12-Step recovery programs focus on taking a newcomer through a series of steps so they can experience a spiritual awakening and develop a relationship with a higher power of their own understanding as a means of achieving and maintaining sobriety. The 12-Step recovery program began with Alcoholics Anonymous but has proven to be so effective…
Early recovery is a time when our emotions return and may even be heightened for a period of time. We spent so much time deadening our emotional natures with drugs and alcohol, that it is only natural that we will begin to feel a strong resurgence of emotion in sobriety. One such emotion, empathy, often…
We used drugs and alcohol as a way of coping with the discomfort of the outside world. Rarely could we enter into any social situation without being under the influence of substances. We felt safe and protected in a cloud of intoxication. Eventually, however, we found ourselves isolating and entirely unable to face the outside…
People often quote the phrase, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” The insanity of addiction and alcoholism, however, can be somewhat different. Many of us were fully aware of the consequences of our using. Whether it’s the harms we would cause ourselves and others, the chaos and unmanageability…
Recovery is a time of healing. In our addictions, we cared little for the natural world and rarely had time to sit outside and soak up the benefits of sunshine. Early sobriety is the perfect time to embrace the gifts of the natural world, and it turns out, simply being outdoors in sunlight can provide…
Critical thinking is not necessarily what you think it is. It is not even a radical concept or idea that is new but the truth is recovery tends to involve a lot of emotion and less thinking. If you are in an addiction recovery program, you are dealing with lots of changes, new routines, friends,…
The first step toward sobriety is often detoxifying the body of any traces of drugs or alcohol. This is done in order to break one’s physical dependence and pave the way for rehab treatment. Some drugs, like alcohol and opioids, create such strong physical dependence that one must receive medical support throughout the process to…
The decision to go to treatment can easily be the best decision a person ever makes. Many men and women who have successfully recovered from addiction and alcoholism can remember a time when they were on the fence about whether or not they needed treatment. Many of us needing treatment feel we can overcome our…
Alcoholism is a chronic, progressive, and fatal disease. Although there is no absolute “cure” for alcoholism, we are able to recover from the hopeless state of body and mind that has resulted from the disease. Rather than a cure, we have recovery programs designed to maintain sobriety and remove symptoms of the disease. Alcoholism can…
When we were in active addiction or suffering other mental health issues, we rarely cared about exercise or getting out into nature. When we enter into sobriety and are in the process of healing, however, hiking can be a great way to improve our physical and mental health. Hiking provides the aerobic exercise we need…