STEP 1
How to take it: (Suggestions)
a) Take this step with a member of the group.
b) Read each question out loud, mark yes or no to each one; and
c) If you are convinced of each question, you will be feeling comfortable with
Step 1, and should move to the next step.
What should I do if I’m not convinced?
a) Let a member of the group know of your problem. Review the step with him/her. Pinpoint the part of the step you are having problems with. BE HONEST!
b) Prior to Step 1 I had to be willing to go to any length! Am I sincere?
c) Read and re-read the chapter which carries the main thrust on Step 1, namely, “More About Alcoholism,” pages 30-43. Read it 100 times if necessary.
d) Go to as many meetings as possible hearing and listening for the words that will help convince you.
What I am convinced of when I say:
“WE ADMITTED WE ARE POWERLESS OVER ALCOHOLISM – THAT OUR LIVES HAD BECOME UNMANAGEABLE.”
1. I am convinced that I have lost the ability to control my addiction(s). I cannot guarantee what will happen once I engage in them because of my alcoholism. YES NO
2. I am convinced that I have lost the power to choose whether I will engage in my addictions or not; I can’t rely on my own will power to stop myself from using them, because of my alcoholism.
YES NO
3. I am convinced that I have an illness or disease called alcoholism. I’m sick spiritually, mentally, and physically, but I can get well. Spiritually sick means excessive thought of self, self-centred, self-will run riot. Mentally sick means the thought or idea I will somehow, someday control and enjoy my addiction(s). Physically sick means I have an allergy, a craving for more develops with each use. YES NO
4. I am convinced my alcoholism is progressive if I continue to use or not; it always gets worse over any considerable period of time, never better.
YES NO
5. I am convinced my alcoholism can only end in insanity or premature death if I continue to use addictions and do not treat my alcoholism. Like cancer, it’s a consumer of mind and body. YES NO
6. I am convinced my alcoholism is incurable, but it can be arrested by complete abstinence from addictions of any type and by treating the illness.
“Once an alcoholic, always an alcoholic.” YES NO
7. I am convinced I have to stop from starting to use my addictions to treat my alcoholism. YES NO
8. I am convinced that I cannot treat my alcoholism on self-knowledge alone.
YES NO
9. I am convinced that I can never use addictions safely again. I have to treat my alcoholism. YES NO
10. I am convinced that I have to stop using so I can treat my alcoholism one day at a time (Just for today). YES NO
11. I am convinced that despite any time I can achieve such as one week, one month, six months, one year, five years, ten or twenty years, if I pick up and use the first addiction again, I would, in a short time, be in the same or worse condition than I was when I quit the last time because I did not treat my alcoholism. YES NO
12. I am convinced that I can only be defeated by an attitude of intolerance or belligerent denial – closed mind (From Spiritual Experience” Page 569). YES NO
13. I’m convinced that willingness, honesty, and open mindedness are the essentials of recovery. These are indispensable (Page 570). YES NO
14. I’m convinced that I would remain in everlasting ignorance if I was to have contempt for the complete program of recovery before I investigated (Page 570). YES NO
15. I’m convinced that alcoholism is the major unmanageable thing in my life. By treating my alcoholism, I have a fighting chance with my personal relationships, my emotions, my feelings of uselessness, my fears and my unhappiness (Page 52). YES NO
16. I’m convinced of the reality of my condition, not the way I think it is or the way I would like it to be. The reality is that I am powerless over alcoholism. The medical word for a person who has this condition of mind and body is alcoholic. YES NO
NOTES: