Sundown M Ranch

A Look at the Principles of Alcoholics Anonymous

Recovering from a drug or alcohol addiction isn’t just a physical process—many former addicts find that a spiritual or mental component is also critical as they continue on the path toward a substance-free life. Most drug addiction and recovery programs and facilities adhere to the principles of Alcoholics Anonymous. These principles are outlined in the well-known 12-Step Program, a structure meant to gradually bring recovering addicts to a place of self-forgiveness, strength, and serenity.

1. Honesty: Admit to yourself that you have an addiction to and dependency on drugs or alcohol.
2. Hope in a Higher Power: Accept a power greater than yourself and believe that this power can facilitate the recovery and restoration process.
3. Surrendering to Faith: Shift from hope in help to faith that that help will make a difference.
4. Strength and Courage: Take a psychological, ethical, and moral inventory of yourself as an addict and as a person.
5. Integrity: Admit the results of the above search to yourself, to your God or higher power, and to others (often your sponsor or fellow AA members).
6. Willingness: Build up the desire to change the aspects of your character that allowed you to take the actions and behaviors discovered in Step Four.
7. Humility: Ask for the assistance of God, a higher power, and/or others in ridding yourself of the aforementioned character traits.
8. Discipline: Prepare for the act of forgiveness. Recovering addicts must compose a list of the people that have been intentionally or unintentionally hurt by the addict’s behaviors.
9. Making Amends: Reach out to all those on the list and ask their forgiveness.
10. Self-Acceptance: Learn to accept oneself as human.
11. Self-Awareness: Identify a new purpose in life, and achieve a sense of conscious and constant unity through prayer or meditation.
12. Service: Communicate these principles to other recovering addicts.

Drug and Alcohol Abuse Information

Addiction tears apart people, lives, and families. If you or someone you love struggles with addiction, learning more about the cycle of drug abuse can help you end it. If you need more information about how to stop enabling a loved one or how to overcome the symptoms of withdrawal, visit these websites: 

• Are you an enabler? Although you may think that you’re helping your suffering loved one, you may just be making the problem worse. Find out more by reading this article from Addiction Recovery Basics.
• Most enablers of drug abuse are found in the addict’s family. This article from EHow explains how families can unwittingly enable addiction.
• Fortunately, families can also work together to fight addiction. This page from 12-Step Treatment explains how you can make a positive difference.
• Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome is a serious condition that affects those who are getting clean, and overcoming it is an essential step in recovery. Learn more from this article on DrugAlcoholAddictionRecovery.
• If you struggle with Post-Acute Withdrawal Syndrome, there are ways to ameliorate the symptoms. AddictionsAndRecovery.org explains how to survive post-acute withdrawal.

Great New 5-Star Yelp Review for Sundown M Ranch on 1.27.2012

Medication Abuse Causes Worry in The USA

Although dramatic attempts to secure controlled substances sometimes make the headlines, the majority of illicit prescription drugs are given to abusers freely. Over half of prescription medicine abusers get their drugs from friends and relatives, often for free.

Because psychoactive drugs and other stimulants are so widely prescribed, access to drugs is simple and cheap. Mental illnesses often drive users to seek prescription drugs in misguided attempts, consciously or unconsciously, to address their psychological problems. Learn more in this video.

If you or someone you love is using legal drugs in an illegal fashion, your health, freedom, and life are at risk. To learn more about recovering from drug addiction, contact Sundown M Ranch at (509) 654-9033.

Great New 5-Star Review for Sundown M Ranch on 2.4.2012