Healthy Lifestyle: Understanding the 12-Step Program for Recovery

This essay explores the differences between traditional Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) 12-step programs and those used in native cultures, highlighting differing perspectives on the role of a higher power and the importance of elders. It emphasizes the significance of a connection with the creator of life in spiritual healing and discusses the benefits of holistic addiction treatment, which considers the mind, body, and spirit. The essay also explains the value of breaking down the healing journey into 12 steps, offering insights into the relationships between the mind, emotions, and body. Furthermore, it introduces mind mapping as a helpful tool for visualizing and simplifying the concepts presented in the 12 steps, promoting greater health and well-being.

Running head: HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, THE 12-STEP PROGRAM
HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, THE 12-STEP PROGRAM
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

1HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, THE 12-STEP PROGRAM
The differences between the Traditional A.A. 12 Step Program and a 12 step
program “In the Native Way.”
 The traditional A.A 12 Step Program claims that the people make the decision to
transform their lives and their wills to the care of God, but the native cultures believe in
Supreme being and also considers the elders as their guiding force.
 The native programs includes that native people wants to recover themselves, as they
believe that alcohol is destroying them whereas the people following traditional 12-step
program, they made themselves entirely ready for God to remove all the defects from
their character (Kelly, 2017).
 The native program includes the belief that there is a natural order running the universe,
the traditional 12-steps states that God is the supreme power and had a great influence on
the people.
 The native tribe demands that their traditional ways were more knowledgeable than the
other ways regarding the natural order (Dickerson et al., (2014).
 In accordance with the traditional 12-step program follows that people those they have
harmed, they need to amends to them all but the native tribe do not follow this.
Importance of having a connection with the creator of life
This is important to have a connection with the Creator of all spiritual life, while on the healing
journey, because:
The spiritual people debased themselves every day and keeps returning to the Creator, which is
followed by the native tribe.

2HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, THE 12-STEP PROGRAM
For everybody, it is important to explore the personal beliefs that are their sense of meanings and
purpose. This creates the connection with the creator of life.
This connection with the creator of life allows the spiritual person to have a positive relationship,
meaning, purpose, high self-esteem (Pagano, 2013).
Benefits of Holistic Addiction Treatment
The benefits of Holistic Addiction Treatment are:
 The holistic approach to healing centres involves the concept of treating mind, body and
spirit.
 This involves effective traditional therapies for addiction treatment.
 This approach creates a caring and compassionate environment.
 This holistic addiction treatment involves high rates of long-term success.
 This holistic treatment introduces quality aftercare programs (Greenfield & Tonigan,
2013).
The importance of breaking down a “healing journey” into 12 different steps
The 12 different steps of healing offer fascinating insights into the difficult relationship between
the mind, emotions and body. This also promotes greater health for everyone. This promotes and
maintains harmony in the relationships. These steps provide lessons of every stage of the journey
towards spiritual awareness, greater wholeness and the true healing in every aspect of life
(Donovan, 2013). All the steps help to reunite with the aspects of life, which are alienated,
unforgiven, traumatized and abused.

3HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, THE 12-STEP PROGRAM
Can Mind mapping and how is it helpful in working the 12 steps to healing
Mind Map is the visual representation of the hierarchical information, which consist of the
various ideas that are surrounded by the connected branches of the associated topics.
The 12 stages of healing help to provide a visual representation of the action that can be
opted by the people for removing their flaws, like addictions, from themselves. This mind map
helps to follow the concept of great health (Merrill, 2015). Mind mapping helps to visualize the
concepts mentioned in 12 stages of healing, which in turn simplifies the complex relationship.

4HEALTHY LIFESTYLE, THE 12-STEP PROGRAM
References
Dickerson, D. L., Annon, J. J., Hale, B., & Funmaker, G. (2014). Drum-Assisted Recovery
Therapy for Native Americans (DARTNA): Results from a pretest and focus
groups. American Indian and Alaska native mental health research (Online), 21(1), 35.
Donovan, D. M., Ingalsbe, M. H., Benbow, J., & Daley, D. C. (2013). 12-step interventions and
mutual support programs for substance use disorders: An overview. Social work in public
health, 28(3-4), 313-332.
Greenfield, B. L., & Tonigan, J. S. (2013). The General Alcoholics Anonymous Tools of
Recovery: The adoption of 12-step practices and beliefs. Psychology of Addictive
Behaviors, 27(3), 553.
Kelly, J. F. (2017). Is Alcoholics Anonymous religious, spiritual, neither? Findings from 25
years of mechanisms of behavior change research. Addiction, 112(6), 929-936.
Merrill, P. (2015). Innovation Never Stops: Innovation Generation–The Culture, Process, and
Strategy. ASQ Quality Press.
Pagano, M. E., White, W. L., Kelly, J. F., Stout, R. L., & Tonigan, J. S. (2013). The 10-year
course of Alcoholics Anonymous participation and long-term outcomes: a follow-up
study of outpatient subjects in Project MATCH. Substance Abuse, 34(1), 51-59.