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AWG Secular 12 Step Self-Esteem Group

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Zoom access and meeting timesMeeting descriptionWorkbookReadings
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

Strong bonds... disrupted by my diagnosis?

Tuesday, July 15, 2025

I'm worried about some of my close bonds due to how my news is being taken by family and friends.

The Step 1 questions ask, "Do I have any strong individual bonds with other people? How about bonds within a community?" That hit me, because until I learned I'm autistic, I thought I did. I'm worried about some of my close bonds now due to how my news is being taken by family and friends. With some of them, the vibe is different from how it was before I told them I'm autistic. Some of their reactions seem to signal that I've made a mistake... even though I know I haven't. 

I'm also worried that my own changing self-perceptions could disrupt out bonds.  If I unmask, will I be hurting or confusing someone who cares about me? 

These social questions are a lot to process alongside learning I'm autistic. I feel bad that I don't know how to make this a smoother process for my loved ones. 

Has anyone here been through this? I'd love to hear about what happened, or maybe it's still happening. In particular, I'm wondering...

  •  Have any of your individual and group bonds have been disrupted or changed from what they were pre-identifiction? If so, has it affected your self-esteem? Sense of self? 
  • Have you ever been you worried that loved ones might develop different ideas about you than they had before?
  • Have you felt responsible for your loved ones' reactions to learning you are autistic? For example, thinking, "I must not have told them in the right way" if they are upset or confused?  .
  • Has anything helped strengthen your self-esteem in the face of these challenges? 
  • Any tools, strategies, or resources that have helped you? 
  • Anything else to add?
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