Spring is here and you want to be happy, but because you are in recovery for an addiction, you just can’t let yourself enjoy life. There are just too many mountains to climb. You’ve put down alcohol and or drugs, but are still haunted by cravings. You attend meetings...
The word victim is used here not to label or devalue a person, but to help them understand what victimhood is, and what he or she can do about it. An individual with a victim identity is someone who identified with whatever crises, traumas, illnesses or other...
Try to find the poetry section in a bookstore. It’s often tucked away in corner on the lower shelves. However, when someone dies, relatives and loved ones find solace in poetry. Poems are often read out loud at funerals. You’re not dying, so what has poetry got to do...
There are reasons why you may resist suggestions and advice, like those in the 12 Steps. For one, even if you attend fellowship meetings or are in a rehab, you may not value your own life. This can be a result of childhood neglect, you’ve done something for which you...
We’ve all probably done things in our life that we regret. As kids we might have tested the waters with our parents or parent in any number of ways. The developmental stage of our teen years pushed against practicality and common sense. We had to experiment with life....
A man and his wife have been cruising the intercoastal waterway with their friends, who own a beautiful yacht. It’s the last night before they fly home. The man leaves the cozy cabin. Later, his friend checks on him and finds him topside, inebriated and crying. He...
When you’re stuck and feeling badly for having an addiction, it’s normal. The addiction has caused a major disruption in the flow of your life, made you mentally and physically ill, seems to have ruined family relationships and those with some of your friends. Now...
Defense mechanisms are used by people to distance themselves from feelings and reality in which they don’t want to look. There are are a number of defense mechanisms which exact a desired result. A defensive person may not be aware as to why they sometimes react in...
What’s so bad about feeling sorry for yourself? Put more compassionately, what’s so bad about grieving? When we get sober, at some point we may recognize how much of our lives we have wasted away with alcohol or drugs. This realization encompasses a huge loss, so...
Our belief systems form from a caldron of experiences we’ve had over a lifetime. They can be influenced by the values of our biological family, and the culture and environment in which we grew. Belief systems also are derived from the love and care we receive in...
