The Twelve Recovery Steps of Gamblers Anonymous
STEP 1
Admitted we were powerless over gambling
We admitted we were powerless over gambling—that our lives had become unmanageable.
STEP 2
Believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us
Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to a normal way of thinking and living.
STEP 3
Decision to turn our will and our lives over
Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of this Power of our own understanding.
STEP 4
Searching and fearless moral and financial inventory
Made a searching and fearless moral and financial inventory of ourselves.
STEP 5
Admitted to ourselves and to another human being
Admitted to ourselves and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
STEP 6
Entirely ready to have these defects removed
Were entirely ready to have these defects of character removed.
STEP 7
Humbly asked the Power of our understanding
Humbly asked the Power of our understanding to remove our shortcomings.
STEP 8
Made a list of all persons we had harmed
Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all.
STEP 9
Made direct amends to such people whenever possible
Made direct amends to such people whenever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
STEP 10
Continued to take personal inventory
Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
STEP 11
Sought through prayer and meditation
Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with the Power of our understanding, praying only for knowledge of the will of that Power for us and the power to carry that out.
STEP 12
Having made an effort to practice these principles
Having made an effort to practice these principles in all our affairs, we tried to carry this message to other compulsive gamblers.
Steps of Unity
The Twelve Unity Steps of Gamblers Anonymous
- Our common welfare should come first; personal recovery depends upon GA unity.
- Our leaders are but trusted servants; they do not govern.
- The only requirement for GA membership is a desire to stop gambling.
- Each group should be self-governing except in matters affecting other groups or GA as a whole.
- Gamblers Anonymous has but one primary purpose -- to carry its message to the compulsive gambler who still suffers.
- Gamblers Anonymous ought never endorse, finance, or lend the GA name to any related facility or outside enterprise, lest problems of money, property, and prestige divert us from our primary purpose.
- Every Gamblers Anonymous group ought to be fully self-supporting, declining outside contributions.
- Gamblers Anonymous should remain forever non-professional, but our service centers may employ special workers.
- Gamblers Anonymous, as such, ought never be organized; but we may create service boards or committees directly responsible to those they serve.
- Gamblers Anonymous has no opinion on outside issues; hence the Gamblers Anonymous name ought never be drawn into public controversy.
- Our public relations policy is based on attraction rather than promotion; we need always maintain personal anonymity at the level of press, radio, films, television, and Internet.
- Anonymity is the spiritual foundation of all these Steps, ever reminding us to place principles before personalities.
These principles guide our groups in their relations with other groups and with the fellowship as a whole, protecting the integrity of the GA program for all who seek help.