Recovered Podcast

Alcoholics Anonymous began with sponsorship. When Bill W., only a few months sober, was stricken with a powerful urge to drink, this thought came to him: “You need another alcoholic to talk to. You need another Alcoholic just as much as he needs you!”

When addiction strikes a family, it often breaks up into a series of roles. These roles are typically similar to the family member’s past behaviors.

The transforming power of the Twelve Steps is now focused on the whole of life, and the recovering alcoholic moves to a larger, more encompassing dimension: the world of the spirit.

This is the 6th part of a 6 part talk given by Chuck C.  These talks formed the basis for his famous book, "A New Pair of Glasses."

All of us have been around a while All of us have seen changes in meetings We have seen changes in way people are sponsored All of us have seen changes in how addictions have influenced meetings All of us have seen how recovery centers have influenced recovery language and behavior All of us have seen how the court system has influenced meetings

Anyone who builds a successful life away from addiction will constantly face changes and challenges. It is part of what makes their life away from addiction so wonderful.

In our program, it’s our responsibility to make plans. Making plans help us to achieve goals we may have. Goals to improve being happy, joyous, and free. We should just be careful not to plan the outcomes to specifically. We can make a plan, just be careful that it doesn't turn into an expectation.

With the first step, we accepted the fundamental problem we face as alcoholics, our powerlessness over alcohol and the unmanageability of our lives. In the second step, we found the nature of our solution: a Power greater than ourselves who could restore us to sanity. In the third step, we discover how to make use of that solution by turning our will and our lives over to the care of that power.

When you start working steps and attend meetings, all should be perfect, right? It doesn’t quite turn out that way. There’s still a lot of hard work ahead. One key element that will further your progress is forgiveness – a big part of recovery.

If people do not have a strong desire for sobriety, it will be hard for them to maintain it. It is possible for the individual to get sober to please other people, but such recoveries tend to be short-lived. This is because staying away from alcohol and drugs is hard if people are not fully willing to do all that it takes. Those who lack willingness will not be able to summon the necessary determination.

Tradition One states: Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon A.A. unity.

A common motive for falling into substance abuse is an inability to cope with the vicissitudes of life.

It is sometimes suggested that the world would be a better place if humans demonstrated more compassion for each other. This is a reasonable claim, and there is no doubt that compassion can improve interpersonal relationships. Those who are recovering from an addiction are likely to find that cultivating compassion will boost their progress in sobriety. It will allow them to move away from the obsession of self that is a characteristic of life in addiction.

Russell B. Appears Before Committee on Addiction

Professionals tried to help for years, but it wasn’t until AA came up with the idea of the story that people began recovering from addiction. Put simply, the story is about change. It’s about admitting that you have been powerless over your addiction and that your life has become unmanageable as a result.