Addiction can not be solved overnight; no mental health problem is that easy. Just because you have completed treatment does not mean you have recovered. The physical cravings were only a part of the problem. The drive to use drugs runs much deeper, and it takes a while to build a new lifestyle that does…
We come up with all kinds of stories to convince ourselves that we don’t really have to do something. It’s called self-sabotage. We don’t believe we are worth accomplishing whatever it is we have set out to accomplish. Even years into our recovery we can still act in this self-sabotaging way, which harms our…
Recovery goes through peaks and valleys, growth periods and plateaus. If you are feeling stuck in your recovery, ask yourself these three questions. What are your values? When we aren’t living according to our values, it can really bring us down. Suppose you really value fairness, honesty, and transparency but you work for a company…
“Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” This is a popular saying in recovery for people learning to live without addiction to drugs and alcohol. Radical acceptance is a tool that is spiritual and clinical,…
We set a daily goal in recovery: stay sober until midnight. Once that clock strikes, we set a new goal: stay sober until midnight. Thus the cycle of “One day at a time” begins. We take things as they come so that we aren’t overwhelmed by the prospect of the future. Yet, we are…
If you’re feeling extra down and can’t figure out why, see if you’re acting in one of these four behaviors, always guaranteed to bring you down instead of lift you up. Being Resentful Instead Of Grateful A resentment is a “bitter indignation at having been treated unfairly” according to dictionary definition. Being bitter is never…
Recovery is a lifestyle decision as well as it is a necessary choice to make in your life. Outside of therapy and treatment, these are three ways to support your recovery on a daily basis. Sleep You’re going to want to get a lot of sleep in your first year of recovery. Sleep is…
One step forward, two steps back. When you’re an addict or an alcoholic in recovery, you get tired of being knocked down. Any step which seems like a step backward feels like a threat to going too far backward toward relapse. Building resilience in recovery is the way we learn how to handle all…
There is something inherently self-harming about addiction. Despite the ongoing pain our drugs of choice cause us, the drastic effects it has in different areas of our lives, we continue to use them. The pleasure we get out of our favorite drugs of choice and alcohol outweigh any of the negative consequences, until they…
Whether you’re recently clean or sober, have been in recovery for some time, or are simply worried about the dangers of addiction while recovering from surgery, your fears are grounded. Surgery typically means days to weeks and sometimes months of recovery, during which time you will be exposed to limited activity, negative emotions caused by…