Addiction is a complex and often misunderstood condition, deeply rooted in various personal experiences, including childhood traumas and the pain endured during active addiction. Recovery from such a profound struggle is more than just overcoming physical dependence; it involves healing emotionally and mentally. A crucial aspect of this healing process is the power of forgiveness, particularly within the framework of recovery programs like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA). In this blog, we’ll explore the significance of forgiveness in recovery, how it helps heal the pain of the past, and the role of specific steps in AA that aid in this journey.

Understanding the Pain and Trauma Behind Addiction

Before delving into the role of forgiveness, it’s essential to recognize the pain and trauma that often lead to and are worsened by addiction. Many individuals struggling with addiction have experienced childhood trauma. Others have experienced trauma while in active addiction. This trauma can result in deep-seated resentments, anger, and hurt, all of which can fuel the addictive behavior. Acknowledging this pain is the first step towards healing.

Luckily, there’s hope. There are millions of recovering addicts that are able to heal past trauma and release resentments by working the twelve steps of Alcoholics Anonymous!

The Role of AA’s Steps in Embracing Forgiveness

Several of the steps in the AA program help us heal resentments – whether they are towards other people or ourselves.

Alcoholics Anonymous is a structured approach to recovery that emphasizes the importance of forgiveness. Steps four, five, eight, and nine are crucial to working through our resentments and towards forgiveness.

Steps Four and Five: Identifying and Sharing Our Resentments

Step Four of AA involves making a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. This step includes listing our resentments and looking to see what part, if any, we played in how we’ve been hurt. By acknowledging these feelings and the circumstances that caused them, we can finally begin to process them and begin the journey towards letting them go.

Please do not rush through this step! Some of us have resentments that go back to childhood. We may feel they should be secrets we never tell. But the healing comes from facing the past and sharing our lives with others. Truly, that’s how the sense of aloneness we have felt disappears. If the feelings that come up from working the fourth step cause discomfort, we call our sponsors or share with others who have worked the step before us.

When working step four, don’t worry about step five. Just write down your history. You don’t have to worry about going over them with your sponsor until you are done. Most of us think our sponsors will be shocked by what we’ve written in step four. But what happens is, our sponsors are able to connect with us and share their experience, strength and hope in ways that transform our outlook on our lives and the world around us.

Steps Eight and Nine: Lising Who We’ve Harmed and Making Amends

In Step Eight, we make a list of all the people we have harmed. The list comes directly from our fourth and fifth steps. When making the list, don’t worry about making the actual amends. You’re not there yet! Just be willing to write down the list of people you need to make amends to.

In Step Nine we begin to make direct amends to those we have harmed, except when to do so would injure them or others. Step Nine is when we really begin to feel the power of forgiveness. It allows us to confront and take responsibility for our past actions, an act that is incredibly liberating and a significant step towards personal healing.

Remember, there is no guarantee that the people we have harmed will respond positively to our amends, though most do. The power is in taking the action. When we own up to our past behavior and commit to behaving differently in the future, we pave the road to freedom.

The Importance of Forgiving Yourself

An often-overlooked aspect of forgiveness in recovery is the need to forgive ourselves. Many of us carry a heavy burden of guilt and self-blame for our actions during active addiction. Learning to forgive ourselves is essential for true healing. It’s about acknowledging past mistakes but not letting them define our future. Self-forgiveness brings a sense of peace and self-acceptance that is crucial for lasting recovery.

Low self-esteem can block us from so many possibilities. By forgiving ourselves, we open the door to becoming who we want to be. Once we forgive ourselves, and accept who we were, we get to decide who we want to be—and become that person!

Forgiving Those Who Have Hurt Us Doesn’t Excuse Their Behavior: It Sets Us Free

Trauma is complicated. Sometimes we are hurt in ways that do seem unforgiveable. Forgiving those who have caused us trauma isn’t a favor we are doing for those who hurt us. It’s also not an excuse for their bad behavior. We can acknowledge that the trauma was undeserved and horrid but decide to forgive anyway so we can let go of the resentment.

Carrying a lifelong resentment against someone that caused us harm hurts us. We forgive to stop that hurt and move forward in a position of power. Once we do that, we’re able to let go and that thing that had a grip on us for so long doesn’t anymore.

Finding Freedom from Resentments through Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a powerful tool in recovery. It’s about letting go of the bitterness and anger that binds us to our past. By releasing these resentments, we can find a new sense of freedom and peace. This emotional release is not just spiritually uplifting but also has tangible benefits for mental and physical health.

Forgiveness in recovery is not just a concept; it’s a transformative process that plays a vital role in healing from addiction. The journey through AA’s steps provides a pathway for us make that transformation. It allows us to heal the wounds of the past, including childhood trauma and the pain endured during active addiction. Ultimately, forgiveness—both of others and ourselves—is a gateway to a new life, free from the chains of past hurt and resentments. When we embrace the power of forgiveness, we open themselves up to a future of hope, healing, and renewed purpose.

Ready to Break the Cycle of Addiction?

If you or a loved one is struggling with addiction, Breakthrough Recovery can help. We offer residential treatment programs and virtual counseling to help addicts break free.

If you’re ready for a new start, contact us!