AWG 12 Steps Workbook: Step 1 Questions
Step 1: We admitted that despite our efforts, many of the factors determining our sense of self and self-esteem seemed out of control, leading to increased unmanageability in our lives.
Contents
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Questions:
- Step 1 and 12 Step skepticism
- Step 1, basic concepts
- Step 1, looking closer
- Step 1 and being questioning, self-diagnosed, or clinically diagnosed
- Step 1 and participation worries
- Step 1 and outside influences on our sense of self and self-esteem
- Step 1, individual needs, and self-care
- Step 1 and personal values
- Step 1 and relationships with individuals and groups
- Step 1 and the connection we find in AWG
Step 1 and 12 Step skepticism
- Why have I decided to start on these 12 Steps? What led me to this point?
- Do I feel any worries, skepticism, or embarrassment about the 12 Steps? Where might that be coming from?
- Do I have any positive associations or hopes about the 12 Steps? What are they?
- What is my current sense of self telling me about me working the 12 Steps? What is my current self-esteem telling me?
- Do I fear that the 12 Steps might become another factor that hurts my self-esteem or makes my life more unmanageable?
Step 1, basic concepts
- What, to me, is self-esteem? What, to me, is sense of self?
- Do I feel any uncertainty around what self-esteem is? What about sense or self?
- Has it ever seemed like sense of self in my life has a different meaning or purpose than in other people's lives? How about self-esteem?
- Have I ever felt detached from the very concept of sense of self? Of self-esteem?
- Have I ever felt like giving up hope for my sense of self or self-esteem?
Step 1, looking closer
- What are some factors that determine my self-esteem?
- Do any of these factors seem out of control? In what ways?
- What efforts have I made so far in my life to shape my own self-esteem, both successful and unsuccessful?
- Are parts of my life made less manageable, or wholly unmanageable, due to the present state of my self esteem?
- What parts of my life are the most manageable? Why makes them more manageable than other parts?
Step 1 and being questioning, self-diagnosed, or clinically diagnosed
- Has learning about autism caused my self-esteem to change? In what ways?
- Has learning about autism changed the way I see the concepts of manageability and unmanageability? How?
- Does my status as questioning, self-diagnosed, or clinically diagnosed have an influence on my self-esteem? What is it like?
- Do I ever have trouble acknowledging that I am, or could be, an autistic person?
- When I think back to before I learned about autism, what aspects of my sense of self felt the best to me, and why?
Step 1 and participation worries
- Am I anticipating any barriers to my ability to work the 12 Steps? What might they be?
- Do I anticipate difficulties because of autistic traits, mental or physical health challenges, or life events? Perfectionism, demand avoidance, executive dysfunction, social difficulties, sensory overstimulation, overwhelm, shutdowns, burnout? A chronic illness? Trauma? Challenges at work? Family responsibilities? Other?
- Might any of my concerns be linked to past experiences? What were they, and what happened?
- If I come across challenges to my participation, whether related to autism or something else, am I willing to give myself accommodations, even if I don't know what those accommodations might look like right now?
- Am I willing to prioritize manageability as part of my 12 Step experience?
Step 1 and outside influences on our sense of self and self-esteem
- Is my self-esteem informed by outside influences? What are they?
- When it comes to evaluating who I am, whose ideas do I listen to the most? Myself? My parents? Peers? People at school or work? Strangers? Employees? My partner(s)? Religious/spiritual community? Hobby group? Sports team? Celebrities? Social media? Books/movies? Other? How about second-most and third-most?
- Do I worry about how any of these outside influences might think or feel about autism? Does this worry impact my thinking, feelings, or behavior?
- When I think of my relationships with each of these outside influences, which are the most manageable? Which are less manageable? Why?
- Does it seem difficult to think of myself as an authority on what's best for me? Why might that be?
Step 1, individual needs, and self-care
- To me, what is "self-care"?
- Do I ever find myself prioritizing the maintenance of outside appearances over caring for myself mentally and physically? How and why?
- Do I sometimes notice that my self-esteem is reduced because of taking care of myself? What is that like?
- Has self-care ever had the opposite effect on me and made things less manageable? What happened?
- Off the top of my head, what are some kinds of resources that might help me learn more about self-care?
Step 1 and personal values
- What are some of my personal values?
- Do I ever feel confused about my values? How? Do I have a sense of why that might be?
- Have any of my values changed since I started learning about autism?
- Does the ability to live my values ever feel reduced by the state of my sense of self or self-esteem?
- Are there times when it feels like living my values makes my life less manageable? More manageable? How so?
Step 1 and relationships with individuals and groups
- Do I have any strong individual bonds with other people? How about bonds within a community?
- Do I ever feel confused about who I am in one-on-one relationships? Group relationships? If so, how? If not, why not?
- Has learning about autism changed the way I think about one-on-one relationships? Group relationships?
- Have my relationships with individuals or groups ever been made less manageable due to the state of my sense of self? Self-esteem?
- Have I ever expressed solidarity towards another person? Felt solidarity expressed towards me?
Step 1 and the connection we find in AWG
- Has being part of AWG had any effect on my sense of self? On my self-esteem?
- What does it feel like when I identify with a group member's experience, whether at a meeting, in AWG Shares, on Discord, speaking with a co-mentor, or elsewhere?
- Do I ever feel solidarity with other members, whether or not I express it outwardly?
- Does AWG add manageability to my life, or unmanageability? What might be some reasons why?
- Do I feel like AWG might be able to help me restore manageability if I run into barriers on my 12 Step path? For example, could I share these barriers with the group? With my co-sponsor(s)?
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