Briarwood Detox Center — Step 1 worksheet
Step 1 worksheet — honesty about where things stand
Step 1 asks you to stop arguing with the evidence: that drinking or using has become bigger than your ability to control it, and that life around it has stopped working.
Most people arrive at this step already knowing the answer and hoping the page will let them out of it. It will not. Write what is true, including the parts that make you look bad.
The evidence
Facts, not judgments. Dates, amounts, and things that actually happened are harder to argue with later than feelings are.
When did I last decide to cut down or stop, and what happened?
How many times have I made that decision before?
What have I told myself was the reason each time it did not hold?
What is the longest I have gone without, and what ended it?
What it has cost
Take each area in turn. Leave a line blank rather than filling it in to look better.
Money, work, or school:
My health, sleep, and body:
The people closest to me:
Things I used to care about and stopped doing:
Promises I made and did not keep:
Unmanageable
This word trips people up. It does not mean your life is in ruins. It means the effort of managing around the drinking or using has become the shape of your life.
What do I organize my day around now that I did not five years ago?
What am I hiding, and from whom?
How much of my energy goes into making sure nobody finds out?
If nothing changed at all, where would I be in two years?
Before you put this away
A worksheet is a way to get your thoughts out of your head and onto paper. It is not the step. Step 1 is worked with a sponsor, a counselor, or someone else who has done it — they will see things in these pages that you cannot see yourself.
Who am I going to show this to, and when?
What did I leave off these pages because I did not want to write it down?
This worksheet is provided free by Briarwood Detox Center for personal reflection. It is not medical advice, and it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Alcoholics Anonymous. Work it with a sponsor or counselor. If you need help right now, call (866) 710-7710. If you have thoughts of self-harm, call or text 988 for the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or call 911 in an emergency.