Step #1 Worksheet

Step 1: Powerlessness and Unmanageability

Poweressness

Goal:

· Accept the powerlessness that you have over your addiction

· Acknowledge the unmanageability that your addiction has caused in your life.

Information:

Step One: We admitted we were powerless over drugs and alcohol; that our lives had become unmanageable.

Step one places an emphasis on our powerlessness over drugs and alcohol. Understanding and accepting this powerlessness must be the foundation for any successful approach to recovery from drugs and alcohol. Accepting this powerlessness is similar to the foundation of a building. A foundation must be solid for the building to stand, especially when the earth shakes and the high winds of life start to blow.

Many of us have lived many years in denial of our addiction and the impact that it has made on our life. We may have tried and tried to control our addiction on our own, but the more we tried the more that it continued to spiral out of control. The purpose of Step 1 is to step out of this denial and to accept that this problem is bigger than something that you can control on your own. Step one also raises our awareness on how much that our addiction has created unmanageability and damage in many areas of our life. It helps us to step out of denial and face the stark reality of the truth about our addiction. “The steps shall set you free, but first they’ll piss you off.” Don’t be surprised if you get very angry or down while you work these step worksheets. Honestly, sometimes the truth does piss us off or make us sad, especially when the truth doesn’t align with our expectations on life. But, don’t let that stop you. Here is your first opportunity to be fearless and through and take your first steps toward freedom from addiction.

1. What does the word addiction mean to you: ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

2. What does the word powerlessness mean to you?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

3. What does the work unmanageable mean to you?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

4. What does the work denial mean to you?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

5. Have you ever tried to stop drinking or using drugs completely? Give examples. What were the results?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

6. How have you tried to limit or control the amount of alcohol or drugs used by limiting dosage, or when you would allow yourself to drink or use? Give examples. What was the end result?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. Give examples of how you tried to limit or control your drug or alcohol use by switching substances. For example, if drinking whiskey created problems for you, then you might have tried to only drink vodka. Or, If IV Opioid use created problems in your life, then you might have come up with the strategy that you would only smoke it or snort it. Give examples of how you attempted to switch from one substance to another as a method of controlling your addiction. What was the end result?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Have you ever woke up the morning after drinking or using and you could not remember part of the evening before? Give examples.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

9. After drinking or using, have you ever had family or friends tell you things that you did that were hard for you to believe that you would have done something like that? Give examples.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. How have drugs or alcohol placed your life or the lives of others in jeopardy?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

11. How have you lost self-respect due to your drug or alcohol use?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

12. How has your reputation with others been damaged because of drugs or alcohol?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

13. What types of physical abuse/fights has happened to you or others because of your drug or alcohol use?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

14. How has your physical health been impacted by your drug or alcohol use?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

15. How has your education, career, and finances been impacted by drugs or alcohol?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

16. What important relationships have been damaged or destroyed because of your drug or alcohol use?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

17. What convinces you that you can no longer use drugs or alcohol safely ever again?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

18. In what ways has drugs or alcohol made your emotions unmanageable?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

19. In what ways did you use drugs or alcohol to try to manage or regulate your emotions?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

20. In what ways has drugs or alcohol made relationships unmanageable?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

21. What was the most recent crisis that finally brought you into treatment / recovery this time?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

22. How many “Rock Bottom” moments have you had? ______________________________________________

23. If you have more than one “Rock Bottom” does each rock bottom get easier or worse than previous “Rock Bottoms?” __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

24. How many more “Rock Bottoms” would you like to have? _________________________________________

25. What is the difference between admitting something and accepting it?

__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Are you admitting or accepting your addiction? ________________________________________________

26. Besides drugs and alcohol, what else are you powerless over?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

f. __________________________________________________________________________________

g. __________________________________________________________________________________

27. What ares of your life are currently unmanageable? How?

a. __________________________________________________________________________________

b. __________________________________________________________________________________

c. __________________________________________________________________________________

d. __________________________________________________________________________________

e. __________________________________________________________________________________

f. __________________________________________________________________________________

g. __________________________________________________________________________________

28. List the top 10 reasons why you should fully and completely commit yourself to this program and to your recovery.

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________________

6. __________________________________________________________________________________

7. __________________________________________________________________________________

8. __________________________________________________________________________________

9. __________________________________________________________________________________

10. __________________________________________________________________________________

29. List 10 things that will most likely happen if you do not fully and completely commit yourself to this program and to your recovery?

1. __________________________________________________________________________________

2. __________________________________________________________________________________

3. __________________________________________________________________________________

4. __________________________________________________________________________________

5. __________________________________________________________________________________

6. __________________________________________________________________________________

7. __________________________________________________________________________________

8. __________________________________________________________________________________

9. __________________________________________________________________________________

10. __________________________________________________________________________________

Google Sites

Report abuse