One of the things we learn in recovery is that our addictions and mental health issues have caused us to create a very disconnected, disharmonious relationship with ourselves and our inner thoughts and feelings. We resist our fears. We don’t work to heal our wounds. We don’t resolve the deep relationship issues and recurring life […]
Category: Alumni
Learning to Accept Uncertainty
As we’re working to heal ourselves, one of the obstacles we find ourselves up against is all of the uncertainty we’re feeling around the recovery process. We’re uncertain of what the future holds. We feel uncertainty about our ability to get well. We feel uncertain about the timing of how things are going for us, […]
When a Loved One Disappoints Us
As the loved ones of addicts, we know all too well the disappointment of seeing them relapse after promising us they would get clean, after making the commitment to us and to themselves to be sober. We feel they’ve let us down. We had expectations that they would be true to their word, and we’re […]
The Different Stages of Relapse
When we think of relapse, we usually associate it with the act of returning to our drug use after a period of abstinence. We think of all the painful emotions associated with it, the disappointment, shame and regret. We think of falling off the wagon and picking up our drug of choice after being so […]
Staying Fully Involved in the Recovery Process
The recovery process is something we have to commit to and then continuously recommit to if we want to stay aligned with our goals of sobriety. There are countless things that can work against us, countless obstacles we’re up against, and one of them is our tendency to start to slip in our recovery, to […]
Self-Actualization in Recovery
One of our greatest challenges in recovery is working to implement the changes we envision for ourselves and holding ourselves accountable to the goals and intentions we’ve set for ourselves. This is where self-actualization comes in, where we summon the inner motivation and drive to push ourselves to make our recovery goals a reality for […]
Reintegrating Back into Our Relationships
One of our greatest challenges in recovery is returning to our former lives and reintegrating back into the relationships we’ve left behind. It can be incredibly difficult to come to terms with all of the changes we’ve made in our own lives and reconcile those changes with the relationships in our lives. Some of our […]
Why We Can Feel Stuck in Recovery
When we’re approaching the recovery process, many of us are excited and optimistic about the journey ahead. We’ve completed a treatment program, created a support system for ourselves, and maybe even formed a relapse prevention plan. We feel ready to undertake the challenging work of recovery, and we feel confident in our ability to get […]
Reinventing Ourselves in Recovery
For many of us, the recovery process is about rediscovering and reinventing ourselves. Throughout our struggles with addiction and mental illness, we’ve lost our connection to ourselves. We feel out of alignment with our inner selves. We’re afraid to be our authentic selves and express ourselves. We don’t feel we’re being true to ourselves, in […]
Violating Our Own Boundaries in Recovery
As part of our recovery, some of the important work we’ll do is establish and maintain boundaries about things that are important to us. When we’re working towards sobriety, some of our boundaries will involve separating ourselves form people who use drugs, drink or otherwise engage in addictive behaviors that might be triggering or tempting […]