1. Home
  2. AWG Self-Esteem

AWG Secular 12 Step Self-Esteem Group 🚀


Access this page in bionic reading here. 

Looking for the old site? All of the original materials are still available on https://awg12steps.wordpress.com/

On this page:

Zoom access and meeting times Meeting description Workbook Readings
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 (normal calendar)


* Zoom link not working? Search the meeting ID below in the Zoom meeting database and then use the code to sign in: 

Meeting ID: 824 1142 4876
Code: 781927


Emails will be sent out to mailing list members in the rare case of a cancellation.
Get a weekly email reminder for meetings

Submit your email to receive a reminder each week about the upcoming AWG Self-Esteem group meeting
Your email address is only used to send you our newsletter and information about our activities. You can unsubscribe at any time.

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 Readings

  • AWG Self-Esteem 🚀
  • Overwhelm and self-esteem part 4: Relationships with myself, other individuals, and groups

Overwhelm and self-esteem part 4: Relationships with myself, other individuals, and groups

Tuesday, May 5, 2026

Trigger warning: Overwhelm

One of the reasons overwhelm can be scary is that when it happens, it feels like it is changing my relationships. Step 9 looks at my relationships with myself, other individuals, and groups. When I'm overwhelmed, my relationship to each one is different from when I'm not overwhelmed.

One of the reasons overwhelm can be scary is that when it happens, it feels like it is changing my relationships. Step 9 looks at my relationships with myself, other individuals, and groups. When I'm overwhelmed, my relationship to each one is different from when I'm not overwhelmed.

My relationship with myself changes when I'm overwhelmed. I feel I can't get myself to do what I need to do, and that leads to a lack of trust for myself. I might feel angry at myself or hopeless with myself. Those feelings can linger when I'm no longer overwhelmed.

My relationship with other individuals feels like it changes when I'm overwhelmed. I can't relate to them and I want to keep my overwhelm a secret. Sometimes I question whether I am a worthwhile person for them to know. It creates a sense of distance between me and other individuals.

My relationship with groups feels like it changes when I'm overwhelmed: my family, school, workplace, and friends. When I'm overwhelmed, it's hard to feel like I'm part of any group. I'm not performing the role I usually do, or think I ought to do. I isolate myself while they might be doing other things together. I worry about losing my place in the group because of my overwhelm. Sometimes I decide not to join groups because I fear what will happen when I get overwhelmed.

The sense of separation can be really profound, and to be honest, I have no idea what to do. At least in my Step 9 work I can acknowledge what a deep impact overwhelm has, and has had, on my relationships with myself, other individuals, and groups.

Share questions:

  • How does overwhelm interact with your relationship with yourself? With other individuals? With groups? 
  • Do you ever find yourself holding back from engaging more deeply with any of the three while overwhelmed, or even out of fear of becoming overwhelmed? 
  • Does overwhelm create any conditions in your life that make it harder to feel honest in your relationships? 
  • Has the experience of overwhelm ever actually improved a relationship of yours? For example, with another autistic person or group? With yourself? 
  • How do you cope with overwhelm in your relationships?
  • Any tools, strategies, or resources to share?
  • Anything else to add?
No comments yet

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
Search
This website may use cookies and external scripts. More information