12 Steps Overview

For those who do not wish to access treatment through statutory drug services, the 12 Steps program provides an alternative to recovery.

The 12 Steps programme regards addiction as a disease and aims toward total abstinence from all mind-altering substances.

The 12 Steps program is practised mainly in anonymous fellowships such as Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous. Although some statutory drug services advocate and practise its principles as part of their care plan.

The 12 Steps program & fellowships approach recovery holistically where the physical, mental and social aspects of an addicts life is taken into account.

The 12 Steps program is free, totally anonymous and run by ex drug users in recovery. It also provides a support network for living daily life drug free via fellowship meetings.

If would like to attend a Farsi speaking Narcotics Anonymous meeting in London, Birmingham, or Glasgow a member of FARS can accompany you to your first meeting.

• What is the 12 Steps program
• Accessing 12 Steps & fellowship meetings
• The 12 Steps view on addiction
• Sponsorship
• The twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA)
• List of 12 Steps fellowships & meetings

What is the 12 Steps program

The 12 Steps were originally developed by the fellowship of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). The AA method has been adapted as the foundation of other twelve-step programs such as Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous. The programme is based on using a set of suggested principles for recovery from addictive, compulsive, or other behavioral problems. Behavioral issues such as compulsion and/or addiction to sex, food, and gambling can also be applied to the twelve steps for recovery.

As summarized by the American Psychological Association, working the 12 Steps involves the following:

• Admitting that one cannot control one's addiction or compulsion
• Recognizing a greater power that can give strength
• Examining past errors with the help of a sponsor (experienced member)
• Making amends for these errors
• Learning to live a new life with a new code of behaviour
• Helping others that suffer from the same addictions or compulsions

Accessing 12 Steps & Fellowship meetings

12 Steps meetings such as Narcotics Anonymous, Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, and Cocaine Anonymous are self-supporting groups run strictly by recovering addicts. These meetings are accessible seven days a week at varying times throughout the day and evening. Meetings are open to anyone seeking recovery regardless of age, race, religion, gender, sexuality or culture the only requirement to attend is a desire to address your addiction.

The 12 Steps view addiction

Addiction is viewed as disease, which has three dimensions: physical, mental, and spiritual. For addicts and alcoholics the physical dimension is described by an allergy, which result in the inability to stop using substances after the initial use. The mental dimension manifests itself through the phenomena of craving and obsession to use. The illness of the spiritual dimension, in all 12 Steps groups, is considered to be based in self-centeredness.

Sponsorship

In Alcoholics Anonymous or Narcotics Anonymous members seek and offer support to each other through the shared practice of sponsorship. In 12 Steps programs, a sponsor is a more experienced person in recovery who guides the newcomer through the 12 Steps program. Newcomers in twelve-step programs are encouraged to secure a relationship with at least one sponsor. Sponsors and sponsees participate in activities that lead to spiritual growth as defined by the Twelve Step Process. These may include practices such as literature discussion and study, meditation, and writing.

"Sponsors share their experience, strength, and hope with their sponsee... A sponsor's role is not that of a legal adviser, a banker, a parent, a marriage counselor, or a social worker. Nor is a sponsor a therapist offering some sort of professional advice. A sponsor is simply another addict in recovery who is willing to share his or her journey and experience of the Twelve Steps."

The Twelve Steps of AA

These are the original Twelve Steps as suggested by Alcoholics Anonymous.

NOTE: In other 12 step programs, the word alcohol is replaced with other problematic drugs or behaviors.

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol–that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God, as we understood Him.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His Will for us and the power to carry that out.
12. Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

Other twelve-step groups have adapted these steps of AA as guiding principles for problems other than alcoholism, such as drugs – Narcotics Anonymous , gambling – Gamblers Anonymous , food – Overeaters Anonymous .

For detailed information about one of the 12 step program / fellowships click on What is Narcotics Anonymous?

List of 12 step fellowships and Meetings

You can find information about various 12 step program fellowships and details of their local meetings by contacting below details:

• Narcotics Anonymous in UK - NA is a non-profit Fellowship of men and women for whom drugs had become a major problem. “We are recovering addicts who meet regularly to help each other stay clean. The only requirement for membership is the desire to stop using. ” Includes self-tests, 12-step recovery information and listing of English speaking meetings in UK.0845 FREEDOM or 0845 3366 or 020 7730 0009 http://www.ukna.org/
• Narcotics Anonymous in Iran – Farsi website by recovering Iranian addicts sharing their experience of how they found recovery. Includes personal stories from recovering Iranian addicts, 12-step recovery information and listing of meetings throughout Iran. http://www.nairan.org/
• Narcotics Anonymous Iranian magazine- Farsi website “Payam behboodi” مجله .يام بهبودي – personal stories of recovering Iranian addicts sharing their experience of addiction and offering hope of recovery through the 12 steps. http://www.nairan.org/PB_mag.asp
• Alcoholics Anonymous - is a fellowship of men and women who share their experience, strength and hope with each other that they may solve their common problem and help others to recover from alcoholism. The only requirement for membership is a desire to stop drinking. There are no dues or fees for A.A. membership. Includes self-tests, 12-step recovery information and listing of English speaking meetings in UK.NATIONAL HELPLINE: 0845 769 7555 http://www.alcoholics-anonymous.org.uk/
• Cocaine Anonymous: Similar fellowship to Alcoholics Anonymous with emphasizes on cocaine and all other mind-altering substances. Includes self-tests, 12-step recovery information and listing of English speaking meetings in UK.Helpline: 0800 612 0225 http://www.cauk.org.uk/
• Gamblers Anonymous : Gamblers Anonymous is a fellowship of men and women who have joined together to do something about their own gambling problem and to help other compulsive gamblers do the same. Includes self-tests, 12-step recovery information and listing of English speaking meetings in UK.Helpline: 
020 7384 3040 http://www.gamblersanonymous.org.uk/
• Nicotine Anonymous Nicotine Anonymous is a Non-Profit 12 Step Fellowship of men and women helping each other live nicotine-free lives. Nicotine Anonymous welcomes all those seeking freedom from nicotine addiction, including those using cessation programs and nicotine withdrawal aids. The primary purpose of Nicotine Anonymous is to help all those who would like to cease using tobacco and nicotine products in any form. The Fellowship offers group support and recovery using the 12 Steps as adapted from Alcoholics Anonymous to achieve abstinence from nicotine. NicA's website has a FARSI section- click on Iran's flag for information on how to quit smoking. http://www.nicotine-anonymous.org/index.php
• Overeaters Anonymous OA- Overeaters Anonymous is a fellowship of individuals who, through shared experience, strength and hope, are recovering from compulsive overeating. OA welcomes everyone who wants to stop eating compulsively. There are no dues or fees for members; we are self-supporting through our own contributions. Includes self-tests, 12-step recovery information and listing of English speaking meetings in UK .Tel 0870 2254225 http://www.oagb.org.uk/
• Sex & Love Anonymous Sex and Love Addicts Anonymous is a Twelve Step, Twelve Tradition-oriented fellowship based on the model pioneered by Alcoholics Anonymous. The only qualification for S.L.A.A. membership is a desire to stop living out a pattern of sex and love addiction. S.L.A.A. offers support to counter the destructive consequences of sex and love addiction. Includes self-tests, 12-step recovery information and listing of English speaking meetings in UK .NATIONAL INFOLINETel: 0795 181 5087 http://www.slaauk.com/
• Co dependants Anonymous Co-Dependents Anonymous is a program of recovery from codependence, where each of us may share our experience, strength, and hope in our efforts to find freedom where there has been bondage and peace where there has been turmoil in our relationships with others and ourselves. 
Most of us have been searching for ways to overcome the dilemmas of the conflicts in our relationships and our childhoods. Many of us were raised in families where addictions existed - some of us were not. In either case, we have found in each of our lives that codependence is a most deeply rooted compulsive behavior and that it is born out of our sometimes moderately, sometimes extremely dysfunctional family systems. We have each experienced in our own ways the painful trauma of the emptiness of our childhood and relationships throughout our lives. We have all learned to survive life, but in CoDA we are learning to live life. Through applying the Twelve Steps and principles found in CoDA to our daily life and relationships ­ both present and past - we can experience a new freedom from our self defeating lifestyles. It is an individual growth process. Each of us is growing at our own pace and will continue to do so as we remain open to God's will for us on a daily basis. Our sharing is our way of identification and helps us to free the emotional bonds of our past and the compulsive control of our present. Includes self-tests, 12-step recovery information and listing of English speaking meetings in UK .Tel 07000 263645