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Finding The Willingness To Believe: A Second Step Study

Coming to believe in a power greater than ourselves can take time- sometimes as much time as it took to finally reach “bottom” and come to step one. Fully experiencing and integrating step two of the twelve steps can be a similar journey. Admitting that we are powerless over something in our lives and that our lives have become unmanageable as a result takes time and an incredible amount of humility. Coming to believe that maybe, just maybe, the way we’ve been trying to handle life isn’t working and that the power of something greater than ourselves could not only work, but work so well that we could be restored to sanity also takes both time and humility.

Though this is a step that mentions a “Higher Power” by way of “power greater than ourselves”, it is not one of the few steps which directly mentions the word “God”. Millions of people turn away from the absolutely magical power of the twelve steps in fear of religion, dogma, and the “beliefs” of a “God” they were brought up with who was less than loving. Step two doesn’t ask for us to name a God, choose a God, or make any decisions about God at all. All step two is telling us is that we can come to believe in a power greater than ourselves which can restore us to sanity. If we’ve come to the point in our struggles where we know we can’t do it anymore the way we’ve been doing it until now, we can come to believe that something with greater ability than us can help.

Willingness can be a controversial term in regards to recovery from addiction and/or mental illness, but when it comes to belief, it is perfectly applied. Believing at the snap of a finger is hard to do. Especially as survivors of trauma, we have a visceral connection to the world around us. When we don’t feel something, we can’t quite believe in it, and on the same token if we feel too much we aren’t sure we can trust it. For those of us who suffer this conundrum, step two can be intimidating. If we could create a step two-and-a-half, it might read something like “Came to be willing to believe…” to help us ease into the idea of believing at all.

You can walk through your trauma. The Guest House Ocala offers residential treatment programming for trauma, addictions, and related mental health issues. Call us today for information on our customized programs and availability: 1-855-483-7800