As we’re working to heal ourselves and recover from our addictions, an important part of the recovery process is developing our ability to admit our mistakes. For years, many of us were resistant to admitting when we felt we had done something wrong or hurt someone. Our pride, our fear of being criticized, and our […]
Category: Recovery
Respecting Our Boundaries in Recovery
One of the elements of the recovery process that we often find challenging is establishing boundaries for ourselves and ensuring that the people in our lives respect them. Setting and maintaining boundaries takes a level of self-respect and a strong sense of self-worth that many of us haven’t attained yet. We’re still struggling with feelings […]
Why We Don’t Reach Out for Help
If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). There are various reasons why we don’t reach out for help with our addictions and mental illnesses, and those reasons are unique to us and our experience. There are some common elements that can be found in all of […]
Access to Treatment
For many of us, the road to recovery starts with enrolling in a treatment program, but for many of us, we don’t have access to the professional treatment we need. Many of us don’t think recovery is possible for us, and we lose hope, never taking the steps to seek out help. Others of us […]
The Wake-Up Call
When struggling with addiction, we don’t always know what it will be that finally forces us to stop, get help and get sober. We’re so deeply embroiled in our addictive patterns and the painful cycles we’re in that we don’t feel we have the clarity, the conviction or the willpower to stop our addictions ourselves. […]
Criminalization and Transformation
In the midst of our struggles with addiction, sometimes there are events that feel catastrophic at the time but that end up serving as deterrents to our addictions. In other words, they help us to finally stop our destructive patterns and get sober. At the time, we’re often filled with anger and resentment. We want […]
Coming into Alignment
When struggling with addiction and mental illness, we tend to be quite out of alignment with who we are, with our intuition, with our instincts and our sense of direction. We feel unclear about what it is we want out of life and where we’re headed. We’re filled with confusion, anxiety, self-doubt and uncertainty about […]
The Consequences of Our Addictions
Sometimes critically examining our addictions and all of the consequences they bring with them can help us make the choice to get help and actively work towards recovery. We often don’t want to look at the effects our addictions are having on us. We’re ashamed of all the havoc they wreak on our lives, on […]
The Strength in Vulnerability
Many of us have been conditioned to think that in order to be strong and competent, we must be totally independent. We think that we should never ask anyone for anything, and that we should be able to do everything on our own. We assume we’re weak if we need help. These thought patterns are […]
Why Willpower Alone Isn’t Enough
There is a common misconception about addiction that if we just apply our willpower we’ll be able to stop our addictions in their tracks and keep them from overtaking our lives. People assume that addicts are weak, lazy, cowardly, and simply not trying hard enough to get better. The truth is, willpower alone isn’t enough […]