Jaywalker Lodge firmly believes in the 12-Step solution to alcoholism. The 12-Step program of recovery really works! We’ve seen it in our men and personally in ourselves. The Twelve Steps of Alcoholics Anonymous are also the perfect solution to addiction. In fact, the Steps are just as effective even when the sufferer has both alcoholism and addiction. However, the Twelve Steps also provide a solution to much more than the disease of alcoholism. The 12-Step process has many remarkable and positive side effects that come along with it. So, let’s take a closer look at all the Steps can do.
Alcoholism and Addiction
Of course, the Twelve Steps are the most effective solution to the disease of alcoholism and addiction. This particular disease is of a three-fold nature, meaning it consists of the mental obsession, the physical allergy, and the spiritual malady. The Twelve Steps are designed to produce the necessary psychic change and vital spiritual experience that brings about freedom and recovery from the disease on all three fronts. This process all but ensures sobriety and recovery for as long as the Steps are being actively engaged in. The 12-Step process itself is a course of action, spiritual in nature, which addresses and provides solutions to the mental obsession and the spiritual malady. The physical allergy is only addressed by physical sobriety — the sufferer is never cured of the disease, but is granted freedom from it on a daily basis. Physical sobriety is often only possible for an alcoholic or addict when they have begun to address the mental obsession and spiritual malady through focused and purposeful work in the 12-Step program.
These are just some of the cut-and-dry reasons why Jaywalker Lodge is such a huge proponent of the 12-Step program. In fact, the Twelve Steps are our foundation. They inform and shape everything we do here, as well as why we do it. They provide us with guidelines and give our work direction. But beyond being the most effective treatment and solution to the disease of alcoholism and addiction, we have witnessed the full scope of what the 12-Step program can really do for people, and it goes far past mere sobriety. A life in recovery is often filled with transformation, change, and personal growth, all thanks to working the 12-Step program.
Personal Growth
Personal growth is usually not the primary goal of the alcoholic and addict. However, it is a common byproduct of working the Steps. Once a sufferer has experienced the growth and change that comes from working the program, they often find themselves feeling satisfied, rewarded, and striving to grow in other ways. Once a man has experienced growth (for example, in his willingness to accept responsibility) and reaps the benefits, he finally gets a glimpse of the true merit of the 12-Step program. Not only is his disease dealt with on a daily basis, but the same process is helping him grow and improve as a person. Suddenly, he is sold on the limitless potential for growth and improvement that the 12-Step program provides.
Personal Relationships
Perhaps we don’t consider how much recovery can do for our personal lives, but it certainly makes sense when we think about it. Our personal lives are often in shambles when we first seek out recovery. The disease often harms our relationships or causes us to lose them altogether. We sufferers may find ourselves unable to hold onto relationships, participate in them healthily, or repair the damage inflicted when we were in active disease. However, once we are in recovery, we begin to learn how to have healthy relationships again. The 12-Step process itself includes several steps that can help us repair the damage done in our disease. Through the amends process and by practicing other parts of the Twelve Steps, alcoholics and addicts in recovery often find their personal lives undergoing great phases of repair, improvement, and growth.
Professional Lives
Again, we may not initially consider our professional lives in early recovery. It’s probably not the best area to focus on in early recovery anyway. But after we have a little time and experience in the 12-Step program, we will likely want to address our professional lives — especially because this area of our lives is often grievously affected by the disease. Through active engagement with the Twelve Steps and the program of recovery, we find ourselves presented with lessons and opportunities that allow us to repair and improve our professional lives. Many alcoholics and addicts in recovery find themselves gainfully re-employed, receiving better employment than they ever thought possible, or even returning to school to secure more beneficial employment. Suffice to say that recovery benefits our professional lives as much as our personal lives.
The Sky’s the Limit
These few examples barely scratch the surface of the many ways that the 12-Step program of recovery can benefit sufferers of alcoholism and addiction. The sky’s the limit when it comes to the growth and improvement we can experience in recovery — personally, professionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Just as there was no area of our lives that was untouched by our disease, and there is no area of our lives that goes untouched by the solution. In recovery, we can become the people we’ve always wanted to be and live the lives we’ve always dreamed of living.
Jaywalker Lodge knows the healing and transformative power of the 12-Step program of recovery. We have seen it heal and transform the lives of so many men, ourselves included. Beyond mere sobriety, the program of recovery helps us live lives that are full of meaning, purpose, joy, and abundance. Simply working the 12-Step solution will provide us freedom and recovery from the disease of alcoholism and addiction, but it will do so much more than that if we remain active and diligent. The 12-Step program can benefit us in every area where the disease once plagued us — mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, personally, and professionally. Anything that was once affected by alcoholism or addiction can be healed and transformed by the 12-Step solution. If you find yourself struggling to achieve or maintain recovery, Jaywalker Lodge can be the difference-maker in your journey. We are ready to help you find lasting recovery. Call us now at (866) 529-9255.
As Chief Executive Officer Bill provides leadership and manage all day-to-day operations of Jaywalker Lodge, an extended care residential addiction treatment program for adult men.
