Episode 127: Recommitting Ourselves to Step 8 of the Twelve Steps of Adult Children of Alcoholics

Let Go and Be Free

In this week's episode, we discuss Step 8:

"Made a list of all persons we had harmed and became willing to make amends to them all."

Step 8 is not easy and might seem impossible. One way to begin working on this step is to set time limits so that you don't feel overwhelmed.

Begin with a 10-15 minute block of time and write down who you have harmed and what you did to them.

When you finish, stop working on this step and focus on something else. If you allow yourself to get pulled into the depths of this step too quickly, it's easy to berate yourself for all the harm you have caused people.

Take small steps.

From the 12 Steps for Adult Children book:

"Our fear of abandonment sometimes destroyed our relationships, because we did not allow others to be themselves. We created dependency and tried to control their behavior in an effort to maintain the relationship as we wanted it to be."

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