Understanding addiction will help you to understand recovery. ___ Everything you know about addiction may be wrong. But not because of science, and not because I know things that you don’t. Sometimes our minds search for simple answers and as a result, we get it wrong. Everything you know about addiction may be wrong. But … More What is Addiction and What is it Not?
Addiction and mental health issues can eat away at you. They take far more than they will ever give. You soon find that you are becoming less and less human. You lose parts of yourself. You bleed soul all over the carpets of your life. Recovery is not about just making a choice to stop. … More Recovery: Surrender Begins by Standing Up
Recovery can give you new music, but first you have to embrace your silence. ___ He was a huge help. His uniform said “Security,” but he was more like a human GPS. I was late for an appointment, sweaty and in a bit of a panic. I walked up to his building and before I could even … More What Tinnitus is Teaching me About Recovery
Is our pursuit of happiness making us unhappy? ___ Happiness: We love it. Sometimes we ache for it. And we try to hold onto it no matter how much it costs. Is our pursuit of happiness making us unhappy? Addicted to happy Our obsession with happiness might be a borderline addiction. The good news is that a … More Are we Addicted to Happiness?
If you were stripped of your memory, would recovery become easier? ___ I can only imagine the pain that will confront a someone who has lost their memories. Alzheimer’s, traumatic brain injury, memory loss due to aging or other conditions is painful and a trial to endure. In recovery, memories become seared into the mind. … More Addiction: Forgetting Your Way into Recovery
I am a recovering daydreamer. Maybe you are one too? I hope so, because it’s lonely over here. ___ I am a 49 year old daydreamer, and I have perfected the art of excellent dreams that are just big enough to sound appealing but not so specific that you actually need to work at … More Your Dreams Have a Dark Side and This is What You Can Do About It
Mistakes Are the DNA of Recovery ___ Mistakes. They are the stuff that life is made of. Our DNA code is a combination of all of the mistakes and F-Ups made by previous generations. You are not a mistake, but your very life is built upon what a million of your ancestors learned the hard way. ◊♦◊ … More Addiction: No Shortcuts to Recovery
This is one of the most difficult posts I have ever written. ___ Imagine a magic trick where you are the one to disappear. Someone else is left holding the rabbit, but the rabbit has fangs. The trick? It is a great one called Avoidance. Addiction is like a magic trick: It is a mystery that … More Addiction: Avoidance and Your Fanged Rabbit
Don’t Surrender Your Joy: The Eight Ways to Reclaim the FUN of Your DysFUNctional Family. ___ The DysFUNctional Manifesto This is a manifesto, not a manual. We are not telling you how to live your lives. Heck, we are just trying to keep ourselves sane, we don’t have time to tell you what to do. This … More Addiction: The DysFUNctional Manifesto
Recovery is about getting your life back. Maybe it’s time to recover your sense of humor? ___ Why are so many addicts or recovering addicts also comedians? Humor should be a part of recovery because humor is central to what it means to be a human being. Humans are the only creatures that laugh. Except for monkeys, hyenas … More Addiction: Laughing Loudly While Quietly Crying Into Your Beer
Getting High on Recovery 