take over your life again. By practicing abstinence, alcohol cannot wield its power over you. And when you start living a sober life, then you can gradually gain your power back as your power comes from sobriety. For many individuals in recovery, embracing a higher power or spiritual connection is a significant tool in surrendering to powerlessness.

Overcoming Alcoholism

The first step is about powerlessness over behavior that makes the individual’s life unmanageable. Many 12-Step programs are well-known groups that use the concept of powerlessness to benefit recovery. The Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Big Book says “powerless over alcohol” as its first principle. AA members believe they cannot control their drinking without the help of a higher power. This belief is what gives them hope and helps them stay sober.

So What Is the First Step Asking For?

But the terminal stages of addiction will strip everything away, and an addicted person who refuses to recover will often be left with nothing. Feeling powerless makes us believe that there is nothing we can do. We don’t have the power over the obsession to drink, nor do we have the power to control how much we drink once we start. What we can do is turn to a Power greater than ourselves for help.

Surrendering Control

Last year, we expanded our services to include robust mental health treatment, a new outpatient location, and specialized programming for our nation’s veterans, with more to come this year! We are visually recognizing our growth with a unified look that better reflects who we are today and the passion we have for helping everyone with their addiction and mental health recovery journeys. Step One powerless over alcohol AA is fundamentally about honesty, while active addiction is characterized by denial. The ways one tells themselves and everyone around them “see I’m okay” when they most likely are not. Fully accepting step one is not always a straight path, but there is good news! The old belief that a person must fully accept themselves as powerless for the program to work has been challenged and tested.

• In recovery, we learn that it takes far more strength to surrender and admit powerlessness than it does to try to control addiction by ourselves.
• Furthermore, access to treatment can be hindered by socioeconomic factors, lack of healthcare resources, or insufficient support systems.
• You will be unable to go further in your recovery if you cannot recognize that you and alcohol do not mix.
• By recognizing the lack of control over addiction, individuals can begin to explore alternative paths towards recovery.

What Is Powerlessness? Step One of the 12-Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous

Admitting powerlessness is essentially waving the white flag and recognizing that you cannot try to drink anymore. History has proven that you have no control once a drop of alcohol enters your body. If you can grasp this knowledge, you will become a recovering, strong person. Recovery is about accepting that alcohol does not add to your life.

The Benefits of Embracing Powerlessness

• Quite the contrary, being able to admit that you can’t drink makes you self-aware and honest.
• You might be avoiding taking the first step toward recovery due to myths and misunderstandings surrounding AA and its steps.
• You might have this thought if you come from a family background that was rigid, with strict rules and no tolerance for mistakes.