Table of Contents
If you’ve attended an Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) meeting, you’ve probably heard at least part of the fifth chapter of the Big Book, “How It Works.” This section plays a vital role in AA and is closely connected to all of the Twelve Steps, offering insight into how these steps can be fulfilled. It is often read at the beginning of meetings as a way to set a foundation for those attending to understand what is being discussed.
In its most basic form, this chapter explains how AA works and provides insight into what someone needs to do to get and stay sober. Keep reading to learn more about How it Works: AA, along with other treatment options and how Rehabs Of Armerica can help you get sober if you are struggling!
There are many important aspects to Chapter 5 of The AA Big Book, and unfortunately, they can’t all be discussed here. Ultimately, it explains that sobriety is attainable if you’re willing to follow the program. Here are some of the highlights of Chapter 5 – How It Works.
How It Works discusses the fact that there is no easier, softer way to recover from addiction; AA membership and The 12 Steps are how you recover. It requires hard work and dedication to truly achieve long-term sobriety, and it also requires a turning point.
While there may be shortcuts or temporary solutions to getting sober, they will not provide lasting relief from addiction.
At its core, the AA recovery process relies on a commitment from each person, to be honest about their powerlessness over alcohol or drugs (this is related to Step One). To find success in the program, individuals must accept that much work needs to be done and look inward for guidance.
Those who are able to commit themselves to the process often see great rewards from their efforts – “rarely have we seen a person fail” when they have thoroughly followed the path of the Alcoholics Anonymous program.
Those who are unable or unwilling – naturally incapable – to be honest will not make as much progress as they would have liked due to their own incapacity of rigorous honesty which is essential for success in this journey. Grave emotional and mental disorders can also interfere with honesty, but many recover if they can admit their powerlessness over these issues and become honest with themselves.
The phrase “there is no easier, softer way” from the AA Big Book reminds us that even though overcoming addiction can be difficult at times, there is a way. There is always hope if we’re willing to ask for help and trust in our higher power, not our own human power. Asking for assistance opens us up to an entire world of resources that can help us on our road toward sobriety.
Half measures can feel like a safe way to make a change, but they rarely bring long-term success. This is especially true when it comes to addiction recovery. If you are serious about achieving sobriety, then you must be willing to commit fully and take decisive action.
How It Works explains that to really recover, you must find your turning point and do something different than what you’ve always done. This is the point at which you realize you cannot continue living with your addiction and decide to seek help.
It is here at this turning point that many people choose half measures in order to cope with their addiction, such as cutting back on drinking instead of quitting altogether or going on an occasional bender rather than trying abstinence.
However, these types of half-measures do little more than delay the inevitable. In order for true recovery to occur, a person must make real changes – no matter how hard those changes may be – to break free from addiction and achieve sobriety.
At this pivotal moment, complete abandonment is necessary if one truly wishes to enter into recovery and overcome addiction. This means being willing to put aside any notions of control over your addiction or feelings of ambivalence towards sobriety ‘in all our affairs.’ Instead, you must fully embrace the concept that your life must change if you want to overcome your addiction and live without relying on alcohol.
Once one has reached this level of commitment, one must ask God (or whatever higher power they believe in) for protection and care in their journey through personal recovery; it can’t be done alone or be based on sheer willpower.
The How It Works chapter discusses being fearless and thorough from the very start. Taking a fearless moral inventory is also one of the 12 steps, and it’s often seen as one of the most important ones.
A fearless moral inventory is essentially an exercise in self-reflection, involving an honest evaluation of one’s behavior over time. This includes looking back on past experiences and evaluating them in terms of what was right or wrong, and what could have been done differently.
This process also involves examining our relationships with others, both positive and negative ones, as well as considering any instances where one may have harmed someone else or taken advantage of another person’s trust or vulnerability. The purpose of this activity is not to shame oneself but instead to gain insight into how our choices have affected us and those around us.
By looking honestly at our past behavior and personal adventures in trying to get sober, we can begin to understand why we make certain choices and how these choices affect our lives. Additionally, it can provide us with an opportunity to recognize patterns in our behavior that may be contributing to our addiction issues so that we can make changes accordingly.
The AA program helps us to take periodic inventories as part of our journey toward recovery because in order to be truly successful in overcoming addiction or any other problems in life, a continuous personal inventory needs to be taken.
This means regularly examining your thoughts, feelings, behaviors, habits, relationships, goals, values, and anything else you feel needs inspecting. This can even include assessing how you spend your time each day.
In addition to taking an inventory of ourselves on a regular basis, it is also important to promptly admit the exact nature of our wrongs. It is not easy for anyone to do this but it is especially hard for those who struggle with addiction because oftentimes they are used to making excuses for their behavior or avoiding responsibility altogether.
By owning up when you make a mistake you will find that it is much easier for you to move forward with a life free from addiction or other issues that may have held you back in the past.
How it works discusses spiritual progress; it is about making changes in your life and developing personal growth. These changes can be small or large and encompass anything from learning how to manage stress better to breaking unhealthy relationships or habits. The goal of overcoming the spiritual malady of alcoholism is to delve into the depths of our souls and seek out what we need to become our best selves—mentally, emotionally, physically, and spiritually.
This phrase serves as a reminder that as we move through our journey of recovery from addiction, we should focus on making gradual improvements rather than expecting immediate spiritual perfection once we stop drinking.
It’s important to recognize that there are still aspects of our lives that require work—like all these defects of character that we have—that won’t go away overnight or even after months or years of recovery.
As long as you remain committed to making incremental progress each day while also allowing yourself grace during times when it gets difficult, then you are taking steps toward real healing. We must allow ourselves to grow along spiritual lines.
We have come to understand that alcoholism is an illness and not a moral problem or character flaw; therefore it requires special treatment. We can no longer ignore the fact that we cannot control our drinking and must accept that help is needed in order to move forward in our recovery.
This means that even though we may have come up with every possible solution to try and solve our drinking problem, nothing has worked so far. We have come to realize that only through spiritual guidance can we find true sobriety and lasting peace of mind.
If we turn to God for help with our alcohol problem then He will answer us in ways both obvious and subtle. We need to be open to His presence in our lives by praying or meditating on His word daily, trusting in Him for guidance through difficult times, and believing in His love for us unconditionally.
In Alcoholics Anonymous, the concept of relying on a higher power to help with recovery is seen as essential. The idea is that accepting help from something greater than yourself can give you the strength and courage to overcome your addiction.
This concept works for many people who come from religious backgrounds; however, it can be difficult for those who don’t believe in religion or who have different beliefs from those expressed in many Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Fortunately, there are alternatives available to those who don’t feel comfortable with the traditional religious higher power concept.
Many people in Alcoholics Anonymous who don’t believe in a traditional God refer to their higher power as GOD – Good Orderly Direction. This is a belief system based on one’s own understanding of their higher power. For many people, it’s simply doing the next right thing – that is what they believe in. It doesn’t matter if you don’t believe in a traditional God or you aren’t religious at all. Your higher power is anything outside of yourself that is greater than you and will help keep you sober.
If you feel you are naturally incapable of grasping the program of AA, or otherwise constitutionally incapable of adhering to this simple program, alternatives to the 12 steps might be your best choice for attaining lasting sobriety.
Attending AA meetings can provide a safe space to share experiences and struggles with others who are going through the same thing. The program can also provide tools and coping skills for managing cravings, triggers, and other challenges of sobriety.
At the same time, it is not always possible to adhere to the program of AA until detox (and the foundation of residential treatment) have been sought. If you are struggling to get or stay sober, we can help.
For more information or to find treatment, contact Rehabs Of Armerica today.
All calls are confidential, so please reach out in confidence now to get options!
Anna M. joined Find Addiction Rehabs with extensive experience in the field of addiction treatment. As a former Nurse Practitioner in Miami, she found her passion for addiction treatment when a family member was lost to his disease. With each article and resource, she hopes to save other families from experiencing the anguish of a loved one’s passing due to drinking or drugs.
