Working the Twelve Steps

Abstract

The women in this sample of Narcotics Anonymous (NA) may be considered beginners because they have not yet worked all of the Twelve Steps of the program and have not been attending NA for very long. For those who have worked all of the Twelve Steps, they report having had worked through much of the stigma and shame that they once felt before recovery. The Fourth and Fifth Steps, especially and paradoxically, bring forth shame while working the steps but also help to alleviate shame after completing the steps. Even those women, about a third of the sample, still working the First Step acknowledge relief simply by recognizing that their addiction is a disease and not solely a moral wrong.