We can’t be happy all the time. We can, however, allow ourselves to maintain a positive outlook by making an effort to let go of negativity. It’s easy to get caught up in bad feelings, especially in early sobriety when our emotions tend to be heightened. When we break the cycle of pessimism and stay…
Grounding can be an effective way to reduce stress and anxiety in early recovery. Grounding is a coping strategy that allows us to bring ourselves back into the present moment and pull ourselves out of the spiral of anxiety. When we begin to feel overwhelmed by stress or nearing panic, we can utilize a variety…
Feelings of depression are very likely during withdrawal and the early stages of sobriety. It is important to speak with a professional about feelings of depression to determine the best course to take to manage the symptoms, as depression can easily lead one toward relapse. Symptoms of depression can occur at any point, but are…
The Serenity Prayer— “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” — is used to open up most 12-Step fellowship meetings. In recovery, we strive for a state of serenity in our sobriety so that we do not…
Not all drugs create physical dependence and subsequent withdrawal symptoms. Marijuana and many psychedelics and hallucinogens, for example, do not cause a user to go into a state of withdrawal when discontinued, but still carry the potential for addiction. A person addicted to drugs that do not create physical dependence is still at just as…
Fear was one of the biggest factors in our descent into addiction. We were afraid of people, relationships, and facing life without the comfort of drugs or alcohol. When we make the decision to get sober, we are also making a decision to finally face all the things that used to fill us with fear.…
Many newcomers to recovery fellowships assume that they are entering into a religious program. While many of these fellowships stress the importance of spirituality, they stress that engagement in the program does not require one to subscribe to any specific religious denomination or believe in anyone else’s conception of a “higher power.” Words like “god”…
Alcoholism is a threefold disease of the mind, body, and spirit. There are three main factors within the disease: the spiritual malady, a physical allergy, and a mental obsession. These three factors are the reason why it is impossible for someone suffering from the disease of alcoholism to simply stop using as a result of…
Recovery always has moments of difficulty. We go through so much to achieve sobriety and begin engaging in an entirely new way of life, exercising our newfound spirituality and coping skills. However, there may be moments when we feel overwhelmed or depressed and wonder, “What’s the point?” We fall into a cycle of apathy and…
In sobriety, we are tasked with confronting ourselves at the deepest level of our being. We look back on the past harms we have caused others, and often begin looking forward at all the things we are finally able to do in our newfound freedom from addiction and alcoholism. However, our thoughts about the past…