Relationships are a struggle for everyone but some people attract more toxic individuals into their lives than others. Understanding this can be the key to figuring out why you attract toxic people and how to meet others who are healthier. Making Hurtful Choices Looking at the hurtful selections you make can help you decide what…
For someone in rehab, family visitations are important. Different recovery facilities have different policies. Some may only allow visits on designated days, while some may only allow immediate family members on weekends. Others may not encourage visits for the first few weeks. While an initial break in contact is crucial so your loved one can…
Recovery should never be a lonely endeavor. There are, however, suggestions from the recovery community concerning the development of romantic relationships in early sobriety. The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous does not discuss this topic, telling us only that “we do not want to be the arbiters of anyone’s sex conduct”. The recommendations come instead…
When I was dating a fellow alcoholic, I felt like we had an instant connection, a kinship, if you will. It was serendipity, or so I thought. After all, we were both living the sober lifestyle. How much more compatible can you get? It turns out, however, that our sobriety was the only thing we…
When I first began my recovery, I met a lot of people who had simply switched from one addiction to another. Giving up drugs and alcohol often led them to begin smoking cigarettes or eating excessively. Since I was aware of this early on, I thought I didn’t have anything to worry about. I was…
Anger is one of the most common reasons we relapse after a period of sobriety. When overcome with anger, we are much less able to make good decisions, because we are acting out of emotion instead of rational thought. In order to protect my sobriety, I had to take steps to control my anger. Most…
Boundaries are an important part of any relationship, whether with friends, family, or a partner, but when the other person is an addict, they become crucial to the survival of the relationship. Learning to set healthy boundaries with an addict will enable you to move on with your life without taking responsibility for their actions,…
Loving an addict is both exciting and heartbreaking. Being with them is like having relationship with two different people. When they have their drug of choice, they are content and happy, but when they are busy chasing it, you’d better get out of the way. They will tell you they love you while they are…
For most of us, Christmas is supposed to be a magically happy time for everyone, but often that is far from the case. Many of us have grown up watching idyllic films like “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “The Christmas Carol”, but in real life, Christmas doesn’t change family issues, remove stress, or somehow manage…