Why Steps for Living?
No one understands the principle of "get better or get worse" more profoundly than someone in recovery from an incurable, progressive, potentially fatal condition. Diabetes, asthma, chronic hypertension, and other incurable diseases require sustained changes in behavior and lifestyle to remedy damage and stave off worse effects.
It's true for people who suffer from chronic brain disorders, too. There are no once-and-for-all "cures." Medications may alleviate symptoms-but taking them, and managing them well, is a behavior change, sometimes a challenging one. Few medications work consistently well over the long haul. Many treatments for chronic brain disorders focus on changing behavior and lifestyle to prevent relapses, minimize the effects of the disease and live well in spite of it. One chronic, progressive, potentially fatal disease without a cure, addiction, has produced a groundbreaking, highly effective regimen for this kind of change. By observation, trial and error, and repeated experiments, the founders of Alcoholics Anonymous identified twelve steps that have helped millions maintain recovery and live progressively more satisfying lives. Formulated in an era when understanding of chronic disease processes was less developed- and understanding of mental health was strongly influenced by dominant religious and cultural norms- the Steps' language today seems quaint. Even off-putting, in an era of religious diversity and wide-ranging self-help ideologies. But AA has a long track record of helping people maintain recovery, and today's AA is highly diverse. If some AA groups choose to form around common characteristics like gender, sexual orientation, military service, etc., there are thousands more that welcome anyone who simply desires to recover. And it remains effective, in spite of an "instruction manual" published in 1939 and updated very little since. What is it about the Steps, and their practice, that enables desperately miserable individuals, terminally ill with a disease that distorts thinking and hijacks brain function, to interrupt that disease process? And further, to embark on rewarding, productive, fulfilling lives? And can we apply it to other chronic brain disorders? Maybe, with a little re-thinking, the Steps can expand to meet a whole new set of needs. |
Chronic Brain disorders
Working the Steps
Get the Document
A 15-page pamphlet that includes information about chronic brain diseases, the Steps for Living, and how they work as a recovery support program.
For more information on Steps for Living you can also visit the Steps for Living Alliance. Click the link below to download the document.
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