Counting Our Holiday Blessings
You might have heard: Christmas is literally right around the corner! By now Thanksgiving is a few weeks away, and while we may or may not still have any turkey left in the fridge, we can probably all attest to
Believing in Ourselves
There are a lot of folks that say that seeing is believing. That’s true, to an extent. There’s plenty of things we want to see to believe. Even more that we have to see to believe. Cops usually have to
Leaving Self-Destructive Behaviors in the Past
On page 137 of the Big Book, the author provides a shockingly detailed description of one man’s demise after two weeks of binge drinking: “After two weeks of drinking, he had placed his toe on the trigger of a loaded
Making the Most out of a Second Chance
You’re hollow. You have no control. You feel pain, but you’ve gotten so used to it by now that it’s become your new normal. Friends have left you. Family is leaving. Work is all but a distant dream, because you
The Importance of Group Therapy
If you only read a part of The Big Book, you may have been startled by an assertion the author makes fairly early on in the reading. “We are powerless over [addiction], and our lives have become unmanageable.” Even as
Recovery Never Stops: How to Make the Most of Life After Treatment
Page 492 of The Big Book starts with a crystal clear assertion of what it means to be free after a life of addiction: “Those events that once made me feel ashamed and disgraced now allow me to share with
“I Don’t Like My Therapist”
There is no one-size-fits-all solution for addiction. If there was, addiction treatment wouldn’t be nearly as nuanced as it is now. One of the most powerful advancements made in addiction treatment since Bill W.’s creation of Alcoholics Anonymous in the
Addiction is Not Your Fault… But It Is Your Responsibility
The Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous is specific and definitive in its definition of alcoholism, which can be applied as a definition of addiction. Addiction, according to the AA philosophy, is a disease characterized by three components, in three different
Don’t Just Give a Man a Fish
Ever fished before? It’s therapeutic, in the kind of way that makes some people sit for hours on end hoping to catch “the big one”, or really not caring about what they catch and just enjoying watching the water lap
Cutting to the Chase: Owning Your Recovery
There are millions of people suffering from addiction in America alone. The age range typically starts at 12 and has no limit. Addiction, by far, is one of the most dangerous epidemics this world has ever faced. The CDC estimates