Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) is a fellowship designed to help people who struggle with alcohol addiction. It is based on a 12-step program designed to guide individuals through the process of recovery. Here are the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous, which have been adapted for a wide range of other addiction recovery programs as well:

1. We admitted we were powerless over alcohol—that our lives had become unmanageable. - This step involves recognizing that alcohol controls one's life and admitting the inability to manage it alone.
2. Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity. - Participants are encouraged to believe that a higher power (in whatever form they conceive it) can help them overcome their addiction.
3. **Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.** - This step asks for a commitment to spiritually surrender one's life to the higher power for guidance in overcoming alcohol dependence.
4. Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves. - This involves a thorough and honest analysis of one’s behaviors and attitudes to understand how they have contributed to their addiction.
5. **Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.** - Disclosing personal shortcomings to oneself, a higher power, and another person is a practice in honesty and responsibility, acknowledging one’s faults without hiding.
6. Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character. - This step prepares individuals to have their higher power help them remove their negative character traits.
7. Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings. - Participants actively request assistance from their higher power to overcome specific personal defects identified earlier.
8. **Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.** - Creating a list of people harmed during the time of addiction and becoming mentally prepared to apologize to them reflects responsibility and the intention to rectify past wrongs.
9. **Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others. - This involves making personal amends for wrongdoings unless doing so causes more harm or pain.
10. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.** - Ongoing self-reflection and accountability for one's actions are crucial, correcting oneself immediately when mistakes are made.
11. **Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.** - Enhancing one’s spiritual connection through prayer and meditation encourages continuous reflection and reliance on the higher power for strength.
12. **Having had a spiritual awakening as the result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.** - This final step focuses on the spiritual awakening or personal transformation as a result of following the earlier steps, and sharing this successful approach with those still suffering from alcoholism, while continuing to apply these principles in every aspect of life. Each step builds upon the previous one, aiming at personal accountability, self-awareness, and spiritual growth, facilitating recovery from addiction.