All 12-step programs use some variation of the following as their first step: “We admitted we were powerless over (insert addiction here)–that our lives had become unmanageable.”  Many of us had trouble admitting to ourselves that we were powerless, and in some cases were unable to come to terms with the idea that our lives were unmanageable.  So here’s as simple an explanation as I can come up with.

http://sunrisedetox.com/blog/2010/08/27/the-first-step-is-no-theory-part-1/