Sometimes our addictions and mental health issues are so debilitating we feel as though we’ve forgotten how to live our lives in healthy, empowering ways. We don’t feel able to function normally, accomplish our goals, or even get through the day. We feel so depressed we can’t get out of bed. We stop taking care […]
Category: Resource Center
Why is it a Good Idea to Stop Watching the News?
One of the first things professionals recommend when treating depression and anxiety is to stop watching the news. We’re hesitant to stop watching altogether because we feel it’s our civic duty to stay informed, to know what’s going on in the world so that we can somehow make a positive impact in our own way. […]
Loving All Versions of Ourselves
One of the things that holds us back the most in our recovery are our lingering feelings of self-hatred, insecurity and self-rejection. We’re still feeling down on ourselves for being addicts, for all the mistakes we’ve made and ways in which we’ve hurt ourselves and others. We feel ashamed of ourselves. We don’t love and […]
How Do Our Belief Systems Affect Our Mental Health?
The belief systems we carry with us into adulthood are often formed during our childhoods. We inherit them from our families. We develop them on our own from our own experiences and unique perspectives. We adopt other people’s beliefs as our own when they resonate with us. Our belief systems inform how we feel about […]
The Myth of the “Last Time”
When we’re still embroiled in our addictive patterns, one of the things we tell ourselves the most is that this time will be “the last time.” This will be the last time we go on a binge or bender. It will be the last time we use at all. It will be the last time […]
Can Envy Contribute to Addiction and Mental Illness?
We know that our addictions are often the coping mechanisms we develop to deal with intense pain, but we don’t always explore in depth what those sources of pain are for us. We feel deep sadness and fear that contribute not only to our addictions but also to our depression, anxiety and other mental health […]
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, […]
Finding Our Voice
Addiction and mental illness can cause us to become completely disconnected from our inner selves, so much so that we lose sense of who we are. We lose our voice. Our voice is how we communicate our innermost thoughts and feelings with the world, with the people in our lives, and with ourselves. It’s how […]
How Can Expectations Hurt Us?
Having expectations for ourselves and our recovery can be helpful. Expectations can help us to define goals for ourselves and to set intentions, to design plans and to create visions for ourselves. Our expectations can hurt us, however, especially when we become so consumed with trying to attain perfection that we don’t allow ourselves to […]
Putting Energy into Our Intentions
If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Part of our recovery work is creating goals for ourselves and setting intentions. Sometimes we set those intentions without making sure we’re putting the necessary energy behind them in order to follow through with them. When this happens, our […]