How to Make Amends Steps & Real-Life Examples to Repair Relationships

How to Make Amends Steps & Real-Life Examples to Repair Relationships

Making living amends primarily benefits you and not the people you’ve wronged in the past. It’s about making positive changes within yourself so that you don’t repeat old patterns of behavior that led to your broken relationships in the first place. The changes that occur due to your efforts positively affect your commitment to becoming a better friend, child, parent, or person all around. At Augustine Recovery, we understand how addiction affects the family unit. That’s why we designed a unique approach to 12-Step treatment.

• Attempts to make amends can create more harm if you enter a situation focused only on yourself and what you want to get out of it.
• It’s a transformational part of addiction recovery that takes courage, self-awareness, and a willingness to change.
• It builds emotional resilience, which is key to managing stress, triggers, and the ups and downs of life without turning to substances.
• A loved one might need time to accept amends and feel okay with it.

Life can be good again and we’d like to show you how.

As you make a living amends, you consciously look for ways to treat people in your life with more care and respect than you did before. By doing so, you’re preparing yourself for the next relationships in your life and becoming able living amends meaning to be a reliable friend to new people. Often, the term amends in recovery comes from following a 12-step program.

Types of Amends: Direct Amends and Living Amends

• For many individuals living with addiction or mental health disorders, trauma is more than just part of their story,…
• They take different forms, including direct amends, indirect amends, and living amends.
• Many alcoholics in early sobriety struggle with how to make direct amends for certain offenses against others.
• They affirm your decision to make lifelong changes, which has a positive effect on both you and everyone around you.

I have made many amends for my past while living as an alcoholic. Amends allow me to also right the wrongs I may continue to make. It is freedom from behaviors that do not live up to the new life in sobriety I am choosing to live.

• Though this cannot undo or directly compensate for the initial mistake, it can serve as living amends that comes through a different way of being in the world.
• Get confidential help for yourself or your loved one through Recreate Behavioral Health Network.
• And in some cases, you may not be able to make direct amends at all.
• Step Nine is that biggie step, the one we likely have created some anxiety over because it involves making amends.
• We help individuals address past wrongs while guiding them through a complete addiction recovery plan.
• One must also show sorrow over what one did, how one hurt the other person and the pain it caused them.

Sober Recovery Expert Author

At Recreate Life Counseling, we understand that Step 9 is more than just an apology—it’s a transformative process that fosters healing and personal growth. Our comprehensive addiction treatment programs support individuals through each stage of recovery, including the challenging yet rewarding journey of making amends. Taking this what is alcoholism courageous step not only mends relationships but also reinforces one’s commitment to a life free from substance use. Steps 8 and 9 of Alcoholics Anonymous involve listing those harmed and making direct amends to such people wherever possible, unless doing so would cause further harm.

You can work to repair damaged relationships with family and friends by making amends

Step 9, often seen as one of the most challenging, requires courage, humility, and guidance. More than an apology, it’s about making genuine amends—taking action to correct past mistakes without causing harm. Here, we explore Step 9, its goals, possible outcomes, and effective language for making amends. To fix broken relationships, you have to put a lot of effort into making things work. It’s not enough to say to someone that you apologize and feel badly for how you acted in the past. It takes a certain maturity and level of respect for yourself and the person you’re hoping to reconnect with to get past any past issues.

Self Care Tips For Total Wellness

The key aspect of indirect amends is focusing on personal growth and changing harmful behaviors. For example, if you neglected or mistreated your children while you were using alcohol, a simple apology may not repair the damage. Instead, you may need to engage in a dialogue with them over time. This may involve attending family therapy or individual therapy. You will need to demonstrate that you are committed to rebuilding trust and repairing your relationship with them.