In recovery communities, particularly 12-Step fellowships, there is an emphasis on helping those new to recovery go through the process of achieving and maintaining sobriety. The concept of helping others as a means of maintaining one’s own sobriety comes from the collective experience of many men and women in recovery. Alcoholics Anonymous was the first…
DetailsFear 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.…
DetailsManifest Destiny brought early settlers of America westward. Everything out west held promise of a better life, especially in California. From the prospect of the gold rush to the modernization of cities like San Francisco, something special was happening on the other side of our maturing country. The allure of the west and of California…
DetailsSpirituality may be a bothersome term for some because it seems to imply religious thought. In recovery, however, spirituality is simply addressing the indefinable part of ourselves that caused us to fall victim to hopelessness and depression, and seek drugs and alcohol as a way to fix our problematic internal condition. These feelings are symptomatic…
DetailsMany 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”…
DetailsDrugs like suboxone and methadone are used to treat opioid addiction by delivering enough narcotic to reduce the symptoms of withdrawal. The theory is that these medications will keep a person addicted to opioids from using them by replacing their drug of choice with a safer prescription medication. Suboxone, in particular, contains naloxone, an opioid…
DetailsAs men and women suffering from the disease of addiction, we are well-aware that our gut instinct is not always the right decision. In early sobriety, our emotions are often heightened, and purely emotion-based reactions can often lead to hurting ourselves or others and feeling regret for the way we handled the situation. Instead, we…
DetailsRelapse is extremely likely no matter what, but that doesn’t mean that you are “immune” to treatment. Relapse doesn’t have to occur, but it a part of the story of most people who have eventually achieved permanent sobriety. Some people can go to treatment once and never use alcohol or drugs again, but for the…
Details“Progress, not perfection” is a common phrase used in the rooms of recovery fellowships. The concept is derived from the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous. After presenting the 12 steps, the Big Book states: “Do not be discouraged. No one among us had been able to maintain anything like perfect adherence to these principles. We…
DetailsMany men and women suffering from the disease of addiction have attempted to stop countless times. They go through unimaginable pain while attempting to detoxify their bodies, only to pick up another drink or drug shortly after. This is because there are certain aspects of the disease of addiction that make it nearly impossible to…
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