A lot of our troubles stem from our inability to know how to have relationships. I was surprised when I was new how much focus was placed on relationships. One of the first things I heard after coming into recovery was don't get into a relationship during the first year of my recovery. To me this sounded mean and controlling, little did I know it was a warning. I soon learned that the pain from not knowing how to do relationships can be too much for our fragile sobriety, and does lead to relapse for many. The steps show us how to do relationships, first with a higher power then with ourselves and finally with others. This can be a long process and can take some time, but we will learn how to have healthy relationships if we keep working the steps. It's what they are all about.