Step One

We admitted we were powerless over addictive compulsive behavior, that our lives had become unmanageable.

Powerless – The dictionary defines powerlessness as the lack of ability, influence, or power.  What that means is that we cannot change by ourselves. We may have tried to stop on our own but came back to our addictive ways.

Unmanageable – The dictionary defines unmanageable as being difficult or impossible to manage, manipulate, or control.  In our addition, we cannot control ourselves or others.  We may have stepped over our personal boundaries or tried to control others.

Admitted – The dictionary defines admitted as confessing to be true or to be the case, typically with reluctance.  As the AA Big Book states, we need to be brutally honest.

So how do we work the first step?  One way is to write a story about our problem.  It is about looking over our life and writing down the facts of what we did.  We need to reveal all of our secrets.  Even the ones we thought we would take to the grave.  Secrets have a lot of power over us. 

Once we get the facts down, we try and connect with what was happening or our feelings.  Many of us still cannot connect with our feelings, but we need to try and understand what got us into those situations.

In writing our story, we need to think about the times we were powerless over our compulsive behaviors when our lives had become unmanageable and what the consequences of acting out have caused.   We need to think about the abuses we have suffered or the abuses we have done to others.  

After admitting you were powerless over addictive compulsive behavior; that your life had become unmanageable; reviewing the consequences; reviewing abuses to you and by you; and chronologically listing out your acting out history, you are now ready to write your formal First Step. 

The reading of this First Step to your group allows them to get to know you better and for you by being able to admit what brought you there and release the shame that kept you isolated.

Come back and learn how Step Two works.