sober
12 Step Programs
This can be a slightly confusing term for some people.
It originates from the organisation Alcoholics Anonymous, which developed a recovery program based around 12 specific steps, which are really statements of experience of what the early members of AA did in order to get sober.
Rehabs and Treatment Centers
Many people who get sober do so in a rehab or treatment center. Many people are familiar with the idea of a rehab, but perhaps less clear about what happens there.
Most rehabs are residential, and most people stay there for an average of 28 days. Some rehabs are non-residential, and a wide variety of different treatment options are sometimes available.
What is an Inner Voice?
When people talk about an inner voice in the context of spirituality, they are normally referring to an inner intuitive sense of direction in their life.
This sense of there being an inner world, and it somehow helping to direct our lives is for most people a hugely attractive idea, and often becomes the centre of their reality.
Acceptance and Surrender
It has become almost something of a cliche in society nowadays to use the adage that you cannot cope with a problem unless you first admit it.
Not that this is a new or novel idea, but it is probably true that this sentiment has become much more powerful and widespread owing to the nature of the growth of Alcoholics Anonymous and the 12-step recovery movement generally.
The Need to Question Gratitude
Quite often in an AA meeting or similar, you will hear someone announce themselves as my name is so-and-so and I’m a grateful alcoholic/ addict, or I’m a grateful recovering alcoholic/addict.
Equally, you are quite likely to hear someone say at a meeting something along the lines of a grateful alcoholic will never drink.