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AA Step 8: Make a List of Those You’ve Harmed & Become Willing to Make Amends

Participating in support groups like Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) can be an important component of your recovery from alcohol misuse and addiction. Step 8 of AA involves personal relationships, and working through this step can be a challenging yet helpful part of your journey.

What Is Step 8 of AA?

Under AA Step 8, program participants list the people they have harmed and become “willing to make amends to them all.” Step 8 asks participants to fully and honestly examine their past to develop an awareness of the ways their alcohol use and other harmful behaviors have harmed others and themselves.1 Step 8 does not yet ask people to actively work on making amends, but rather to become open to the idea that repairing previous damage will be necessary at some point.1

What Is the Purpose of Step 8 of AA?

The purpose of Step 8 is to make restitution to others who have been harmed by your actions.1 Step 8 and Step 9 work together to help people deal with the effects their alcohol use and associated harmful behaviors have had on their relationships.1 During Step 8, a person makes a physical list of the people from their past who have been harmed as a consequence of their drinking and prepares them for the process of making amends.1

Examining the ways that you have harmed others can help you develop increased behavioral and emotional awareness and insight.1 It can also help you understand the ways you have contributed to unhealthy relationships, which can sometimes be an underlying cause of alcohol misuse and addiction according to AA.1 In doing so, Step 8 of AA may help you uncover additional destructive behavioral and interpersonal patterns so that you can make necessary changes.1

How to Complete Step 8 of AA

The underlying concepts and process of completing the Steps are comprehensively explained in AA’s book, 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.2 Some AA groups also offer worksheets to group members as a way to guide them through each step.

While you’ll likely be working through the Steps with the support of a sponsor, what follows are some helpful tips about how to complete Step 8 of AA. Give yourself sufficient time for contemplation and have a notebook or computer handy where you can create a list and store your reflections.

  1. Think about your relationships throughout your life. Consider those who may have been harmed by your actions.1
  2. Examine what you mean by “harm.”1 How did your actions result in an emotional, physical, psychological, or financial consequence for the other person?1
  3. Sometimes you might find that the harm to the other person is less than you previously thought, but the actual harm to yourself was much worse.1
  4. Think about your personality traits that have contributed to your actions.1 For example, were you critical, impatient, or neglectful of the other person? Did you engage in endless self-pity or attention-seeking behaviors that caused harm to others?1

Now make a written list of those people in your life who you have harmed.1 Be honest with yourself; you may need to go far back in time to account for those who have been affected.1 This process may bring up a host of emotions and feel confrontational, embarrassing, or overwhelming, so be patient and kind to yourself.

How Step 8 of AA Fits Into Your Recovery Journey

Step 8 works in conjunction with Step 9 of AA, which states that we make “direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.”1, 3 These Steps focus on the process of making amends in personal relationships.1 To make amends (Step 9), you first need to examine who you need to make amends with (Step 8).

Similarly, Step 7 of AA, which states that participants “humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings,” precedes Step 8 because it is necessary to first examine and accept your own flaws so you can recognize how they have impacted others, as required in Step 8.3

How to Find a 12-Step AA Program

If you’re interested in finding an AA group, you can review the AA resource page to find meetings nearby. If you’re in a rehab program or are considering rehab, you may participate in 12-Step facilitation therapy, which is a type og behavioral therapy designed to help people become familiar with and engage in 12-Step groups like AA.4

Groups like AA can also be a part of rehab aftercare, which is designed to provide recovery support after a person completes formal treatment.5 Other forms of aftercare can include sober living, participating in individual or group counseling, or attending regular check-ins with your doctor.5

Start Your Recovery

People who are interested in 12-Step programs like AA or those who are already involved in one may also benefit from rehab. Rehab can include different levels of care such as:

If you’re struggling with alcohol, or you know someone who is, you can call our confidential and free helpline at to learn more about your rehab options. If you’re not ready to talk on the phone but want to check your coverage, you can fill out the short form below to verify your health insurance coverage for addiction treatment. There is no obligation to enter treatment, and our caring admissions navigators can answer any questions you may have about the process.

Learn More About AA

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