14/11/2025 - by Ben Heppenstall
"Fear knocked at the door. Faith answered it. Nobody was there."
In 12-step programmes like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), fear is recognised as both a symptom of the problem and a barrier to recovery and the steps are designed to help members face, understand and move through fear rather than be controlled by it. Here are the key roles fear plays:
In the Big Book of AA, fear is discussed as one of the major 'corrosive threads' in addictive thinking. Many people use substances to escape fear: fear of failure, rejection, responsibility, emotions and uncertainty.
Addiction thrives when people avoid reality. Fear of confronting their problem, fear of being judged and fear of change can stop someone from seeking help or being honest with others.
These steps involve:
Fear inventories (Step 4): Listing fears and how they shape behavior.
Sharing fears (Step 5): Reducing fear’s power through honesty with another person.
Identifying fear-based patterns (Step 6): Seeing how fear leads to defects like control, anger, perfectionism or withdrawal.
Asking for fear to be removed (Step 7): Letting go of fear as part of personal change.
Step 1 (admitting powerlessness) and Step 2 (believing change is possible) both require overcoming fear:
Fear of letting go of the substance.
Fear of the unknown.
Fear of depending on others or a Higher Power.
The steps gradually shift a person from:
Fear to Faith
Self-reliance to Connection
Control to Surrender
Trust (in community, in the process, in a Higher Power, or even simply in healthier actions) reduces the grip of fear.
Sponsors often say, 'The fear points to the next thing you need to work on'. In 12-step thinking, fear becomes a guide rather than a threat.
Meetings, making amends, speaking honestly and practicing spiritual principles are all meant to build courage, gradually shrinking fear’s influence.