As we do the work to figure out our unhealthy behaviors, patterns and coping mechanisms, we can also be creating new healthy ways to cope that are self-affirming rather than self-destructive. We’ve created coping strategies over the years to deal with our trauma, our woundedness and our fears, but these strategies not only don’t heal […]
Category: Resource Center
How Can I Calm My Thoughts?
One of our biggest challenges when dealing with the stress of addiction, depression, anxiety and other mental health issues, is our overactive minds and how much our thoughts race. We often think that there is nothing we can do about this and that we can’t control our thoughts, but with some practice and some helpful […]
How Can I Face My Fear of Getting Help?
Many of us share the fear of reaching out for help in our recovery. When we are still caught in the cycles of our addictions, we often aren’t ready to take the steps needed to stop those cycles. We’re afraid of the withdrawal symptoms, the painful emotions of losing the substance or person we’re attached […]
Our Unhealthy Coping Mechanisms
One way to understand our addiction, depression and other mental health issues is to see that they are essentially the unhealthy coping mechanisms we’ve developed in response to our emotional pain. Very often we don’t understand why we struggle the way we do, why we’re suffering so much. While we’re in the midst of our […]
Why is it Important to Have Patience with Myself?
When we are working towards recovery, it is often after years of suffering with addictions, depression and other mental health issues. Oftentimes we’ve been struggling so long we feel fed up. We want to feel better as quickly as possible, which is totally understandable, but sometimes we are impatient with ourselves in recovery which can […]
Supporting our Loved Ones in Recovery
Supporting our loved ones through their recovery process can be incredibly challenging for us, whether or not we ourselves struggle with addictions. Each recovery process is different and unique to the individual, but there are some things we can do to support our loved ones as they recover. Listen When it comes to addiction recovery, […]
Why is Fun Important in Recovery?
Living with addictions and mental health issues presents us with some very difficult challenges, and an important part of recovery is discovering ways to find enjoyment in our lives again. We often neglect our happiness and stop doing the things we love. We think we don’t deserve to be happy because of our shame and […]
Making Peace with the Past
Many of us living with addictions and mental health issues have a hard time letting go of our pasts. We carry the weight of our traumatic experiences. We struggle to forgive our mistakes. We dwell on our regrets. We cling to our shame and embarrassment. We tend to be emotionally self-destructive rather than self-protective, often […]
How Do I Actually Learn to Love Myself?
When we talk about self-love, it can feel like a foreign concept that we don’t know how to apply to our lives. How can we actually learn to love ourselves? In what tangible ways can we implement self-love in our lives? How can we incorporate self-love into our healing and our recovery process? Self-Acceptance A […]
How Acceptance Can Help Us Heal
Many of us with addictions and mental health issues have a tendency to resist our pain rather than accept it. We have developed such a resistance over the years, often unconsciously, that we are giving our painful thoughts and emotions even more power over us. When we can learn to accept them, we are able […]