Headstock,
i got and stayed sober by using peer support and supporting others daily with Lifering Secular Recovery. the daily involvement online there as well as one weekly face-to-face meeting and tons of diverse sobriety reading was crucial. active immersion, basically.
several years later, i realized that i wanted what the 12 step journey had to offer, so i started attending AA meetings. took me a long time to find one where i felt i fit, and then asked someone to guide me through the step-work.
which had been the big missing piece, the thing that really gave me an ongoing different foundation.
not sure i am clear on your question, but yes, i would suggest you attend AA meetings if you are interested in doing the step work, as a good sponsor will be really helpful.
though it IS possible to do that by yourself by using the Big Book and finding a trustworthy person to use fir your step five.
but i know for myself that i would have been nowhere near as thorough and conscientious if i had done it by myself. i would have missed out bigtime.