It’s important to recognize that the various forms of treatment that are used in alcohol and drug rehab centers have a lot of value in the lives of the people they touch. 12 Step Programs have been crucial to the recovery of so many, and the Serenity Prayer has given strength and courage to those who were in the deepest, darkest depths of their addictions.

One patient shares her story about how both of these treatment methods changed her life.

12 Stepping to Recovery

Unless you’re dedicated to recovering from your addiction, when you first start addiction treatment, you’re just going through the motions. You don’t always stop to think about what you’re doing or saying; you’re just trying to get through day and be OK at the end of it.

I would have to say that the first aspect of my addiction treatment that got my attention was the very first step in the 12 Steps. If you’re not familiar with 12 Step Programs, they’ve been around for a very long time. They basically walk you through your recovery, and the very first step is admitting that you have a problem that you’re powerless to overcome on your own. That was hard for me to do, but you can’t move forward unless you do it.

Once I did it, I felt an incredible weight lifted off my shoulders. I hadn’t actually felt like I could breathe in a really long time, and suddenly, I felt much more relaxed than I ever have before. As we worked through the 12 Steps, I grew more confident in my ability to recover from my addiction, and that wasn’t a feeling I had ever had before.

The Power of the Serenity Prayer

I would have to say that the Serenity Prayer is the other piece that gave me hope for a promising future. If you’re not familiar with the Serenity Prayer, it’s a very simple prayer that says:

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can change, and the wisdom to know the difference.

It seems simple, but it is powerful!

There is so much in our lives that we cannot change, and yet, many times we spend years spinning our wheels trying to change them. Great things happen when we accept them as they are. Also, when you ask God (or your higher power) for courage, He gives it to you! Once I started asking for courage, I was able to create change in my life that I could never create before. Finally, when you understand the difference between the things you can change and the things you can’t, you gain an amazing amount of insight into your own life. You start to see things differently. You feel more in control, even though there are things in your life that you can’t control.

The wisdom that I have found in the 12 Steps and the Serenity prayer have changed my life in more ways than I can tell you. I’ve received comfort during some of the hardest times of my life, and I’ve been able to rejoice as I’ve put the effort into putting the pieces of my life back together again, and restoring relationships that I once thought were long gone.

It’s remarkable what can happen when you take the time to invest in yourself and your recovery.

How Can the 12 Steps and Serenity Prayer Help You?

Quite often, people spend years of their lives wasted because of their addictions to drugs and alcohol. They fail to recognize what could happen to them if they sought recovery. If you’re searching for a way to recover from your addiction, at AspenRidge Recovery, we have the answers you’re looking for. Please contact us.