Step Study - Step 5
If you are just joining in, this is an online Step Study. Each of the 12 steps will have its own thread, so you can participate at whatever level you are comfortable.
Most of the information here comes from the books Paths To Recovery, Al-Anon’s Steps, Traditions and Concepts and How Al Anon Works for Families and Friends of Alcoholics, along with some readings from Courage to Change, One Day at a Time in Al Anon II.
The first 4 steps are “stickies” at the top of the page.
Step Five - Admitted to God, to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
How Al Anon Works for Families & Friends of Alcoholics: pp 53
The thought of admitting our darkest secrets to someone else can be frightening at first. We fear that our wrongs are worse than anyone else’s, and that we would be humiliated if we ever admitted them to another human being. Perhaps the alcoholic in our lives has led us to believe that we are horrible people; perhaps we created this damaging illusion ourselves. But if we can summon the courage to challenge these fears, and can go ahead and take Step Five in spite of them, we take a huge stride toward personal freedom.
Not only does Step Five help us to learn that what we have done isn’t so terrible or irredeemable, but also that there are people who will love us unconditionally, even if they know the very worst about us. Most of us are astonished to discover that we are the only ones who judge ourselves and our wrongs harshly. This Step can dramatically change the way we look at ourselves and others, and most of us find it well worth the effort.