We hope this blog will give us the opportunity to discuss and find solutions to issues we all face in recovery, and, through our stories, help others to support their sobriety or inspire those who have not yet made the decision to get clean and sober.
I, myself, came back into recovery a broken person – physically, emotionally and spiritually. By writing about my experiences and sharing them with others, I have improved my life tremendously, and it is our hope that by actively engaging those in the recovery community, others will benefit from those who have been there.
We invite you use the “comment” section below to express any thoughts and feelings you have about recovery we can create an open dialogue.
We have all had to deal with at least one “negative” person in our lives. The constantly negative person can be one of the biggest threats to our own recovery. I personally know a few people who are very pessimistic and cynical and they can drain our serenity and sense of well-being very quickly if […]
I came across the expression “awfulizing” not long ago. Out of curiousity, I did some research to find out exactly what it meant. The definition, according to psychologists, is “an irrational and dramatic thought pattern, a tendency to overestimate the potential seriousness or negative consequences of events, situations or perceived threats.” I realized after reading […]
When I first came into recovery, my mind was all over the place. I was unable to organize my thoughts and the feelings that were surfacing were overwhelming. Fear, anger, shame, remorse and bitterness. Fourteen months later, my thoughts have slowed down. I can identify feelings and manage them. This has been made possible through […]
Everyone has heard this expression – not just those of us in recovery but others as well. From my own experience, it is very easy to say but much harder to practice. Many of us often blame our problems (including our addiction) on other people. In my case, it was easier to avoid people and […]
I have come to realize recently that my old habits, particularly the habit of negative thinking, are slowly disappearing. A situation arose this week where I live and I did not react to it the way I would have nine months ago. The “old” me would have gone into a tailspin. I would have been […]
As a perfectionist, I set high standards for myself. When I’m unable to meet these standards, I beat myself up with criticism and judgment. A downfall to this (besides the fact it is terrible for my self esteem), is that I set these standards for others as well. When they fail to meet my standards, […]
We often use anger as a way of getting what we want – it is sometimes much easier to be angry than to stay calm and make our needs known. I have read many times that “venting” is supposed to be healthy, but in reality, it is only a temporary fix. I have found that […]
For those of us who are new in recovery, guilt and shame are common feelings. We may have these feelings for things we have done or things we didn’t do when we were actively drinking or using. We were “guilty” because of bad behavior and the addiction that caused it. We have to keep in […]
Some of us are very good at putting things off – I became a pro at this. I convinced myself that I worked better under pressure and would wait until the very last minute to start something that needed to be done. It was so much easier to focus on the things I wanted to […]
The way we think affects how we experience situations in life, and conversely, the experiences we have had in the past affects how and what we think. It is very common for addicts and alcoholics to have negative thinking, so when we come into recovery, we still harbor self-destructive thoughts about ourselves and the world […]
A lot of people in recovery have a predisposition to isolate. We do this for many reasons. We may feel shame or guilt for our behaviours when we were drinking or using, we may fear being around people, places and things that could trigger our addiction, or we may isolate simply because it is familiar […]
People in recovery can sometimes be their own worst enemies. For me personally, I became something of an expert at sabotaging my own sobriety. When I was drinking, I used alcohol to numb or get rid of uncomfortable or negative feelings. It was the first sign of self-sabotage – it helped me temporarily escape my […]
I believe that being responsible means doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done. It means setting priorities and taking action on them. When we are responsible, we don’t postpone a task because it makes us uncomfortable, or it is something we really don’t want to do. We live up to […]
I have learned since coming back into recovery is that I have to accept myself for who I am. I had to truly accept that I am an alcoholic. In the beginning, this proved to be depressing, especially when I thought about others who could have that “one drink” when I knew I could never […]
Often it is heard that recovery is a painful process. I hear people talk about how difficult it is. How it is difficult to start all over from nothing. How their relationships have been destroyed, they are unemployed, they are in debt. I also hear that it takes a long time, and a lot of […]
Unfortunate are those who were never touched by the wonder of love. Unfortunate are those for whom the whole world revolves around themselves. Unfortunate are those who cannot find the strength to forgive. Unfortunate are those who had the opportunity to help others and never took it. Unfortunate are those whose words are bigger than […]
“When people are grateful for what they have, they will experience a great deal of happiness in their life.” I sincerely believe this. People who constantly complain about or focus on what they don’t have must have a difficult time finding any peace or serenity in their lives. Gratitude, for me, means being grateful for […]
Humility – a reality check! We hear the words “empowerment” and “assertiveness” so often these days that humility or humbleness can be forgotten or considered a weakness. The word “humility” means many different things to different people. To me, it means knowing my own strengths while understanding and admitting to my own weaknesses. It has […]
A person with a deflated ego undermines their own self-worth with negative self-talk. They rely on self-deception and the opinion of others to make themselves feel anything close to good. They take things personally and try to take credit for the deeds of others. Their drive for recognition and praise leads to arrogance and grandiosity. […]
Our ego itself is basically who we are, how we self-identify but when it becomes exaggerated or over-inflated, it becomes a negative characteristic. Someone with an over-inflated ego doesn’t really listen to their friends or their work colleagues or value their opinion. They place themselves above other people, and put their own interests above everything. […]