The 12 Steps of AA are as follows:

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 a 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.

You’ll notice that the 12 Steps of NA are similar, but there are some differences. They are:

1. We admitted that we were powerless over our addiction, that our lives had become unmanageable.
2. We came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
3. We made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
4. We made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.
5. We admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
6. We were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
7. We humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
8. We made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
9. We made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
10. We continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.
11. We 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 a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to addicts, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

For many people, a drug or alcohol detox is the first step in recovering from addiction. It’s necessary to address the physical aspect of it right away. This means getting help for withdrawals, and possibly avoiding any serious complications that can occur.

Your doctor will talk with you about the best way to treat your withdrawal symptoms. You will probably experience a combination of medical and holistic detox methods. Most experts agree this is the best approach.

After detox, you should continue on to a drug or alcohol rehab. This is where you’ll experience most of your therapy. You’ll work with a therapist in a one-on-one setting, as well as participate in group therapy sessions.

Your therapist will treat you for any co-occurring disorder you may be dealing with. These can be diagnosed or undiagnosed mental health conditions that frequently accompany addictions. For instance, if you are battling anxiety or depression, this could be the underlying cause of your addiction.

Going to a rehabilitation center is extremely important, and you’ll find that it’s very rewarding. It helps to talk about the issues you’re facing in your personal life, and taking this step now will contribute to your long-term success.