Understanding why it’s hard to let go of our substance(s) of choice and the importance of addressing the underlying issues within the temptation. Once we’re well into our recovery, it can be painful and confusing to find ourselves still being tempted by our drug of choice, even once we have achieved sobriety. We wonder whyRead More
One of the things we learn as part of our recovery is to have faith in a higher power and to turn our problems over to it whenever we can’t solve them for ourselves. The act of surrendering any problems that are out of our control to our higher power can bring us a greatRead More
For many of us struggling with addiction, much of the struggle comes from the inner turmoil and conflict we feel around our addictions and the choices we make. We work on new thought patterns and try to make healthier choices, then we default to our old ways of thinking and decision-making. We tell ourselves weRead More
One of the emotional habits we fall into when struggling with addiction and mental illness is a tendency to give up responsibility for our feelings. We blame other people for how we feel. We blame our addictions, our depression, our anxiety and any other issue we might be dealing with for how we feel. WeRead More
One of our biggest challenges, as we’re working to recover, is dealing with the addictive urges and temptation that arise for us. They can feel so overwhelming that we can feel as though we can’t withstand them, that we’re powerless against them and have no recourse against their destructiveness. There are various techniques we canRead More
Sometimes preventing relapse feels like the hardest work we’ll ever do in our lives. We’re consumed with fear of all the horrible consequences that will befall us if we relapse, many of which we’ve already experienced, so we’re all too familiar with the pain and hardship relapse can bring with it. On top of that,Read More
There are various ways in which we’re dishonest with ourselves about our addictions, try to delude ourselves, or otherwise convince ourselves of things that aren’t really true, usually because we’re in such deep denial about our problems with addiction that we don’t want to face the truth. Sometimes we’re conscious of the fact that we’reRead More
We might think of our attitude, our outlook, and our ways of thinking and feeling as all being totally separate from our recovery. We think of our recovery as abstinence from our drug of choice, and all the work we do as part of our recovery program – the therapy, the support group meetings, communicatingRead More
Many of us, unfortunately, are confronted with situations and circumstances, relationships and interpersonal dynamics that leave us feeling as though we’re being denied our dignity. We’re mistreated and looked down upon. We’re told we’re less than human and shameful because of our addictions and mental health issues. We’re treated like monsters and criminals, told we’reRead More
The importance of accepting our complex inner worlds and listening to our emotions, even the painful ones. In recovery, we can often fall into the pitfall of over-emphasizing positive thinking. This overemphasis can cause us to judge our emotions and label them as either good or bad, positive or negative, correct or incorrect. We’re doingRead More