How 12 Step Programs Will Ruin Your High
My relapse was ruined by my initial recovery! For anyone who has ever relapsed, or maybe even spent enough time in 12 Step fellowship meetings to hear some solution, you know well how much it sucks to be drinking or getting high and have the 12 Steps and principles of the program running laps in . . . . Continue Reading
Is Your SOBER Life Unmanageable?
You’re clean. You’re sober. But, things just don’t seem to be getting that much better. As they say, you could be ‘staying clean but living dirty.’ So, we ask: Is your SOBER life unmanageable? It might be as simple as your room or house being disorganized, such as laundry piling up, dirty dishes sitting in . . . . Continue Reading
Dealing with Grief in Recovery
Dealing with grief, in general, is difficult and emotional. Dealing with grief in recovery is a particularly trying and even risky period for someone. Dealing with Grief in Recovery: Grief Defined When you experience the loss of someone or something that you have an emotional bond with, you will experience grief: the emotional, physical, behavioral . . . . Continue Reading
5 Signs Your Roommate is On the Verge of Relapse
Relapse is never something that just happens by accident, it is a process that slowly but surely creeps its way into the life of someone who is in recovery from drugs and/or alcohol. If you are living with someone in recovery, especially for those in a halfway house, there are ways to try and spot . . . . Continue Reading
The Number One Enemy of Recovery
Stress? Tragedy? Surgery? Many people think that the number one enemy of recovery has to do with a stressful situation like moving, change in employment, addition to the family, or else due to something tragic, such as the death of a loved one. On a more technical basis, many think recovery is threatened by a . . . . Continue Reading
9 Signs You Need Inpatient Drug Treatment
Substance abuse and addiction are not the kind of problems we can address with a quick fix. People often think the only issue for them is putting down the substances they abuse for long enough to get past any physical dependency. A detox facility is very helpful but in order to effectively face off against . . . . Continue Reading
7 Myths About Recovery That Are Probably Making You Feel Like You’re Doing it Wrong
You’re clean. You’re sober. Life is grand. And then, life shows up on life’s terms. It’s important to remember that you are more than just an addict in recovery. You’re also a human being. The human experience is multi-dimensional: we have thoughts, feelings, dreams (as in nighttime), goals, beliefs, experiences…language is too limiting to even . . . . Continue Reading
Snitches Get Stitches: Why you shouldn’t keep negative contracts
In treatment, I was rooming with a guy through detox and the inpatient residential program. He ended up getting together with another patient who worked up a plan to sneak drugs into the facility. I had no idea until it was too late, and that night a hand full of people were discharged for being . . . . Continue Reading
Will They Get You High Before You Get Them Sober?
The twelfth step of 12 Step recovery is all about “giving back.” We hear it in meetings all the time and our sponsors reinforce it with us: “We keep what we have only by giving it away.” And, after all, it was given to us so freely. What all of this means, generally speaking is . . . . Continue Reading
How Your Hormones Can Seriously Mess with Your Recovery
Hormonal fluctuations – you know them well. If you’re like me, hormones are the bane of your existence. (Okay, that might be a bit of an exaggeration). But hormones do have a profound effect on how we feel, both physically and emotionally. And it’s important to be aware of just how this stuff works, especially . . . . Continue Reading