A common theme found in most recovery programs, whether it’s in an AA hall, the rooms of NA, Celebrate Recovery through a Church, Rationale Recovery, addiction treatment centers, or Fill-in-the-blank recovery, is the plethora of honest, straight-forward, and practical suggestions that help people in recovery stay clean and sober. These suggestions apply across the board – for the heroin junkie, to the cocaine addict, to the stay-at-home-mom who’s drinking a hundred dollar a bottle wine, to the binge drinking young adult, to the addicted medical professional, to the opioid pain pill addict, to the chronic alcoholic who has all but lost hope. Experience has abundantly, and sometimes painfully shown, that an ability to follow direction and accept help is key to any type of recovery.
These recovery directions are best summarized and encapsulated (and typically hanging on the wall at meetings) through 12-step slogans. Interestingly, most of these slogans are derived from scripture in the New Testament and apply not only to maintaining recovery, but also to simply living life in a meaningful way. Here are a few of my favorites:
One day at a time
First things first
Play the tape all the way through
It’s not old behavior if you’re still doing it
You can’t get drunk if you don’t take the first drink
Easy does it
Think Think Think
Welcome to AA, we have a wrench to fit every nut that walks through the door
You never have to be alone
Acceptance is the answer
Relax and take it easy
But for the Grace of God, there go I
You’re right were you’re supposed to be
Change is a process, not an event
The good news is there’s help, the bad news is we’re it
This too shall pass
Don’t worry about getting in touch with your feelings, they’ll get in touch with you
Don’t Think, don’t drink, go to meetings
What other people think of you is none of your business
Let go and let God
Rule 62: Don’t take yourself so seriously
Recovery works if you work it
You cant’ change without change
