Still Effective After All These Years After 80 years, AA still works
For those seeking to break free from addiction to drugs and alcohol, one of the most widely used -- and easily accessible -- tools has been the Twelve Steps, first published in 1939 in the book,”Alcoholics Anonymous: The Story of How More Than One Hundred Men Have Recovered from Alcoholism.” Not much has changed since 1939, in what the Twelve Steps require of individuals, in order to regain control of their lives. The process, known to its adherents as “working the steps,” involves taking individual responsibility for one’s actions, admitting that one is powerless to control the addiction, and seeking the help of a higher power in order to heal. The benefits of the Twelve Step method are widely known: acceptance into a fellowship of non-users who regularly attend meetings to discuss their addictions, face their actions, and atone for them through spiritual practice and forgiveness. Although Alcoholics Anonymous and its many offshoots do not conduct or allow others to conduct research into the effectiveness of the methods, the military has produced studies that show individuals who attend meetings are 60% more likely to achieve sobriety than those who do not.
Millions of men and women around the world have used the Twelve Steps to break free from a wide variety of addictions and compulsions. More than 200 self-help organizations around the world have adopted twelve-step principles for help with compulsion for, and/or addiction to, gambling, crime, food, sex, hoarding, debting and over-working, among others.
Where did the Twelve Steps come from? According to an article published by AA co-founder Bill W. in 1953, there were three primary sources of inspiration: the Oxford Groups, Dr. William D. Silkworth of Towns Hospital and the famed psychologist, William James, widely considered the father of modern psychology. The Oxford Groups, an evangelical movement which became popular in the 1920’s and early 30’s, preached concepts like absolute honesty, absolute purity, absolute unselfishness and absolute love. “The Twelve Steps could be considered a personal roadmap for achieving sobriety and serenity.”
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