When we haven’t yet learned healthy techniques to navigate our difficult emotions, we tend to fall into unhealthy emotional patterns of trying to escape our pain and numb ourselves from it. We use our drugs of choice, our addictive substances, and behaviors, to self-medicate from the emotions we’re having a hard time facing. Very oftenRead More
With loved ones in recovery from addiction, we can feel a wide range of emotions, many of which we’re hesitant and afraid to discuss because we want to show unconditional support, hopefulness, and optimism. We want our loved ones not only to feel supported by us but to be motivated and encouraged by us andRead More
When we have loved ones in recovery, we can experience unique challenges that can be difficult and overwhelming to understand let alone live with. This can be especially true for those of us who have parents in recovery. We’re dealing with different family dynamics and alternating family roles that can disturb the equilibrium of theRead More
If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). Sometimes as we’re focusing on our own recovery, we don’t realize how much our loved ones have been affected by our addictions and by the struggles we’ve been going through over the years. We can have a narrow viewRead More
If you or a loved one is struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). As we’re working to recover, many of us are dealing not only with our own recovery but with that of our loved ones as well. Very often, our family members, partners, and friends areRead More
One of the most important things we can do for ourselves as we’re working to recover is ensuring our living environment is conducive to our sobriety rather than detrimental to it. Many of us had living situations that contributed to our addictive patterns and made us even more depressed. Now that we’re sober, we wantRead More
Sometimes as we’re working to recover from our addictions, we have to do some soul-searching to determine if we have more than one drug of choice, if we’ve become dependent on a substance or behavior outside of our go-to drug of choice, and if we’re using our relationships in particular in addictive, dependent ways. ManyRead More
Sometimes as we’re working to recover, we come up against certain impediments that we feel are holding us back, contributing to our addictive patterns and triggering us to relapse. We might feel that they are adding to our depression, anxiety, grief or anger, all of which can be emotional triggers that we use our drugsRead More
When we’re working towards sobriety, everything changes in our lives in order to support our recovery. We’re transforming our habits and routines. We’re developing completely new lifestyles for ourselves that support our efforts. We’re learning to replace our self-destructive patterns with healthy ones. We’re transforming our ways of thinking. We’re shedding things that don’t serveRead More
If you’re struggling with thoughts of suicide, PLEASE call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 1-800-273-TALK (8255). As we’re working to recover from our addictions, we need a certain level of inner peace, emotional stability, and overall balance if we’re going to be able to defeat the many challenges that come with recovery, from the addictiveRead More