AWG Secular 12 Step Self-Esteem Group

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Zoom access and meeting times

Meetings are every Tuesday from 11 am to 12 pm Eastern US Time. See Meeting Time in a Different Time Zone


Meeting ID: 824 1142 4876
Code: 781927

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Meeting description

This is a secular 12 Step meeting focused on self-esteem recovery for late-identified autistic women and members of all other marginalized genders (nonbinary, gender fluid, MTF/FTM trans, agender, autigender, and more). 

We meet each Tuesday on Zoom, practice the AWG 12 Steps using the AWG 12 Step Workbook, share in response to weekly readings, and participate in the optional co-mentorship program if we so desire. 

It is not mandatory to turn on your mic or camera. Coming to listen is totally fine. By taking part, we hold space for others, and ourselves, to participate in a way that is manageable for us as we exist right now.

It is not necessary to actively be doing the AWG 12 Steps in order to be a full participant. Any contact with the group and its resources can be beneficial as long as it’s sustainable for each of us as individuals. Many of us participate simply by attending meetings.

As we participate in this meeting over time, we might find ourselves seeking to…

  • Find our own concept of self-esteem and grow toward it
  • Come to discover a more realistic sense of our place in the world
  • Reassess our relationships, especially in terms of our responsibilities towards ourselves and others
  • Come to understand personal boundaries, their roles in our lives, and how to develop and maintain healthy boundaries
  • Understand the concept of nonviolent detachment and how and when to enact it
  • Develop more manageable lifestyles
  • Develop a sense of self that leads to more health, well being, and manageability in our lives
  • Release others from the responsibility of defining or reinforcing our sense of self-esteem
  • Form personal goals about self-esteem and self-concept based on our own understanding of our own needs, as they exist today

AWG 12 Step Self-Esteem Workbook

Step 1

We admitted that despite our efforts, many of the factors affecting our sense of self and self-esteem seemed out of control, leading to increased unmanageability in our lives.

Step 2

Coming Soon

Step 3

Coming Soon

Step 4

Coming Soon

AWG 12 Step Self-Esteem Readings

Finding solidarity

Tuesday, June 17, 2025

I was raised in a household where "solidarity" wasn't part of the vocabulary.

I was raised in a household where "solidarity" wasn't part of the vocabulary. If a teacher at school was giving me a hard time, my parents never stood up for me. If I was in pain and couldn't function the way my parents expected me to, I was blamed and shamed instead of supported.

This mindset came with me when I went out into the world, making it hard to bond with my peers. That didn't feel good.

Then one day a cranky customer complained to my boss about me. Instead of blaming or shaming me, my boss backed me up. I still think about that day. What if the customer had complained at higher levels, or left a one-star review online? When my boss stood up for me, she didn't care about that. The priority was solidarity in our workplace.

That experience changed the way I feel about solidarity. It would be cool to have some other perspectives on the topic as I think about where to go next with it.

Share questions:

  • What does solidarity mean to you?
  • Have you ever expressed solidarity towards another person? Felt solidarity expressed towards you?
  • Was solidarity a part of your life while you were being raised? Please describe.
  • Have you ever showed solidarity--or not showed it--as a part of masking?
  • Do you feel solidarity within an autistic community or communities?
  • Does the idea of solidarity play well with your traits? Black and white thinking, demand avoidance, sense of justice, other?
  • Are there any resources, tools, or strategies that have helped you think about or express solidarity?
  • Anything else to add?
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