Helping addicts involves three separate battles as well as dealing with addict’s behavior. These three extra battles take most of the time: (1) the stigma
Codependency is the Emotional Foundation for All Addictions
I was what was termed a “high-bottom” drunk because I suffered no rejection because of my alcohol use. In fact, when I quit, most of
Your Core Issues Undermine Your Life Until You Let Go of the Defenses You Developed as a Child
“You cannot make a long-term change in behaviors without addressing the beliefs that underlie them… Most humans try to change things by focusing on behaviors.
Learning How to Live With PTSD and Have the Life You Want
In 2009 I discovered that PTSD had controlled my life for over 60 years. Yikes! I learned to not have flashbacks by not living my
Stigma Causes Many to Not Receive Help for Addiction
No other disease/medical condition suffers so much from lack of intervention and possible cure as does addiction. The public thinks, “Why don’t they just quit
The Childhood Core Issue That Helped to Feed My Depression
I remember how long it took me to wrap my head around the fact that I had self-hatred. I kept rationalizing that I thought of
Evidence-Based Treatment Offers Real Hope to Suffering Addicts
The addiction treatment field is shifting away from self-help recovery methods toward a more measurable recovery program. The newer methods are known as evidence-based recovery
Addiction Recovery A-Z Links Directory
I update this list annually (August 2018) as best I can. Few addiction recovery blogs last very long so I have kept ones that are
Johari’s Window and How We Heal
Above image is from Wikipedia— When talking about healing, because I am a gardener, I often speak of the need when we prune to go down
How I Made the Connection With My Inner Child
One of the techniques I used early in my recovery to get in touch with my wounded feelings was accepting my inner child. Transactional Analysis
In Recovery, Are You Being Transformed?
“Your life will be transformed when you make peace with your shadow. The caterpillar will become a breathtakingly beautiful butterfly. You will no longer have
Healing is About Learning to Love Yourself
“Healing isn’t just about pain. It’s about learning to love yourself. As you move from feeling like a victim to being a proud survivor, you
Creativity is Our Bridge to Joy
“Creativity takes the heavy mass of our lives and transforms it back into available energy. Taking the mundane or the weighted, the overlooked or the
Self-Parenting Teaches Us How to Help Others As Well As Ourselves
Having been an addictions counselor for years and in my personal recovery since 1976, I know that healing comes from within. It usually begins with
Healing Means Matching Your Inner With Your Outer
“Many of us learned that keeping busy…kept us at a distance from our feelings…Some of us took the ways we busied ourselves—becoming overachievers & workaholics—as
Facebook Groups Help Join Us Together by Sharing Our Interests
“Traumatic events destroy the sustaining bonds between individual and community. Those who have survived learn that their sense of self, of worth, of humanity, depends
