Women in RecoveryThe New Life Program
...obriety, the “New Life” Program. The “New Life” program is based on 13 principles which center on the positive state of mind that encourages emotional and spiritual growth. The "New Life" Program enables behavior modification by: Positive reinforcement (approbation and encouragement), cognitive strategies (affirmative thinking), and letting the body help (meditation, diet and physical exercise). The program concentrates on learning new self-improving behavior instead of using trepidation, condemnation and dependency to control old destructive behavior and practices. The “New Life” program is centered on the acceptance of the 13 principles. According to Women for Sobriety they are as follows. 1. I have a life-threatening problem that once had me. I now take control of my life. I accept responsibility. 2. Negative thoughts destroy only me. My first conscious act must be to remove negativity from my life. 3. Happiness is a habit I will develop. Happiness is created, not waited for. 4. Problems bother me only to the degree I permit them to. I now better understand my problems and do not permit problems to overwhelm me. 5. I am what I think. I am a capable, competent, caring, compassionate woman. 6. Life can be ordinary or it can be great. Greatness is mine by a conscious effort. 7. Love can change the course of my world. Caring becomes all important. 8. The fundamental object of life is emotional and spiritual growth. Daily I put my life into a proper order, knowing what the priorities are. 9. The past is gone forever. No longer will I be victimized by the past, I am a new person. 10. All love given returns. I will learn to know that others love me. 11. Enthusiasm is my daily exercise. I treasure all moments of my new life. 12. I am a competent woman and have much to give life. This is what I am and I shall know it always. 13. I am responsible for myself and for my actions. I am in charge of my mind, my thoughts, and my life. In my opinion, these principles would work well in anyone’s life. Generally we have no limits except for the limits we impose on ourselves. What would you expect to encounter in a program like this? According to www.realsolutions.org a WFS program based in San Diego, California, the format is an informal, conversational meeting. It is run by a facilitator. Upon attending you are asked to make a donation. Some groups even have a set amount; however they do say that you are still welcome if you don’t have the money. You are handed a list of names and telephone numbers of members who have volunteered to work as telephone support should you feel you need it. I believe this is similar to AA’s sponsor program. An AA sponsor is basically someone who is assigned to you that you can confide in and talk to and generally lean on for help during your recovery. Your sponsor is available to you 24 hours a day. I think it is a valuable tool. Once you have attended three meetings WFS assumes you have made a commitment and suggest you subscribe to their newsletter, “Sobering Thoughts”. I am not sure I agree with this concept, because there are many people who are slow to make a decision, especially someone who has an addiction. I think they may actually scare someone off by inferring that they have made a commitment and trying to sell them a subscription to their magazine. I think that by trying to sell their literature instead of sharing, it may have many women questioning the organizations motives. WFS insists that you keep everything you see and hear in the meetings confidential. Anonymity is of the utmost importance to the organization. They are trying to foster an environment that is conducive to sharing without the fear of repercussions for what a member says. One of the most unique features of the program that I found was the Pen Pal program. The only problem that I see is that you are required to pay a fee and subscribe to their newsletter to participate. Again this is another place where the programs motives may be questioned. I feel this could be a very useful ...