As addicts, we don’t have the best track record for being able to avoid temptations; with this understanding, it becomes important to understand non-substance related temptations which can lead to a regression in progress or even a relapse back into … Read More
Goal-Setting in Recovery
When first beginning to think about setting goals in recovery, we need to be able to ask ourselves what it is that we value most. If we are able to tap into an understanding of our values, we will be … Read More
Conflict Management
Part of the necessary steps of any quality recovery program is the process of adopting new ways to cope with stress and anxiety, battle states of depression, prevent relapses, and learn to manage conflicts. As human beings, one of our … Read More
Avoiding Comparisons
We live in a society that is nested within a hierarchical structure that rank orders individuals based off of a myriad of arbitrary and non-arbitrary measures of value. In other words, society ranks the individual’s value based on their job, … Read More
The Illusion of Control
The attempt to exercise control over various aspects of our lives is a natural and rational response to the realization that the world is chaotic and unpredictable. When we perceive that things are moving into a state of chaos, our … Read More
Quality Over Quantity
Counting the minutes, days, hours, weeks, and years we have been able to maintain sobriety is advantageous in recovery for many reasons. First, quantifying sober time helps direct the newcomer to individuals who have worked a solid recovery program and … Read More
Peeling Back the Onion
Peeling back the onion is an expression often used in psychotherapy as a metaphor for what takes place during the process of self-discovery. When discovered in this way, we are able to take the necessary time to allow the layers … Read More
The Necessity of Self-Care in Recovery
While the list of things that go out the window during times when we are actively addicted is seemingly endless, self-care is one of the disciplines that is consumed by sheer gravitational pull of the black hole that is addiction. … Read More
Demystifying SMART Recovery
In recent years, there has been a backlash against 12-step programs due to their opponents claims that it focuses too much on the inclusion of a Higher-Power, the admittance of powerlessness, and the disease model of addiction. SMART recovery is … Read More
Let’s Talk Triggers
Before we get into discussing the various and common triggers within early sobriety, and recovery in general, let’s unpack exactly what a trigger is. A trigger is a person, event, experience, or location that is perceived by the individual which … Read More